While there are numerous supplements in the market that might help increase daily caloric intake, they

have no real benefits when compared to smart food and lifestyle choices, which are a healthier option in the long run. 1. Choose dairy products, eggs, fish and meat over bread and vegetables. Eat foods with high protein content such as beans, pulses and peas, and foods with high starch content such as potatoes, rice and tapioca. 2. Snack more often. Consume a lot of high-calorie snacks (not junk food) such as cheese sticks, milk shakes, muffins, dried fruits, yoghurt and breakfast bars. Also, eat larger portions and eat at least five meals a day. 3. Drink a lot of fluids that supply nutrients and calories like milk, fresh fruit juices and energy drinks. 4. You need to exercise really hard and intensely to gain muscle mass. Focus on free weight exercises (which do not require machinery) that target your large muscle groups. For example, you need dumbells, not fancy gym machines. If you have a high metabolic rate - which means you expend a lot of energy even at rest - you need short intense workouts instead of long periods of low-stress activity. 5. Be consistent. It might take a long time, usually a few months, for the weight to actually show. Some women get frustrated and quit when they fail to see drastic results. But no weight gain program will work for you if you are not regular! Remember: Heredity does play a major role in determining your weight. Effective weight training and a smart diet can help you exceed your genetically predetermined weight, but only to a certain extent. purvaja.sawant@timesgroup.com

High Calorie Foods for Weight Gain

By: Gunjan Rastogi , Onlymyhealth editorial team Date of Publishing:2012-02-08 00:00:00.0 | 41309 views

To increase your bulk, you need to add high-calorie food in your diet. Anyone can increase weight by consuming high amount of junk food, but junk food contains high quantity of saturated fat, which can cause severe health complications. For a healthy weight gain, you need to choose nutritious high-calorie food such as fatty fish, red meat, nuts, fruits, eggs, olive oil and peanut butter. To gain 1 lb. per week, you need to consume about 500 extra calories daily. Here is a list of food that can increase your weight: Healthy Fats Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are known as good or healthy fats because they are good for your heart, cholesterol and overall health. High on calories, these fats help you to

gain weight quickly and do not cause cardiovascular diseases. Instead of regular vegetable oil, use olive oil, canola oil and sunflower oil for cooking. Use peanut butter as a substitute for regular butter; two tablespoons of peanut butter offers about 188 calories and 16 g of fat. Include nuts (almonds, peanuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts, cashews) in your diet as they contain healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Replace meat with fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, trout, and sardines). High-Calorie Carbohydrates Choose nutritious high-calorie carbohydrate food over junk food. For healthy weight gain, you can add raisins to any of your meals; one cup of raisins contains 493 calories and 131 g of carbohydrates. During snack time, treat yourself with dates. Dates are high on calories and carbohydrates. Another nutritious high-calorie carbohydrate food is sweet potato. One cup of baked sweet potato gives 180 calories and 41 g of carbohydrates. Replace white rice with brown rice. Eating more fruits and limiting vegetable intake can help in weight gain as fruits have more calories than vegetables and are rich in carbohydrates. High- Calorie Proteins Normal food does not contain high amount of protein so you can replace it with a weight gain supplement such as a soy or whey protein shake. Protein supplements can increase your overall caloric intake. Make sure your weight gain supplement is a good mix of protein and carbohydrates and has less sugar content. Some sources of high-calorie protein include chicken breasts, protein powder, red meat and milk. You can increase the calories by mixing protein powder with milk or juice instead of water. Add 3-4 whole eggs in your breakfast as egg white gives protein and yolk adds calories. Increase Consumption of Dried Food Dried food are high on calories as they have low water content. Dried food such as dry fruits, whole-grain pretzels or breakfast cereals, potato chips and other snacks help one gain weight, but may causehigh blood pressure because of high sodium content. Dried food must be consumed in proper amount or their trans-fatty acids may affect health. A well-chosen diet will surely spare you from increasing the risk of chronic diseases such as heart attack and stroke.

How to Gain Weight

137 authors | 668 revisions | Last updated: December 23, 2012
Article

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Do you need to put on a few pounds to make a sports team, better your health, or simply to bulk up? Most people are out to lose weight, but you can reverse some basic dieting principles to gain some girth. Here's how to do it.
EditSteps
Eating for Weight Gain

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Determine how much more you need to eat to gain a pound. To gain a pound, you'll need an excess of 3500 calories above your resting metabolic rate (RMR) that is, you have to consume 3500 more calories than you burn.[1] Ads by Google

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Calculate your RMR. Your resting metabolic rate is the amount of calories per day that your body requires to maintain your existing weight. Here's how to figure it out with the Mifflin - St. Jeor formula[2]:

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Convert your weight from pounds to kilograms. Divide your weight in pounds by 2.2. The result is your weight in kilograms. Convert your height from inches to centimeters. Multiply your height in inches by 2.54. The result is your height in centimeters. Plug your information into the formula. The basic formula is RMR = 10 * weight(kg) + 6.25 * height(cm) - 5 * age(y) + x. For men, x = 5; for women, x = -161. Understand that the formula calculates how many calories you would burn if you spent the entire day resting. You probably burn a few hundred more than your RMR during the course of a normal day this is just a rough estimate to get your weight-gain diet started.

