While many people crave the lean look, being too thin has its drawbacks. Causes of being underweight include stress, illness, deficiencies in digestive enzymes or stomach acid, eating disorders and depression. To gain weight, try to consume more calories than you burn and exercise regularly to build muscle. The best sources for your daily calorie intake include whole grains, fruit, vegetables, dairy, lean meat and plant protein and nuts and seeds.
Food Diary
Carry a notebook with you and keep a record of what you eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Then, see how you can add more calories. If you eat plain white toast, make it whole-grain and spread cream cheese or peanut butter and jelly on it. Grate Parmesan cheese into your soups and salads. Include cheese in your sandwiches, casseroles and eggs. Add dry milk powder to your milk.
Calorie Count
From the list of what you eat, calculate your daily calorie intake and add an extra 500 to 1,000 more calories. See what foods you can replace with higher-calorie choices. Replace orange juice with cranberry juice. Choose split pea soup instead of chicken noodle. While there's no one-size-fits-all magic bullet, according to Elena Blanco-Schumacher, a clinical dietitian at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center in Wilmington, Delaware, you can tailor a plan based on your own preferences and dietary needs.
Frequent Meals
Rather than three meals a day, eat five or six smaller portions. High-calorie fruit and vegetables include bananas, pineapple, avocados, peas, corn, potatoes and winter squash. Eat high-fiber cereal sprinkled with ground flaxseed. Eat lean meat and fish. Include with dinner whole-grain bread, such as rye and pumpernickel, and dip it in extra-virgin olive oil.
Healthy Drinks
Drink plenty of water throughout the day, but avoid coffee, tea and diet soda, which offer low calories and no nutritional value. Instead, drink calories in fruit shakes made with milk or yogurt. Avoid drinking just before or during a meal. A smoothie recipe from the McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois combines one cup of bananas or berries, one cup of vanilla yogurt, 1/2 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of fruit juice and 1 tbsp. of ground flaxseed in a blender and process until smooth. Peanut butter also is a healthy addition to a shake.
Snacks
Stock up on nuts and dried fruits as snacks. Carry around a bag of trail mix made with walnuts or almonds and raisins or dried cranberries. Dried figs also provide high-calorie nutrients. Spread peanut butter or mashed avocado with a squeeze of lemon on whole-grain crackers.
Considerations
In addition to making healthy, high-calorie food choices, build your muscles -- and stimulate your appetite -- with a good exercise program. See your health practitioner to review your dietary needs and determine what kind of exercise regimen is best for you.
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