How do you gain weight without eating crap?
Posted on | September 2, 2010 |
I’ve been trying to gain weight without eating junk food, but it’s really difficult. I’m a vegetarian who doesn’t eat any refined foods or hydrogenated oils. What can I eat to gain weight?
Category: weight gain questions
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6 Responses to “How do you gain weight without eating crap?”
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September 2nd, 2010 @ 8:02 am
Hi dear,
follow these guidelines to gain healthy weight
- Eat nutritious foods that are high in calories. Examples are whole-grain breads, vegetables such as avocados and potatoes, kidney beans, lean red meat, poultry and fish.
- Increase the caloric value of your meals. Add powdered milk to casseroles for added calories, add avocados and olives to sandwiches, add wheat germ to your cereal, add chopped meat to your pasta sauce, and so on.
- Avoid skipping meals. Knowing how to gain weight involves consistent eating. Eat three meals a day and at least two snacks.
- Increase your normal portion size. Take a second scoop of pasta, or add two bananas to your oatmeal.
- Choose higher-calorie foods when given a choice. For example, corn is higher in calories than green beans.
- Relax - excessive fidgeting and restlessness can burn up a lot of calories.
-Add weight lifting to your exercise program. It helps build muscle mass.
- Balance your caloric intake with the number of calories you’re burning. You need to be taking in more than you use up, and you may need to ease up a little on your exercise program.
good luck
:o)
September 2nd, 2010 @ 8:02 am
I don’t know why you would want to gain weight. But the smartest thing to do would be work out and get your muscles bigger. Eat proteins and stuff and you won’t look as scrawney and you will gain weight!
September 2nd, 2010 @ 8:02 am
The most important rule of gaining weight is to eat more calories than you burn. Some people who are trying to gain weight go overboard with the amount of calories they eat. Taking in 4,000 or more calories is sometimes excessive. Unless you are on steroids, there is only so much muscle mass you can gain over a small period of time. Any extra calories you eat will be stored by your body as fat which can be unhealthy.
2
Use the Daily Calorie Needs Calculator (link available under resources at the bottom of this page) to estimate how many calories you burn each day. To gain weight you need to increase your calories by as much as 1,000 over the amount you burn. Going over this 1,000 extra calorie mark will help you gain weight faster but it will be mostly in the form of fat rather than muscle.
3
When increasing the amount of calories you are eating, try adding healthy foods instead of simply eating all the junk and fast food you can stomach. Healthy fats are unsaturated and found in oils, nuts, fish and some vegetables. Eating too much saturated (bad) fat can cause your cholesterol levels to increase which can lead to cardiovascular disease over time.
4
Your main source of carbohydrates should be complex carbs found in whole grains, oats, fruits, and vegetables. It is fine to have simple carbs (sugar) following a workout but taking in too much sugar over a long period of time can lead to excessive fat storage and type 2 diabetes.
5
Complex carbohydrates are digested a lot slower than simple carbs are which means your body will not need to use the energy right away. If you eat 300 calories of complex carbs which are digested over a period of hours, the energy will be released slowly. If you eat 300 calories of sugar, it will be digested in less than an hour and if you do not use that energy right away, it will be stored as fat.
Protein is an important part of any weight gain diet. This is no exception for a vegetarian wanting to gain weight. Vegetarians need to make sure they get enough protein by consuming legumes, nuts and seeds in combination with whole grain breads and cereals, as well as soy products. Getting enough protein is such a critical component in repairing and building lean muscle.
Nuts such as almonds are the most healthful. They have the most mono-saturated fat and the least saturated fat. An ounce or so can be a good source of protein and healthy fats. Fresh roasted almonds can be a great substitute for bacon. If you roast or bake an ounce or so to the point where they are quite brown, but not burned, in an oven of about 375 degrees or a bit more – and serve hot, they taste crispy and slightly smoky – just like perfectly done bacon; but almonds don’t have the saturated animal fats and preservatives that bacon has; and the almonds don’t taste greasy or make a greasy mess!