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Account for your activity level. Since you (hopefully) do not sit still in bed all day, you must account for the calories you burn through activity. Once you have your BMR, use the Harris Benedict Formula below to determine your total daily calorie needs depending on your activity level. To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor:
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If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : BMR x 1.2 If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : BMR x 1.375 If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : BMR x 1.55

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If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : BMR x 1.725 If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports and physical job or 2x training) : BMR x 1.9 For example, a 19-year-old woman who is 55 and 130 pounds would plug her information into the calculator and find out that her BMR is 1366.8 calories. Then, since she is moderately active, exercising 3-5 days per week, she would multiply 1366.8 by 1.55, to equal 2118.5 calories. That is the number of calories that her body burns on an average day.

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Evaluate how many additional calories you need to add to your diet. Now that you have an idea of how many calories your body burns in a day, you can calculate how many more you need to gain weight.

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Aim for one or two pounds per week. More than that could lead to a cycle of crash dieting, in which you gain and lose weight quickly. At first, try adding 500 calories a day to your diet. For instance, if you need 2300 calories a day to maintain your current weight, strive to consume 2800 calories daily. This should be an extra 3500 calories over the course of a week, which will lead to one pound of weight gained.

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Eat three meals per day, as well as two snacks. Eating on a regular schedule can help you make sure you're getting enough calories every day. Aim to have generously-portioned breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as two snacks in between.

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Focus on hefty foods. You don't have to exclusively eat high-fat foods to gain weight. Actually, you'll gain weight more steadily and safely if you adjust your diet slightly to include denser foods and extra condiments. Consider these options:

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Drinks Try protein shakes, juices or whole milk. Avoid diet sodas. Breads Hearty and dense breads, such as whole wheat, oat bran, pumpernickel and rye, are more nutritious than white bread. Cut thick slices and spread generously with peanut butter, jam, honey, hummus, or cream cheese. Vegetables Look for starchy vegetables (potatoes, peas, corns, carrots, winter squash, beets). Avoid vegetables that are mostly water (broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, green beans, cucumbers). Fruit Choose dense fruit (bananas, pears, apples, pineapple, dried fruit) over watery fruit (oranges, peaches, plums, berries, watermelon). Soups Go for hearty cream soups instead of broth-based soups. If you have trouble with edema or high blood pressure, you may want to avoid storebought soups that are high in sodium. Added oils When you're cooking, add a generous amount of oil to your food. The healthiest oils are unrefined (extra virgin) oils such as olive, coconut, canola, palm, and (of course) butter. Less healthy but still acceptable sources of oil are those high in omega-6 fatty acids (pro-inflammatory) such as safflower, sunflower, and peanut oils. Unhealthy oils that contain trans fats include shortening and soybean oil (aka vegetable oil).

Spreads Spreading delicious calorie-rich toppings on toast, crackers, pitas, and any other carbohydrate source is an excellent way to increase caloric intake. Some good high-calorie spreads are guacamole, olive oil, cream cheese, hummus, butter, nut butters, sour cream, cheese slices, and mayonnaise. For even more calories, mix these with shredded meats like chicken or fish. Supplements Some nutritional supplements are designed specifically for weight gain. Investigate brands and products that are suggested for people suffering from illnesses that lead to weight loss, such as Crohn's disease or hyperthyroidism.

7. 7
Avoid trans fats. Trans fats can increase belly fat, as well as inducing unhealthy insulin levels[3]. Steer clear of margarine, shortening, packaged snack foods, and processed meats.

8. 8
Eat more protein. A lack of protein in your diet can lead to the loss of lean body mass, even if you're consuming excess calories[4]. Here are some foods to consider [5]:
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Boiled soybeans Soy or whey protein powder Peanuts or peanut butter Steak or hamburger Chicken Tuna
Building Muscle to Gain Weight

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Start weight training. Building muscle through weight training will not only convert your extra weight into lean body mass, but it will also stimulate your appetite. Consider these points before you begin:

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The extra muscle will increase the speed of your metabolism, so you'll need to consume more calories to maintain or gain weight. During the first month of weight training, you may experience tremendous gains if you are faithful to your schedule. However, also expect this to level off after this initiatory period (known in the bodybuilding world as a plateau). You overcome this by re-evaluating your weight and muscle mass, while altering your diet to include more food and heavier weights. When you start a new training routine, you will often experience extreme muscle soreness, called DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).[6] This soreness is completely normal and should not prevent one from keeping to their weight training schedule. It goes away in 3 to 5 days.

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Lift heavy weights for maximum muscle gain. To achieve hypertrophy (or large muscles), you should be lifting weights that are as close as possible to the maximum you can handle [7].

