While many people struggle to lose weight, there are others who struggle to gaining it. Gaining healthy body weight goes beyond just consuming more calories, however. Gaining weight in the form of lean muscle tissue requires an increase in calories from healthy food sources, plus a solid strength-training program to build up muscle tissue. Consult your doctor before beginning any weight-gain program.
Caloric Intake For Weight Gain
Weight gain occurs when you consume more calories than you burn. The most effective way to gain lean muscle tissue is by increasing the number of calories you eat a day slightly beyond what you eating to maintain your current weight. A daily caloric increase of 250 to 500 calories will result in a half- to 1-pound weight gain in a week. For example, if you are currently consuming 2,000 calories a day to maintain body weight, increase your calorie intake to 2,250 to 2,500 a day. Calories should also be distributed evenly over six to seven meals a day. If you don't gain weight gain, increase calories slightly each week until it does. If weight gain occurs in the form of fat tissue, decrease calorie intake slightly.
Protein
The amino acids founds in protein are essential in building lean muscle tissue. Without adequate protein intake, your body will not be able to increase muscle tissue, and the extra calories you're consuming may be stored as fat. Protein intake should be about 1.5 grams daily per pound of body weight, Roger Lockridge writes on the Bodybuilding website. Good sources of protein include lean chicken or turkey, egg whites, lean beef, fish, low-fat dairy products and whey protein.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrate intake is essential to fuel your workouts. Healthy carbohydrate sources include leafy green vegetables, fruits, potatoes and whole grains. Leafy green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, asparagus and green beans are low-calorie, nutrient-dense, fibrous foods that are often considered "free foods," meaning they are not to be included in your total daily caloric intake. Of the remaining carbohydrates, consume about 2.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight daily, at breakfast and in the meals around your workouts, suggests Lockridge.
Fat
Essential monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats should consist of about 20 percent of your total daily calories. Good fat sources include olive or canola oil, fatty fish such as salmon or tuna, natural peanut or almond butter, nuts or seeds. Avoid saturated or animal fats and trans fats found in processed foods.
Exercise Recommendation
Weight training is essential to gain lean muscle tissue. Individuals struggling with weight gain should strength-train using compound, power movements such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, lunges and military presses. Training with heavy power exercises with longer rest periods between sets and limiting aerobic exercise will help increase muscle mass, Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote in his "Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding." Strength-train four or five times a week, targeting all the major muscle groups. Perform three to five sets per exercise with six to 10 repetitions per set, resting two to three minutes between sets; never work the same muscle group on consecutive days.
References
- Bodybuilding; Hardgainer Muscle Building; Roger Lockridge
- "Encyclopedia Of Modern Bodybuilding"; Arnold Schwarzenegger; 1985
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