The need to gain weight does not give you license to eat a lot of unhealthy foods full of sugar and saturated fats. Underweight people are still vulnerable to developing health problems related to poor diet, despite a thin frame, warns a January 2008 article in the publication "Today's Dietitian." Gaining weight requires increasing calorie intake over your daily burn rate and making most of your calories come from nutritious, but calorie-dense, foods.
Step 1
Figure out how many calories you need to maintain your weight. Check a site like MyPyramid.gov. MyPyramid Plan asks for your age, gender, size and activity level to estimate daily calorie needs.
Step 2
Add 500 to 1,000 calories to the number from Step 1 to establish your daily calorie goal intake for gaining 1/2 to 1 lb. per week. Keep a food log to ensure you are hitting your calorie targets. Eat toward the high end of the range of serving sizes of foods from each of the groups recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid --- specifically whole grains, lean proteins, low-fat dairy, unsaturated fats and produce.
Step 3
Eat multiple meals throughout the day. Avoid skipping meals and include snacks between each meal and before bed. Have a fruit smoothie, made with a banana, 2 tbsp. of nut butter and a cup of soy milk for 400 calories; 2 tbsp. of peanut butter on a whole-wheat bagel for 450 calories; or 1/2 cup of trail mix for 300 calories for some of these snacks.
Step 4
Choose nutritious foods at mealtime that are high in calorie density. Opt for granola over flaked cereal at breakfast, whole-grain bread or rolls for sandwiches at lunch, chowders over broth-based soup at dinner and nuts over air-popped popcorn at snack time. Skip fried foods, processed foods like pizza bites and chicken nuggets and sugary sweets like candy, cakes and cookies --- they may be calorie-dense, but they do not offer a lot of nutrients.
Step 5
Add dry milk powder to foods to boost their calorie content. Stir it into mashed potatoes made with low-fat milk and olive oil, which is a healthy, unsaturated fat. Also add it to low-fat milk that you drink between meals or stir into casseroles.
Step 6
Drink calories between meals. Have a cup of low-fat milk, 100 percent juice or a yogurt smoothie with snacks for an extra 100 to 200 calories. Minimize drinking with meals, because it may squelch your appetite, warns Mayo Clinic nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D., on MayoClinic.com.
Step 7
Carry snacks with you to prevent the need to visit vending machines or fast-food restaurants. Stash nuts in your briefcase, natural energy bars in your backpack or dried fruit in your car's glove-box.
Tips and Warnings
- Good bedtime snacks include sandwiches made with meat and low-fat cheese, yogurt with fresh fruit or milk with graham crackers and nut butter. If your appetite is weak, add healthy, unsaturated fats to existing meals. Try sprinkling nuts over your morning cereal, slice avocado into a sandwich or salad or add olive oil to pasta.
- If you have lost weight suddenly, or are underweight due to an illness, please consult your health provider.
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