Gaining Weight Has Become Easy!

• Causes of Being Underweight

• How To Easily Gain Weight at home?

• Take Away

For various people, gaining weight can be a very difficult task, just like many other people who try to lose weight. But if they add some food items to their diet chart, they can easily gain lots of healthy weight, which will help them look healthy with a good fitness level. 

According to a study, underweight people are linked to a risk of early death, with men being at an increased risk of 140% as compared to around 100% in women, while obese people were at risk of approx  50%.

Causes of Being Underweight

High Metabolism– Some people are lean as their metabolism is so high that their tendency to gain weight is low even if they eat huge, calorie-dense meals.

Family History– Some people are born with the type of genes that make them naturally thin with a low BMI.

High Physical Activity – People who regularly perform high levels of physical activities, like jogging, running, swimming, or playing any kind of sports, tend to be underweight as they burn a lot of calories constantly throughout the day, even while they are resting.

Health Conditions – If a person has one or more health issues, they might get a temporary weight loss. They can also experience a rise in their metabolism levels that may cause continuous weight loss. A few examples of such health issues are hyperthyroidism, cancer, tuberculosis and diabetes.

Depression – People who have depression may experience a severe reduction in their appetite and lose a substantial amount of weight very rapidly. 

Stress – A person living under constant stress is usually occupied in their thoughts that they may lose weight without intending to do so.

Eating Disorders – People with certain eating disorders, like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder, are usually underweight. Eating disorders are mainly related to the levels of brain messengers, where they overeat for a short period, followed by overexercising to compensate for that extra calorie intake.

Gaining weight can be a little time-consuming process. You need to gain weight in a healthy manner and not just depend on junk. Here’s what you need to do.

How To Easily Gain Weight at home?

1. Healthy Carbs and Fats

Following a diet that is rich in carbs and fats is one of the best ways to gain weight healthily at home. While carbs provide you with energy, healthy fats are calorie-dense. Together, they can gradually help to increase your weight.

Some healthy carbs and fats foods are:

• Rice
• Whole grains
• Full-fat yoghurt
• Oats
• Cheese
• Avocado
• Coconut oil
• Whole eggs
• Pumpkin and sunflower seeds

2. Eat More Calories

Eating an extra 500 calories daily increases your weight by a pound in just one week. So, eat more calorie and nutrient-dense foods throughout the day in the form of snacks and heavy meals. You can either increase the portion sizes or eat smaller meals frequently the whole day. Avoid taking empty calories that do not provide any nourishment.

You can also increase your calorie intake by incorporating nuts, seeds, or cheese as toppings in your meal. Below are a few more snack options to increase your calorie count:

• Hummus with whole-grain crackers
• Avocado on toast
• Protein smoothie
• Bread with nut butter
• Yoghurt parfait
• Cereal bars
• Muesli with fruits
• Oatmeal with mixed nuts
• Boiled eggs with toast

3. Eat Plenty Of Protein

Protein is the most important nutrient needed to gain weight. Your muscle is mainly made up of protein, so consuming enough protein helps you gain healthy muscle weight instead of gaining fat.

The ideal protein intake for an underweight person varies between 1.5 gm to 2.2 gm of protein per kg of your body weight. 

Some protein-rich foods are:

• Fatty fish
• Red meat
• Whole eggs
• Whole grains
• Nuts and seeds

• Pulses and legumes
• Dairy products
• Whey protein powder 

4. Improve Physical Strength

It is important to ensure that you lift weights at the gym or play a sport to boost your physical strength and avoid letting the excess calories in your body convert into fat.

Visit the gym at least 4 to 5 times a week to increase your muscle mass. Focus mainly on doing strength training instead of spending enough time doing cardio.

Cardio is good for a healthy heart, but it also burns a lot of calories and doesn’t work much in your favour if you are looking for weight gain. You can even try some weight gain exercise at home.

5. Keep Yourself Hydrated

Drinking water has been synonymous with weight loss since it helps to decrease the quantity of food being consumed. Hence, do not drink water before meals or with meals as it makes you feel full which in turn will make you eat less. Drinking water does not help you with weight gain but prevents dehydration and flushes out toxins from the body. You can add protein smoothies to your diet to stay hydrated as well as gain some healthy weight.

But some doctors claim that drinking excess water can also cause weight gain. They believe that the body is able to flush out only a limited amount of water. If you drink more water than your body can handle, it gets stored in the body and causes weight gain in the form of water weight.

Take Away

The key here is that weight gain should only happen in a healthy and safe manner and not by some addictive habit of munching on junk food. You might think that the weight loss program is very difficult to perform, but even the healthy weight gain journey is equally strenuous.