Healthy Ways to Gain Weight

We all are familiar with the saying “health is wealth”, so we also realize how important it is to look after our health. A healthy person always seems cheerful and enthusiastic. Therefore we can say good health is the key to happiness. But it takes a lot to maintain our health. We all desire to have a perfect figure. People who are too skinny or suffer from anorexia are often seen complaining about their figures. So, we will talk about the healthy ways to gain weight in this segment.

Sometimes people who are skinny have a notion that consuming a lot of junk food would help them to gain weight. It’s a misconception. One must be very careful of what he/she is eating. Consuming junk food can never help in gaining weight; they can only invite various diseases. Avoid junk food or unhealthy food. Eating a lot doesn’t help either. A person must always have a well-balanced diet and right amount of food. So, what are the healthy ways to put on weight? Keep reading.

Have three or four meals per day. It has already been mentioned above that the diet should be well-balanced which means the consumption of right amount of carbohydrate, protein and fat. Consumption of meat, egg, fish, plenty of green leafy vegetables and starchy food like potato, rice, noodles are must. Skinny people should increase their calorie intake per day. They should consume more calorie than they burn. One can have healthy beverages such as protein shakes and milk as they help in strengthening of the muscles. Never buy dietary supplements for gaining weight; they might be harmful for your health as they might contain hazardous ingredients. Hope the content of this article helps and if it doesn’t you can always consult with a dietitian.

Weight Gain for Pregnant Women

Gaining weight during pregnancy is also an important factor to consider. The child you are carrying will need the nutrients from your body for it to grow healthy and steadily in your womb. An ideal weight gain for a normal woman would be 25 to 37lbs. Underweight women may need to gain up to 40lbs while overweight women can only gain 15 to 25lbs.

Underweight women may gain weight as much as 5lbs during the first trimester while overweight women can gain as 2lbs. Gaining a couple of pounds each week after the first trimester is recommended for underweight women while a pound a week is more than enough for overweight pregnant mothers.

Eat healthy food and avoid those rich in fats and sugar. Several small meals in a day instead of three big meals serve better in satisfying hunger. Keep an exercise routine that suits your pregnancy. Some may take long walks while some prefer prenatal yoga.

gain weight

Being underweight can pose many health problems. But before we leap in to tackle the problem one should know what is exactly meant by being underweight. This is decided if the Body Mass Index(BMI) is less than 18.5. According to WHO(World Health Organization) the BMI is calculated by weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters (kg/m2). For example, an adult who weighs 70kg and whose height is 1.75m will have a BMI of 22.9.

BMI = 70 kg / (1.75 m)2 = 70 / 3,0625 = 22.9

WHO's BMI Scale

18.4 and below = Underweight

Between 18.5 and 24.9 = Normal

25 and above = Obese.

But one should not assume that these values are correct. They are just approximate inexpensive methods to quickly check if a person is underweight or overweight. Even though the factors that decide the body mass is mainly adipose tissue where the fat is stored, the muscle mass and water percentage in the body and bone density also contribute to BMI as much. So if the person has high percent of any of the above factors other than adipose tissue doesn’t mean that he is obese. So an alternate to BMI, Body Volume Index (BVI) was devised in the year 2000. It is a computer based measurement which calculates the location of the fat in the body.

Once we know that a person is underweight we need to chalk out the common reasons which can be -Malnutrition, Stress/depression/anxiety, Anorexia nervosa/bulimia nervosa, Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, Hyperthyroidism, Ulcers, Malfunction of digestive organs, Drug use.(treatment,overdose,stimulants), Type1 diabetes, Cancer, Genetically underweight. Puberty (height increases, body cannot catch up with muscle/fat growth), High Metabolic rate, Low appetite, excessive cigarette smoking etc. Being genetically underweight is considered normal provided a physician's assessment rules out any other anomalies. Because the fat cells in the body are genetically determined no matter what you do you cannot get rid of them or increase them. For example - fat people who follow a diet chart for a month may successfully lose weight but not their fat cells, cause in this case the fat cells are not gone they only got shrunk. But once the calories come back they grow back too.

The risks that you can be exposed to being underweight can be

· Pregnancy complications- a woman must have certain amount of body fat to sustain a healthy and growing baby throughout pregnancy. Low fat levels in the body can lead to still births,pre-term labor, if not least the restricted growth of the baby.