Legumes like lentils and black eyed peas are the best. They tend to produce the least gas, have the lowest glycemic index and have the most soluble fiber. Both can be use for soups and stews; and, lentils can be used to make a great vegetarian chili. Any of these dishes can be made nonfat or with just a bit of olive oil when appropriate. They can be a good cold weather addition to breakfast.
Some people consider themselves semi-vegetarians and eat fish. Fish can be good one to three times a week. Salmon has by far the most healthful oil and is quite satisfying. Halibut is one of the lowest fat fishes and is also good. Tuna is good. And, if you know and like other kinds by all means try them occasionally.
It would be a good idea buying a well written raw diet cook book which provides information on tasty foods and cooking methods to help you in your quest for size. One such book I would recommend is The Raw Gourmet by Nomi Shannon, which provides good nutrition information on how to gain weight for the natural bodybuilder. It teaches you about what foods to eat, protein and carb content, tips in combining raw food dishes, facts to support raw food benefits, and how the body functions in conjunction with switching to this type of diet.
The weight lifting principles for gaining significant weight and muscle are no different for a vegetarian, so I won’t touch this topic in this post. I would advise you to check out the training articles elsewhere on this site for information regarding the training aspect of weight gain.
Gaining weight does not have to be unhealthy. Healthy weight gain can be achieved through a solid weight training routine combined with increased calories from healthy foods. Eating anything and everything you see will lead to weight gain but it can also lead to excess body fat, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The healthy way is not slower or less effective, it is just healthier.
September 2nd, 2010 @ 8:02 am
No! ha no junk food, you don’t want that, you’ll gain the "bad" kind of weight and get love handles, you don’t want those because theyre hard to get rid off.
Now, since your a veggie, I suggest taking creatine, and there’s also protein for veggie’s which is either the brown rice kind or the soy kind, try them and see what results you get.
Good luck amigo
September 2nd, 2010 @ 8:02 am
work out and gain muscle is the best.
eat A TON of nuts, and pasta(whole wheat) and brown rice.
also, LOAD up on natural peanut butter!
omg! i wish i was in your position!! i love peanut butter and nuts, but theyre so high calorie.! i cant stop eating them theyre so good! so i just have to avoid them all together =(
have fun adn good luck!
September 2nd, 2010 @ 8:02 am
For most people, gaining weight is not the problem, losing it is. However, there are people who can eat large quantities of food and not gain an ounce. That sounds like a blessing, but those individuals who must go through life with little meat on their bones, and they tend to eat all the wrong things because they can get away with it. If you are looking for ways to naturally increase their weight and become healthier at the same time,
1
Stay away from greasy food and limit your stops at the fast food restaurants. You can increase your intake of calories by eating this kind of food, but it is not good for your body. Replace those foods with things that are more healthful.
2
Recognize that not all fats are bad for you. Omega 3 fatty acids are sound additions to your diet, and they are contained in fish and walnuts, among other foods.
3
Increase your daily ingestion of calories by 500. For example, if you normally eat 2,500 calories in a day’s time, increase that to 3,000. For many, that is difficult to do when you limit yourself to three meals each day. Consider adding a fourth or fifth meal if the added calories warrant it.
4
Supplement your diet with nutritional drinks. There is a huge variety on the market today and they can be found at most supermarkets and health food stores. You can also create your own favorite concoction of healthful shakes. Also, you might consider adding Omega 3 fatty acid and flax seed oil.
5
Begin an exercise routine and choose exercises that will enhance your program of weight-gain. Since you should be intent on increasing the calories in your diet, adding cardio exercises is unproductive because they typically burn calories. Rather, think about lifting weights or doing exercises routinely that focus on resistance training. You will be transforming fat into muscle. Adopting a proper exercise regimen will encourage weight-gain and better overall health.