Need to gain weight, whether it's to gain muscle mass, health reasons, overcome appetite problems, recharge for exercise, or break the lean gene? Whatever the reason, gaining weight can be difficult, especially if you have limited funds. With these steps, you can gain weight fast.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Gain Weight Healthily
Step 1. Solve the problem causing the weight loss
Sometimes, weight loss is caused by illness or other health problems, so if you think your health is compromised, contact your doctor.
To gain weight after an illness, eat plain, easy-to-digest foods, such as eggs and smoothies. Also try to eat 150g of meat every day. If your immune system is weak, avoid raw fish
Step 2. Call your doctor before starting a new diet/exercise plan
Make sure you mention the plan and ask questions you don't understand. To get a diet plan that suits your condition, consider seeing a nutritionist.
Step 3. Increase the weight slowly
Gaining weight is more difficult than losing it. Be patient, don't overdo it. Try to gain 250-500g per week, adding 250-500 calories to your diet.
Step 4. Eat little, but often
Try eating 6 small meals a day, instead of 3 large meals a day. Eating smaller meals helps you maintain healthy eating habits, prevents you from feeling full, and helps you accumulate calories.
To save money, prepare snacks and meals ahead of time
Step 5. Eat a little more than the normal portion
Instead of forcing yourself to eat too much, try to eat a little more than the normal portion, so you don't feel too full and have an upset stomach, or eat less at a later date.
Adding a little food from the normal portion also means you don't have to spend a lot of money on food, because you only need to increase the portion in your cooking
Step 6. Eat a balanced diet
Each serving of food should have protein, carbohydrates, vegetables, and fat. You don't have to rely on junk or fast food to gain calories and weight, because there are always healthier options for gaining weight.
- In addition to counting calories, you must also count other nutrients. Make sure the food you eat is balanced, and that you are consuming enough vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Start your diet with nutritious foods, then add calories from yogurt, nuts, and healthy fats.
- Make sure you eat protein in every meal, instead of empty carbs, if you want to build muscle mass.
- Also consume fruits and vegetables in every meal. Although fruits and vegetables don't have many calories, they do contain important vitamins and minerals. If you buy fruits and vegetables at a discount, you can even save money.
- Junk food is cheap, but you can still enjoy healthy nutritious food without spending a lot of money. You can save money and still gain weight with healthy foods by freezing foods, buying discounted foods, and choosing inexpensive healthy foods.
Step 7. Exercise regularly
To gain weight, don't focus on fat, but also strengthen your muscles and heart. Lift weights, run or walk, take stairs, swim, or exercise in some other way. Try to exercise at least 4 times a week for 20 minutes or more. The longer you exercise, the better, but if you don't exercise much, start slowly.
Step 8. Try strength training to help build muscle mass, and ensure that your weight is on the right body parts
Eat a high-protein diet after a workout to help build muscle mass.
- Even if you're not gaining muscle mass, you should still be diligent about eating healthy snacks before and after strength training to gain weight.
- You can do weight training without paying for a gym membership. A variety of exercises that only require body and free space are available to help you train and build muscle mass.
Step 9. Increase your appetite
You may find it difficult to gain weight because of a lack of appetite, but there are ways to increase your appetite. Take a little walk before eating, choose a food you like, and add spices and seasonings to make the meal even more delicious.
- Avoid drinking before meals, as water fills the stomach, so you eat less.
- Fruits taste sweet, and can increase your appetite. Try mixing fruit with other nutritious foods, such as yogurt, into a smoothie.
Step 10. Drink enough water, no less than 6-8 glasses a day, as part of your diet
Avoid drinking before meals, as water fills the stomach, so you eat less.
Step 11. Reduce consumption of animal fat and sodium
Most calorie-dense foods are high in saturated fat and sodium. To gain weight healthily, reduce your intake of fat and sodium. Animal fats can affect your heart health, and sodium can raise blood pressure. Therefore, be careful when consuming animal fat and sodium.
Vegetable fats like nuts, seeds, peanut butter, avocado, hummus, and vegetable oils are healthy fats, high in nutrients, and high in calories. Vegetable fats are also usually cheaper than animal fats, making them more wallet-friendly
Step 12. If you can't read nutrition labels yet, learn how to read nutrition labels, and make it a habit to read the nutrition labels of every food you read
Check serving size, calorie content, fat, protein, fiber and vitamins.
