For the majority of Americans, “envious” is the word that comes to mind for anyone who needs to gain weight. Most people are on the other end of the scale, desperately trying to lose weight.

But for people who struggle to maintain a healthy weight or are trying to gain weight, it can be a real challenge.  Reasons for needing to gain weight include health issues, lack of appetite, fueling sports, building muscle, or just trying to overcome skinny genes.

How to Gain Weight the Perfect Way

“I eat a lot but still can’t gain weight.”

Is it the problem you face? It’s not totally your fault that you’re skinny. Your genetics play an important role in keeping you skinny. But that doesn’t mean that you have to live that way all your life.

In this article, you will learn how to create calorie surplus, what foods you should eat, what supplements you should take and which exercise you should do to get rid of your small frame.

Remember, just eating ‘fast food’ is not the solution. You cannot gain weight even if you live on McDonald’s French Fries and Domino’s Double Cheese Pizza. Your fast metabolism will burn it off. If you seriously want to gain weight, you need to follow my guidelines strictly.

So here we go.

“Calorie Surplus” is #1 requirement to gain weight.

You need to make sure that the amount of calories you eat should be more than the amount of calories you burn on the same day.

For example, if your daily calorie need is 2800 calories (calorie burning from your daily activities and exercise), then you should take 3800 calories from your diet every day. In this case, you are creating the calorie surplus of 1000.

Calculations:

3800 calorie intake through diet – 2800 daily calorie needs = 1000 calorie surplus 

What should you do to gain 1kg per week?

– If you want to gain 1 kg of your weight, you need to create calorie surplus of 7700.

– So if you want to gain 1 kg per week, you need to create approximately 1000 calorie surplus every day.

– If you create 1000 calorie surplus every day, you will gain 1kg of your weight in 7-8 days.

How many calories should you eat if you want to gain 1 kg per week?

Step-1: Calculate your daily calorie burning.

Step-2: Eat 1000 calories more than your ‘daily calorie needs’ to gain 1 kg per week.

Gaining weight is a 3-step process.

Step-1: Create Calorie Surplus by Eating Proper Food and HGH Supplements.

Step-2: Get Stronger by Lifting ‘Heavy’ Weights.

Step-3: Recover Faster by Sleeping Enough.

Eating lot of junk food won’t work.

Weight gain requires eating nutrient-rich foods, not just high-calorie foods with lots of fat, sugar or empty calories. Donuts, cakes, ice creams, chocolates and junk foods are calorie rich, but nutrient poor, which may cause heart disease, diabetes and other serious illnesses.

Start taking calories from healthy foods and create calorie surplus.

Protein Foods: meat, fish, chicken, eggs, lean beef, lamb, turkey, whey protein, milk, cheese, paneer, tofu, curd, yogurt, lentils (Indian dal), spinach (palak), chickpeas (channa), kidney beans (rajma), sprouts, mung, broccoli, soybeans, peanuts, sunflower seeds, figs, almonds and walnuts.

Fruits and Vegetables: banana, grapes, mango, pineapple, orange, pear, sweet potato, potato

Nuts and Legumes: peanuts, almonds, walnuts, cashew, lentils

Dairy: whole milk, cheese, whey, curd, yogurt, paneer

Carbs and Grains: brown rice, white rice, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, roti, paratha

Take weight gaining supplements and protein supplements.

Weight gainers are high-calorie nutritional supplements that contain different combinations of carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. They usually come as ready-to-drink supplements or powders.

Weight gaining supplements increases your body weight through high calorie consumption.

Protein supplement fulfills your daily protein requirements and helps your build muscles faster.

Make “Liquid Calories” your best friend.

Nutritionally sound energy milkshakes in between meals are great. Get a huge chunk of your calories every day from making your own ‘calorie bomb’ smoothie for post workouts. You can load whole milk, dry fruits, banana, mango, whey protein and dates to add calories. Avoid excess sugar.

Aim to gain “Muscle” not “Fat”.

If you simply aim to gain ‘fat’, you will end up with the undesirable result of skinny fat. You will be wobbly but still skinny and shapeless. Adding muscle mass is not only healthy, but an important way of increasing mass and adding shape for men and curves for women.

Focus on getting fitter, bigger and stronger (Not just gaining weight).

It’s about confidence in your own skin, self-respect that comes with strength, and the satisfaction that comes from being able to do something today that you couldn’t do yesterday.

Perform compound movements that involve more muscle groups at the same time.

Compound movements boost your HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and increase Testosterone level. These exercises work on the bigger muscle groups so you get result faster.

The bigger the muscle = The bigger the hormonal response.

Start performing these compound exercises to get better and faster results.

– Barbell chest press

– Barbell squats 

– Deadlift 

– Thrusters

 – Barbell row

– Walking Lunge 

– Wide-grip Pull-ups

– Close grip chin-ups