5 healthy and safe ways to put on weight

Being underweight is as unhealthy as being obese. Eating disorders, suffering from an acute illness or thyroid problems can result in severe weight loss. In an effort to gain the lost weight back, people start bingeing on junk foods to put on weight faster.

However, this proves to be unhealthy for your body as they increase simply fat deposits instead of building muscles.

Today we will look at 5 ways you can gain weight safely without endangering your health.

CALORIE SURPLUS

To gain weight you have to start eating more calories than your body burns. Use calorie calculators to help determine your calorie intake. Usually, you should try eating 500-700 calories more than your current intake to gain weight.

PROTEIN-RICH DIET

Our muscles are made up of protein. So to build your muscle mass, make sure the extra calories are coming from a protein-rich source. Some good sources of protein are meat, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts, and dairy. You can also consider drinking protein shakes to increase your protein intake.

INCREASE NUMBER OF MEALS

Start eating 1 or 2 mini-meals in between your lunch and dinner to put on weight faster. You can prepare a smoothie bowl using fresh, seasonal fruits or snack on nuts and dry fruits like almonds, cashews, raisins, dates, walnuts etc. Even a post-dinner snack can be helpful in creating a calorie surplus.

EAT HEALTHY FATS

Eating healthy fats like ghee, avocados, olive oil, MCT oil, nut butters etc. help gain weight safely as they are calorie dense yet don’t put your heart at risk. Avoid eating unhealthy fats like butter, margarine, processed and fried foods.

DON’T FORGET TO WORKOUT!

Just because you are trying to put on weight doesn’t allow you an excuse to sit idle. Keep exercising to make sure all those excess calories don’t turn into fat cells.

Gaining weight can take a long time, so remain patient and keep eating healthy food. Tell us about your weight gain journey in the comments below.