Players, family, friends and fans enjoy football. Football is a strenuous sport that requires hard work from the body. Running, pushing and blocking opposing players are part of the game. Players need to provide their bodies with extra nutrients to perform in football games. To prepare for football games, a player may need to gain weight to meet the demands of the strenuous exercise.
Gaining Weight
Step 1
Plan your meals and snacks. To gain weight, you must take in more calories than you burn off. Frequent eating will help a person gain weight in a short amount of time. A football player may need three big meals, two snacks and a pregame load to more than replenish his body with calories and nutrients he needs to gain weight.
Step 2
Add protein to meals and snacks. Protein provides amino acids to muscles for growth and development. A person's normal protein needs are 0.8 to 1.0 grams per kilogram of body weight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For a person wanting to gain weight for football, extra protein will help build healthy muscle. In this case, 1 to 1.5 grams per kilogram of body weight is recommended. For example, a person who weighs 68.2 kilograms, the equivalent of 150 pounds, needs 68.2 to 102.3 grams of protein daily to build muscle. Peanut butter, poultry, beans and fish are great sources of protein.
Step 3
Eat healthy fats. Fats contain 9 calories per gram. Fat insulates the body and is used as an energy source. Healthy fats are abundant in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, according to MayoClinic.com. Avocados, fish, olive oil and nuts contain healthy fats. Small amounts of healthy fats have a large amount of calories with the nutritional benefits. One ounce of nuts, such as 23 almonds, has 160 calories. Swap out 1 tablespoon of olive oil instead of salad dressings for salads, slice avocados on sandwiches instead of using mayonnaise, and bake fish instead of fried chicken for main dishes to reap the benefits of calories and nutrition in healthy fats.
Step 4
Top your foods with condiments. Ketchup, barbecue sauce, gravies, cheese and bacon bits can pack calories into a dish. Using condiments is an easy way to gain weight without eating an abundance of food. Two tablespoons of barbecue sauce provides approximately 60 to 80 calories.
Step 5
Drink whole milk. Whole milk has 150 calories and 8 grams of fat. Not only can you drink whole milk, but cook with it too. Make macaroni and cheese, cream sauces, bake desserts and thicken soups with whole milk. Ice cream and milkshakes contain good sources of whole milk.
Things You'll Need
- Protein
- Healthy fats
- Condiments
- Whole milk
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