The right kind of meal plan can help you put extra weight on your frame. Whether you aspire to be a bodybuilder or simply to become healthier, choose foods that offer nutrition and calories at each meal and snack. Even though junk food provides a lot of calories, it will not maximize your body's ability to build muscle.
Calories
A meal plan to gain muscle and weight requires you to take in more calories than you burn. Aim to eat enough calories daily to equal about 18 to 20 times your current body weight in pounds, recommends fitness expert Anthony Ellis of Iron Magazine. For example, if you weigh 150 lbs., your goal should be between 2,700 and 3,000 calories daily. All of your calories should derive from nutritious foods like lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and unsaturated fats to ensure you obtain enough nutrition to support muscle growth--not just fat gain.
Nutrients
The International Society of Sports Nutrition says that strength-training individuals should take in a higher amount of protein than the average person. Go for between 1.4 and 2 g of protein daily per kilogram of body weight. To figure your weight in kilograms, divide your weight in pounds by 2.2. You also need adequate carbohydrates to fuel your workouts and fat to provide calories for weight gain. Muscle and Fitness recommends at least 60 to 80 g of carbohydrates per meal. Fat calories should comprise between 25 and 35 percent of daily calories, according to the American Heart Association.
Types of Foods
Lean proteins like egg whites, skinless poultry, extra-lean beef, pork tenderloin and tuna fish offer complete amino acid profiles to help build muscle with less saturated fat than processed meats, fatty cuts of beef and dark meat poultry. Brown rice, quinoa and fruits and vegetables are healthy sources of carbohydrates that can help you put on weight. These types of carbohydrates also provide fiber, to help you eliminate waste, and quality nutrients to assist in muscle development.
Strategy for Weight Gain
To fit in all the calories you need, eat six or seven small meals per day. Increase your calories at each sitting to gain weight by adding nuts like almonds, peanuts or walnuts, avocados or plant oils like flax or olive. These foods are a source of healthy, unsaturated fats and essential fatty acids which can help regulate hormones that facilitate muscle growth. Serve yourself larger portions of starches and proteins at each meal--go for an additional ounce or two of meat and an additional half-cup of grains to amount to 150 to 200 extra calories at each meal.
Exercise
To build muscle, you must perform consistent resistance training. While body-weight exercises like push-ups and lunges help develop functional strength, working out with free weights like barbells and dumbbells helps promote the most muscle growth, according to Ellis. After each workout, replace calories you burn with a protein-rich snack. Whey protein shakes are a popular choice because whey is quickly absorbed and easy to tolerate after exertion. Whey shakes come in pre-packaged or powdered forms, making them convenient for use at the gym.
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