If you want to gain weight healthily, you should consider a few things when it comes to nutrition. Find out here how to achieve your desired weight with healthy food.
Thin people are often envied for their figure. But there are also many who would like to gain a little weight. At the same time, they want to continue to eat healthily. This initially sounds like a contradiction. But even with a healthy diet, it is possible to gain weight.
Gain healthy weight: what is your goal?
If you want to gain weight, you should set yourself a specific goal. If you are currently underweight (this corresponds to a body mass index below 18.5), you can calculate what the approximate normal weight is for your height. But even if you are of normal weight and would like to gain a little weight, it is good if you set yourself a goal.
Food diary and nutrition plan
Basically, gaining weight is very simple: you just have to take in more calories than you burn. The Apothekenumschau recommends that you estimate your current daily calorie intake and try to increase this value by 500 kilocalories.
In practice, however, this is more difficult. Keeping a food journal can help you figure out what your eating habits are and how you can change them. If you are underweight, you should also have a doctor examine whether your diet is really the only cause of the underweight.
In order for you to manage to consume the necessary amount of calories, you should create a nutrition plan. In the following sections you will find some tips for this.
Gaining weight healthily: More meals
For a healthy diet, three meals a day with sufficiently long breaks in between are usually recommended. However, this is rather impractical for gaining weight. A better choice is five to six small meals a day, which will give you enough calories without feeling stuffed.
Eat right
Basic principles of gaining weight:
Foods with a high energy density such as potatoes, rice or cereals will help you gain weight.
Equally important are fats, especially unsaturated fatty acids. These are found, for example, in many oils, nuts and avocados.
But high-fat animal products such as cream, cheese and sour cream also help you gain weight.
Some types of fish, such as salmon or herring, are also healthy and rich in fat. And finally, it can also be a piece of high-quality meat every now and then.
Vegetables and fruits are generally low in energy density, but they contain important nutrients. That’s why they also belong in your nutrition plan.
Practical tips:
Vegetables and fruit are best combined with high-calorie foods: You can refine soups and sauces with high-quality oils, cream or crème fraîche and top salads with pickled vegetables, cheese cubes and seeds or nuts.
You can also make your breakfast richer: stir crème fraîche, linseed oil or nuts into your muesli, for example. Breads can be lavishly topped.
Snacks are also important: Muesli bars, nuts and dried fruit are particularly healthy and nutritious. Shakes and smoothies can also quickly provide you with a good portion of energy without being too filling.