To gain weight you have to eat more calories than your body needs for maintenance and daily activities. A program for underweight people to gain weight should consist of a nutrition plan, which ensures the required calories are derived from nutritious food and an exercise plan to stimulate the growth of lean muscle tissue.
Guidelines
Eat every two to three hours throughout the day to maintain steady blood sugar levels and keep your body supplied with calories and nutrients. This equates to five or six meals a day. Lack of nutrients will compel your body to use lean muscle tissue as energy, which will lead to weight loss. Ensure you have breakfast to provide energy for your morning activities.
Nutrition
Eat plenty of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. These are the macro-nutrients that provide you with calories and building blocks. Eat mostly complex carbohydrates such as oatmeal, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta, whole grain rice, sweet potatoes, potatoes and yams. Minimize your intake of fast foods, doughnuts, crackers, candy and chocolate. Although high in calories, most of the weight you gain from these is excess fat around your belly, hips and butt. Protein sources should include red meat, poultry, whole eggs, dairy products, fish, beans and pulses. Obtain healthy fats from avocados, almonds, cashews, flax seed oil, hemp seed oil and olive oil.
Exercise
Do resistance training exercises using a combination of free weight and resistance equipment in a gym. Target the major muscle groups of the chest, back, shoulders, legs and gluteals with compound movements. Compound movements involve the use of more than one joint. These include exercises such as the bench press, bent-over-rows, lat pulldowns, dead-lifts, clean and press, overhead press, squats and leg press. If you are new to weight training, start by using resistance equipment and light weights. Introduce more free weights as you get stronger. Do whole body workouts using heavy weights for six to 12 repetitions. Do three sets per exercise.
Frequency
Work out three days a week, ideally on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Keep your workouts short and intense with a maximum of one hour each session. Drink a weight gain supplement that contains simple carbohydrates and whey protein within 30 minutes of working out. This will replenish the nutrients used in your workout, quicken post-workout recovery and aid muscle growth. Get plenty of rest between workouts, go to bed early to ensure you get enough sleep and keep other activities to a minimum.
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