· Infertility in women- where dysfunctional ovulation impedes pregnancy,

· Osteoporosis- meaning porous bones. This is a particular insidious consequence, (when bones become fragile and break easily) because the affected persons do not notice the danger. After the occurrence of first spontaneous fractures the damage is often already irreversible.

· Amenorrhea- absence of menstruation

· Anemia-lack of adequate blood.

· Low blood pressure

· and unconsciousness.

After we are thru with the pros and cons of underweight, we can proceed to set the weight gaining goals. It is helpful to understand that to gain weight one must consume more calories than one burns. Online calorie calculators can help determine how many calories an individual is burning during certain activities and how many average calories are contained in a food item. However simply taking high calorie foods that lack nutritional value will not solve the problem. These foods cannot provide the fuel that body needs and instead you can end-up having unhealthy increase of body fat. The point is to increase quality calories as well as quantity.

Dietary supplements provide a larger number of calories in a smaller volume. Intake of starchy grains and vegetables, including rice, oats, whole meal pasta, potatoes, corn, carrots, pumpkin, natural fruit juices, skim milk and fruit smoothies are helpful. Vitamin D that our body can produce by itself when exposed to the Sun helps to process calcium to increase bone density (helps in cases of osteoporosis.) Healthy fats, so-called, are found in nuts, apricots, raisins, prunes, dates, dried figs, avocadoes, fish and olives which also provide additional healthful nutrients. Fats from animal products (fatty meats, butter and cheese) and tropical oils (coconut cream and palm oil), common in fast foods, on the other hand, could lead to a raised LDL cholesterol levels that are unhealthy fat and calories.

And increase in muscle mass is as much healthy through regular resistance training( also known as strength training or weight training). This type of exercise is completely opposite to fitness training like running, walking or swimming. These exercises use your muscle to lift, push or pull against a resistance. The resistance could be anything from sand bags, pin loaded weight, hydraulic resistance apparatus or just water. Performing this training regularly stimulates optimum muscle growth also the bone density. Small amounts of aerobic activities (such as walking or running) are important for your cardiovascular health, but any more than 20-30 minutes three times a week will be counterproductive to weight gain. Extra activities will burn off the extra calories you are eating, preventing weight gain. Recording your calorie intake and exercise regimen will keep your inspiration up and most importantly to keep your weight in check.

Calorie Chart

Beverage	Calories (KCal) /100g
Apple Juice	55
Grape Juice	55
Mango Juice	58
Orange Juice	44
Pineapple juice	52
Sugar Cane juice	36
Tomato Juice	17
Coconut Milk	76
Coconut water	24
Coffee (per cup)	98
Tea (per cup)	79
Cocoa (per cup)	213
Milk (cow's)	65
Skimmed milk	35
Curds	51

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Fruit	Amount	Calories
Apple	medium	60
Apricot	3 medium	50
Banana	medium	80
Cherries	cup	90
Dates	4 oz	214
Figs	4 oz	214
Gooseberries	4 oz	13
Grapefruit	half	40
Grapes	cup	90
Guava	4 oz	57
Honeydew Melon	half	39
Lemon	medium	15
Mango	4 oz	75
Mulberries	4 oz	35
Olives	4 oz	85
Orange	medium	50
Papaya	4 oz	45
Pineapple	4 oz	46
Plums	medium	20
Strawberries	4 oz	26
Watermelon	4 oz	54

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Vegetables	Amount	Calories
Asparagus	4 oz	10
Bamboo Shoots - canned	4 oz	18
Beans - green	4 oz	20
Broccoli	4 oz	15
Cabbage - raw	cup	25
Carrots	4 oz	22
Cauliflower - raw	cup	30
Celery	stalk/rib	5
Chicory	4 oz	9
Chilies - dried	4 oz	338
Chilies - fresh	4 oz	21
Cucumber	8"	15
Eggplant/Aubergine	cup	26
Fennel	4 oz	11
Mushrooms	cup	18
Okra	cup	50
Onions	4 oz	40
Parsley - raw	4 oz	21
Peas	cup	125
Pepper - red	medium	25
Pepper - green	medium	20

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Cereals	Amount	Calories
Barley	1 oz	88
Cornflakes, plain	1 oz	87
Flour, plain	1 oz	88
Oatmeal	1 oz	108
Noodles, rice	4 oz	361
Rice, brown	1/2 cup	350
Rice, basmati	1/2 cup	330

weight gain