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Weight Gain

Weight Gain

Weight Gain: Surprisingly, weight is a major concern of this century. While millions of people living in developed countries such as the United States and Britain are struggling with obesity and overweight, a large group of the population in less developed parts is struggling with underweight and undernutrition. And this problem of underweight is increasing. At an alarming rate. Interestingly, women are more commonly underweight than men.

There can be innumerable reasons for someone to lose weight. One of the most common reasons is malnutrition or nutritional deficiency. Some people try their best but are unable to gain weight. If you are struggling to put on the necessary kilos, then look no further. In this article, we will cover all the tips and tricks that will help you to gain healthy weight. So, get your glasses on and read through the entire article to find out more.

1)- Do you really need to gain weight?
2)- Causes of being underweight
3)- The risk associated with low weight
4)- How to gain weight Tips
       •  Increase your calorie intake
       •  Eat several meals a day
       •  Go nutrition dense not just energy dense
       •  Some more tips for increasing weight
5)- Foods to gain weight
6)- Resistance training exercises to increase weight
7)- Eat protein supplements to gain weight

Do you really need to gain weight?

When it comes to your weight before handling things, first learn how to get the right and healthy weight for your age and height. To find out, you need to know about your BMI (body mass index) What does BMI mean and how does it determine your healthy weight requirements? Let us see it below.

As mentioned earlier, it is important to make sure if you are really underweight or not. Losing weight is more important than gaining and maintaining a healthy weight. Therefore, before jumping from one fad diet to another or going to CrossFit or running a marathon, read your BMI. You might not really need to lose weight.

BMI is a measurement of body fat based on your height and weight measurement. Your BMI calculation will tell you what weight you come in and if you need to gain weight. The classes are as follows:

Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
Overweight = 25–29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater​

Now, if you belong to the category of underweight, you certainly need intervention to bring your weight to normal.

Causes of being underweight

Once you have figured out that you need to put on weight, you must acknowledge the various causes that may beresponsible for your condition. Some of the most common causes are as follows:

High metabolism: A person with fast metabolism may not be able to gain weight even after the intake of high-calorie food. This is because their body has a tendency to digest and burn all the nutrients to prevent fat deposition in the tissues. However, rapid metabolism may also be associated with certain health conditions such as thyroid disorders. You can learn about your metabolism through reading your BMR or basal metabolic rate and have a doctor check if necessary.

Eating disorders:If you constantly obsess over your weight and tend to ditch food often, anorexia nervosa may be the cause of your excessively lean body. It is an eating disorder, in which the person has a distorted idea of a lean body leading to difficulties in maintaining healthy body weight.

Family history: Some people have a naturally low BMI due to genes in the family. In such a condition, almost all family members suffer from underweight. Not much can be done when it comes to genes but you can eat healthy and nutritious food to improve the condition.

Malnutrition: Adequate nutrition is important to maintain normal weight and good health. The absence of diet or lack of certain nutrients and unhealthy eating patterns can lead to low weight status.

Celiac disease and Crohn’s disease: These diseases affect the digestion and absorption of food in the body, especially in the intestines resulting in nutritional deficiency.

Age: Older individuals have slow digestion and relatively defective nutrient absorption. Loss of appetite can also be experienced. Feeding tooth loss becomes difficult and cumbersome and on top of that, they also experience loss of appetite. Together, these all lead to weight loss.

There are some other reasons that do not let your weight gain: Stress, substance abuse and illnesses like Parkinson’s disease, cancer, viral hepatitis, and COPD are some other causes of the underweight problem.

The risk associated with low weight

In today’s world, people often want to receive praise from thin and thin society. In a social media savvy world, it has become a pose to be popular and famous for looking attractive and fit. But being lean should never come at the cost of your health. Nobody cares about the risks associated with extremely lean or dangerously low weight status. However, one should always be careful about the consequences when it comes to your health such as:

  • People who are underweight have a higher risk of developing osteoporosis, which increases the likelihood of bone fractures.
  • Underweight individuals are at greater risk of developing infections and diseases due to their infected immune levels.
  • Anemia and nutritional deficiencies are very common. These conditions often indicate prolonged periods of lethargy and fatigue.
  • Women who are underweight may have regular menstrual problems. Often menstruation also stops completely. The condition of the continuous absence of menstrual flow is called amenorrhea. You may have this condition if you have missed three consecutive menstrual periods. Since amenorrhea is a symptom of hormonal imbalance due to underweight, it can lead to infertility, osteoporosis, and other health complications. to infertility, osteoporosis and other health complications. Some people may also face delayed healing of wounds.

How to gain weight: Tips

Like any regime to maintain a healthy weight, weight gain is a journey and not a destination. A healthy weight can be maintained only with improvement in their lifestyle and dietary habits. Therefore, if you want to put on a few extra kilos then be prepared to improve and improve your habits. And the most important thing is to keep the spirits because laziness is not just going to make you fat. Here is an easy step by step guide to healthy weight gain.

Increase your calorie intake

When it comes to gaining weight, the math is very simple: you need to feed more calories than you burn. This creates a pure calorie excess. These extra calories (energy) are stored as fat or used in muscle building and body repair. Simply put, you will not increase if you do not eat more than your maintenance calories (for normal body functions and regulation).

The number of pure calories for women should be around 1600 to 2400 calories and for men, it is in the range of 2000 to 3000 calories. To gain weight you need to take more than the above amount per day. However, it is best to check with a dietitian to know how much your total calories should be according to your age, physical activity, and BMI.