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The weights should be so heavy that you hit "failure" (or the physical inability to lift again) after 12 or 13 reps. Use forced reps. With the assistance of a spotter, you can do 2 or 3 more lifts after the point of failure. Forced reps increase the stress placed on muscle fibers and overload the target muscles, making them work harder than ever. Have your training partner assist you in the last few lifts. Up your weight as soon as you need to. If you can do 15 lifts without hitting failure, you need more weight. It's vital that you keep increasing the weight of your lifts so that you can stave off plateauing.

3. 3
Supplement your diet with more protein. A protein-rich diet can help you gain mass while you're weight training[8]. Try to eat a meal that's heavy on protein shortly after you finish exercising.
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Avoid "rabbit starvation"[9], which can result from increased physical activity coupled by a diet focused almost exclusively on lean protein. Make sure your diet still has plenty of fat in it.
Troubleshooting

1. 1
Don't get your hopes set on gaining weight in one spot by eating more. The way your body distributes fat is largely determined by genetics, and can't be changed by diet alone. If you usually gain weight in your stomach but you want to gain it in your butt, your best bet is to build your gluteal muscles instead of trying to eat more.

2. 2
See a doctor. If you can't gain weight in spite of following the above steps, schedule an appointment with your family physician. You may have a medical condition that prevents your body from absorbing fat or building muscle.

3. 3
Weigh yourself at the same time each day. Because your weight can fluctuate throughout the day, try to set one time at which you'll step onto the scale. Many people prefer to weigh themselves first thing in the morning, before eating breakfast.

4. 4
Avoid binging. Cycles of binging (or overeating) and fasting have been shown to have negative effects on glucose and insulin levels, as well as potentially damaging metabolic processes over a long term [10][11]. Instead of pigging out at one meal because you want to consume as many calories as possible, try to spread that intake out over the entire day.

Everyone talks about weight loss, but what about those who are desperate to gain a few kilos?
"I am a 50 kg weakling!" complains Kishore, who has tried all kinds of remedies including high calorie weight gain powders, liver tablets, weight gain drinks and even colon cleansing.

Before we tackle that, though, let us first understand how do you know you are underweight? Simple. Calculate your Body Mass Index. If it is less than 18.5, you are underweight. Your BMI or body mass index is your weight in kilos divided by the square of your height in metres. (The normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9). There are numerous supplements in the weight gain market that might help increase daily caloric intake, yet they have no benefits when compared to smart food choices. Your mantra for today -- exercise

The basic principle of weight gain is simple: You need to consume more calories than you expend. Follow these 10 tips.

i. Eat more calories This involves some calculation. The approximate normal daily caloric requirement for an average male who performs light activity is 2,200; for a female, it is 1,900.You need to eat around 1,000 extra calories per day to gain less than half a kilo a week. Do the math. Eat larger portions and eat at least five meals a day. Your actual caloric requirement can differ depending on your height, weight, activity level and your body's metabolic rate. ii. Make smart choices For example, choose dairy products, fish and meat over bread. Choose eggs over vegetables. Eat foods with high protein content such as beans, pulses and peas, and foods with high starch content such as potatoes, rice and tapioca. iii. Protein is important Increase your protein intake. Your body needs a lot of protein to build new muscle. But since most of the calories for weight gain comes from carbohydrates and fats, do not replace them with protein. iv. Snack a lot Consume a lot of high-calorie snacks (not junk food) such as cheese sticks, milk shakes, muffins, dried fruits, yoghurt and breakfast bars. v. Fluids help too Drink a lot of fluids that supply nutrients and calories; milk, fresh fruit juices and energy drinks are good examples. vi. Intensify workouts Aerobics are great, right? Not for weight gain! You need to exercise really hard and intensely to gain muscle mass. vii. Weights are the way to go Focus on free weight exercises (which do not require machinery) that target your large muscle groups. For example, you need dumbells, not fancy gym machines. Is walking better than running? 16 healthy Ayurvedic mantras One hour spinning = perfect body

Free weights put the most stress on muscles and stimulate the maximum number of muscle fibres.

The best weight training exercises for building muscle mass are free weight exercises like squats, dead lifts, bench presses, barbell rows, pull ups and bar dips. These exercises are best done under supervision, but they don't need machinery. viii. Space out your workouts If you have a high basic metabolic rate -- which means you expend a lot of energy even at rest -- you need short intense workouts instead of long periods of low-stress activity. ix. Creatine? Creatine supplements can help some athletes gain weight. It is not known if it is because it gives them spurts of energy or because it adds water weight. More research is needed in this area before Creatine becomes that magic pill. Creatine supplements are available at all major health food stores, but do not take it without consulting your doctor. x. Be consistent It might take a long time, usually a few months, for the weight to actually show. Some people get frustrated and quit when they fail to see drastic results. Your body will only responds to a consistent schedule. No weight gain programme will work for you if you are not regular. Heredity does pay a major role in determining your weight. Effective weight training and a smart diet can help you exceed your genetically predetermined weight. Are carbs bad for you?