If you're underweight, you may struggle to put pounds on just as seriously as someone else struggles to lose weight and keep it off. Retaining and gaining weight can be especially difficult if you exercise regularly, which burns off calories that might otherwise help you get bigger. A healthy plan to gain weight and muscle involves both balanced eating and physical activity, which can work together to help you achieve your goal.
Diet Plan
If you're not currently gaining weight, you need to consistently eat more calories to put on pounds. The healthiest way to do that is not to down a burger and fries at every meal but instead to include more foods in your diet that are both nutritious and calorie-dense. A few examples are low-sugar granola, avocados, nuts and nut butter, seeds, cheese, cereal and whole grains. MayoClinic.com dietitian Katherine Zeratsky also recommends drinking calorie-rich beverages before or after meals, such as milk, 100 percent juice and smoothies.
Exercise
To avoid burning an unnecessarily high number of calories during exercise, choose a plan that focuses on strength training and mild to moderate aerobics. Doing regular sessions of resistance training will help you gain muscle instead of just fat and can also contribute to improving your appetite, according to CNN.com's physician nutrition specialist, Dr. Melina Jampolis. Try working out with dumbbells, weight machines or resistance bands. An added benefit of strength training is that it burns fewer calories than most aerobic exercises. For example, MayoClinic.com notes that an hour of weightlifting burns only about 220 calories for a 160-lb. person, but an hour of jogging burns nearly 600.
Pacing and Results
Jampolis states that a healthy rate of weight gain is about 1/2 to 1 lb. per week. It takes 3,500 calories to equal a pound, so you'll have to burn fewer calories each day and eat extra to make up that amount in a week. In addition to judging results by weighing yourself, you can also take your waist, hip and bust measurements regularly. Muscle is more compact than body fat, so if you do successfully gain strength with your exercise program, you may notice an increase in weight but not in measurements.
Considerations
Keep in mind that healthy weight gain is a gradual process, just like healthy weight loss. Involve your doctor in your efforts, since she will be able to tailor your plan to meet any health concerns you might have. You should be able to notice positive results from an effective eating and exercise plan within four to eight weeks.
Member Comments