Eat several meals a day

We all usually eat three meals a day. But if you are someone who is underweight, then try to increase your food intake. According to one study, eating more often ultimately increases your total food intake in a day. This means that even if you are not otherwise you will be hungry at specific times of the day. Make sure you eat a small portion each time instead of keeping yourself full. This will also increase your overall calorie intake during the day. For best results, you can have about 6 to 8 small meals a day.

If it is not possible for you to eat more often, then at least give yourself a slightly larger portion than you usually eat.

Go nutrition dense not just energy dense

Consuming more calories is no doubt that you will help you gain weight quickly. But eating more does not mean that you are free to ban fast food.

Increase the intake of high quality and nutritious food throughout the day rather than just snacking on chips. While these can meet your energy needs immediately, energy-dense foods add to your total calorie intake without providing you with any nutrition. A healthy diet should contain adequate amounts of carbs, protein and fat, while at the same time meeting your body’s requirements for essential minerals and vitamins.

Fix yourself green salads and healthy fruit salads or just make some latte wraps or cheese sandwiches for yourself. Add as many colors as you’ll to your plate. If you prefer more traditional dishes, try adding healthy spices like cumin and carom seeds to your spices and go for baking and fry instead of deep fry.

A balanced diet ensures that you get proper nutrition to repair and regenerate body cells; So you can get healthy muscles instead of accumulating layers of fat.

Some more tips for increasing weight

Although eating healthy and exercising daily is the best way to gain weight, it is important to pay attention to a few points to make this process hasty. Let us look at them as well:

  • Get the habit of taking proper food even when you are not hungry. In this way, there will be an overall increase in your calorie intake which will eventually help you gain a few extra kilos.
  • Eat before and after a workout session. It can be in the form of protein bars, protein shake and smoothies. Don’t forget to take your carbs. They will provide you with energy for your workouts so that you do not get tired or injure yourself and can aid in muscle recovery after a workout.
  • Reward yourself as food. This does not mean that you start eating refined and processed food. Feast on high calorie food such as meat, especially on red meat. They are rich in protein, fat and other nutrients and facilitate muscle growth.
  • Consult a health professional for other low weight health issues. They will diagnose the cause and help you find a solution. Consider counseling for eating disorders and ways to reverse it.
  • If you are underweight due to age related issues like tooth loss. Consult a dentist for denture fabrication. Never ignore the demands of your body even in old age.
  • Never skip food due to stress. This will affect your health and may increase stress levels even more.

Yoga Mudras: There are some yoga postures which if any person does daily, their body weight will definitely increase. These Yoga Mudras (Hasta Mudras) should be done with restraint, otherwise they are done in the morning. But if you do not have time, you can gain by using these yoga postures whenever you are free. Those yoga postures are like this.

Example: Prithvi Mudra  

Foods to gain weight

Now you know about the calorie density and nutritional value of foods and can think about how much you can eat. The question is, what can you eat? This section will tell you all your food choices in every macronutrient category.

Protein: Proteins handle all the manufacturing and repair processes of your body. They help increase your total muscles. But as always, it has a catch. You need to do strength training exercises with extra intake of protein to ensure that it is metabolizing properly in the body and not adding to your blood uric acid. Do we not want joint pain anymore? Again it is best to talk to a dietitian or your instructor to know the correct amount of protein according to the amount of physical activity in a day. Some readily available sources of protein include some pulses, eggs, lean meat, chicken, and soy. Cheese, milk and yogurt are some sources of dairy protein. 

Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates give you the immediate source of energy you need to maintain throughout the day and they are known to promote weight gain. However, all that weight is in the form of stored fat, which is not healthy. Instead of applying ghee to sweets and refined flour, take complex grains such as whole grains, green vegetables, oats and legumes. Complex carbs do not lower your blood sugar levels and provide you with a stable source of energy. So you can get up all day and go.

Fat: When it comes to gaining weight, most people become moderate with their fat intake. However, not all fats are good for health and it is important to balance between your intake of saturated and unsaturated fats. Try to include more healthy (unsaturated) fats in your diet along with foods such as avocado, nuts, olives and fish. Garnish your healthy fat oils like olive oil and salads like sunflower, pumpkin and chia seeds. You can also include nut butters such as almond butter and peanut butter in your diet.

Resistance training exercises to increase weight

First of all, let’s know, what exactly is resistance training? It is a type of exercise in which your body works against a resistance force. Some examples of resistance training include weight machines, free weights, and the use of resistance bands. You can also use your body weight for this type of exercise. Strength training promotes muscle growth by promoting the formation of completely new muscle fibers and increasing the size of your muscle cells. The latter is called muscle overgrowth.

  • Do a strength training exercise of your choice at least 2-3 times per week. This will take time for your muscles to recover. Interestingly, muscle growth occurs only during the recovery period.
  • Choose an exercise that involves many muscles of your body rather than focusing on just the arm or leg muscles.
  • To avoid injuries, it is best that you do your daily workout under the observation and guidance of a gym trainer or physiotherapist.
  • If you want good results, then keep your workout short and intense.

Eat protein supplements to gain weight

Protein supplements are usually one of the first things to come to mind when it comes to weight gain and muscle building. Amazingly, the corridors of the supermarket are filled with various protein supplements suited to different age groups. But before you decide to buy a pack, it is important to know a little about it.

Protein supplements are dietary proteins containing many types of proteins such as whey protein, soy protein, and casein. It is generally advised for individuals whose dietary protein intake does not meet their body’s requirement. One drawback of taking protein supplements is that it does not provide you with other beneficial nutrients that the entire protein can source. On the other hand, the benefit of taking protein supplements is that it increases muscle mass and enhances performance. But this will only happen when you include strength training exercises in your routine while taking protein supplements.