Method 2 of 2: Choosing the Right Food
Step 1. Choose calorie-rich foods in small servings to maximize weight gain efforts
High-calorie foods are usually fatty, so make sure the fat in the food is healthy fat. Although dairy products and animal fats are good for the body and can be healthy, if you consume them in excess, you are at risk for heart disease.
- Although animal fat is nutritious and contains the same number of calories as vegetable fat, animal fat contains saturated fat, which can increase levels of bad LDL cholesterol in the body.
- Eat nuts, seeds, peanut butter, avocado, and hummus. They are usually inexpensive, or easy to make at home.
- Add healthy oils, such as olive or canola oil, to foods, such as vegetables or lettuce. Both types of oil are usually sold at low prices.
- Eggs are usually inexpensive, and can be a good option to add calories and protein to your diet.
- Potatoes, oats, and bananas are calorie-dense foods that are perfect for your diet. Potatoes and oats can also be mixed and matched with a variety of other foods.
Step 2. Eat full-fat foods, such as milk, yogurt, and other dairy products
If your blood cholesterol level is high, this option is not an option, but if not, eating a full fat diet can easily increase your calorie intake.
Dairy products also contain protein, calcium, and vitamin D
Step 3. Choose inexpensive foods that are rich in protein, such as whey protein
Whey protein is the cheapest protein to add to your diet. In addition to whey protein, Greek yogurt, peanut butter, eggs, tuna, and tempeh can also be good choices.
Step 4. Choose foods with high fat content
Oily fish and tuna are great for cheaply increasing calorie intake. The price of tuna is also affordable, and can be the right food to increase nutrient and calorie intake with limited funds.
Step 5. Buy large quantities of food, such as meat, and freeze the rest
When buying food at the store, check the unit price, not the total price. Purchase food from grocery stores to reduce costs.
Buy a sack of brown rice. The rice can be used for weeks
Step 6. Make your own Greek yogurt
Greek yogurt is rich in protein, but can be quite expensive. Making your own Greek Yogurt can save you money, and help you add it to your diet. To make your own Greek yogurt, you only need to buy milk.
- Greek yogurt is easy to make yourself.
- You can use additional whey from the Greek yogurt-making process to add flavor and calories to breads, smoothies and pancakes. You can even drink it, even if it doesn't taste that great.
Step 7. Avoid protein bars, as they are not worth the calories
Instead, save funds for protein bars to buy other high-calorie and economical foods.
Step 8. Buy dry foods, such as pasta and beans
Pasta with whole grains, seeds, lentils, and beans is inexpensive, and high in calories and protein. Lentils and pasta are easy to cook, and although dried beans take a long time to cook, you can cook large quantities at once, eat them as needed, and then freeze the rest.
Step 9. Drink high-calorie juices, and use seasonings that are rich in calories
Drinking juice instead of water, and using condiments like mayonnaise, ranch, thousand island, or Caesar sauce will increase your calorie intake.
Step 10. Eat dried fruits
Dried fruit is a solid source of calories that is easy to add to your diet. You can add dried fruit to your lettuce mix, yogurt, dessert, or snack, or just eat it on the go. Dried fruit is a good option to add extra calories and nutrients to your diet.
Step 11. Buy foods on discount in bulk, including vegetables and fruits, then save them for later use
While you can't buy fresh fruit and vegetables in bulk, you can choose fruits and vegetables that are on sale
Step 12. Eat peanuts
Some types of nuts may be expensive and don't fit into your budget, but peanuts are usually cheap, and are high in calories. Peanuts are easy to carry and enjoy as a snack, and you can add them to ready-to-eat foods, such as chicken.
- Eat peanuts without salt to reduce sodium intake. Too much sodium intake can cause blood pressure to rise.
- If you find another type of nut that is on sale, buy it. Nuts are rich in protein, fiber, healthy fats and calories.
Step 13. Buy generic foods
Generic brands cost less than well-known brands, so, to cut costs, try to use as many generic brands as possible.
Tips
- Don't try to gain weight too fast. Your muscles will develop, and your body will store the extra calories as fat, but the process takes time. Be patient.
- Set a target weight, then cut calories once you reach your target.
- Do not eat too much, because you will feel sick and your body will be damaged. Eat in moderation, add a little food from the usual portion, but don't overdo it.
