Angela says:
I have a little different situation where I’m actually trying to ‘gain’ some weight. However, I don’t want to have to stuff my face with just fudge and ice cream all the time. Do you have any suggestions of what major food groups would help acheive a steady, but balanced weight gain?
P.S. I feel like I’d still need some exercise in my life, just not major calorie burning ones. Any ideas?
For people who tend to be naturally underweight, gaining weight can be just as hard as losing weight is for others. And Angela is absolutely correct that consuming high amounts of unhealthy fat and calories is the wrong way to go about gaining. So what are some safe ways to gain weight without compromising health?
1) Eat more calories! Increase your intake gradually by incorporating plenty of healthy calorie-dense foods into every meal and snack. The most calorie-dense foods are fats, but make sure to choose the healthy ones, such as avocado, nuts/nut butters, and plant oils. Calorie-dense fruits and veggies include bananas, potatoes/sweet potatoes and other starchy vegetables, and any dried fruit (you can eat more dried fruit since you won’t fill up from the water that’s in fresh fruit). Other calorie-dense foods to seek out: beans, high-calorie cereals like muesli or granola (stay away from any cereal with a lot of added sugar), and low-fat cheese.
A good example of a high-calorie meal upgrade: to a salad, add an olive oil-based dressing, plenty of beans, a sprinkling of nuts, and half an avocado. You can easily add 600-800 calories to a salad with these foods alone!
2) Drink caloric beverages instead of no-cal ones, but keep them low-fat and watch out for added sugar. Some options are low-fat milk or milk substitutes, 100% juice or pure fruit smoothies, or coconut water.
3) If you fill up fast, try eating smaller meals frequently. Shoot for six small meals per day.
4) In terms of exercise, don’t cut out cardio completely, but focus on strength training. This will ensure that as you put on weight, you add muscle instead of fat.
