What foods can you use to gain weight? What foods help you gain weight quickly?

Anyone who purposefully wants to gain weight thinks in advance about a list of products that will speed up this process. And here it is very important not to make a mistake, so that along with your body weight, various immediate problems with the body and long-term consequences in the form of diseases do not come to you. The information presented below will help you understand the nuances of choosing the products necessary for weight gain.

What mass is needed? Clarifying the goal

Before choosing products for weight gain, you should determine exactly what weight you are talking about.

First option

You want to gain weight in general, gain weight, get a little fatter. This problem is typical for thin people (ectomorphs) with an increased metabolism, which prevents them from gaining weight. In this case, nutrition should not only ensure active metabolism, but exceed it at least twice. And if, in addition, you play sports or work involves physical or mental stress, then three times. This influx of energy is ensured by the predominant inclusion of foods rich in carbohydrates in the diet.

Second option

You are an endomorph, a person prone to obesity, and you only need to gain muscle weight. The advantage in the diet will be given to the protein component, and less carbohydrates will be required.

Determine the reasons for thinness

Being thin or thin can be painful. If you have always been in the body, and then suddenly lost weight, you need to see a doctor. The examination will show whether there is a painful component to rapid weight loss. In some cases, weight loss may be associated with type 1 diabetes, the appearance of malignant neoplasms, stress or depression, or the presence of parasites in the body.

If the state of health does not raise questions, the cause of thinness may be congenital characteristics of the body. Asthenics often face a lack of weight, fat and muscle mass. People of this body type have thin bones and minimal muscle mass.

You can find out if you belong to this type by measuring the circumference of your wrist. If the resulting value is less than 15 cm for women and 18 cm for men, you can safely be classified as an asthenic body type.

Another reason for being thin is often a good metabolism. And this is more a plus than a minus. Be that as it may, metabolism slows down with age, so being slim will not always be your “flaw.”

Expert commentary

Elena Kalen, nutritionist, expert in the psychology of weight loss, certified coach

Today it is fashionable to lead a healthy lifestyle and have a beautiful body. Millions are busy losing their weight. However, there is another category of people who dream of gaining weight. A person who is not slender, but thin, evokes the idea of ​​a painful condition.

The roots of thinness can indeed be a disease, so a person who wants to gain weight should do a full medical examination and check the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, hormonal levels, the presence of parasites, and be tested for tumor markers.

It is also necessary to remember that constant stressful situations, poor nutrition and lack of a healthy lifestyle can lead to thinness. Some people work so hard that they simply collapse in the evening from fatigue, forgetting about food.

Determine the required calorie content

To gain weight, you need to increase your caloric intake. At the initial stage, it is recommended to increase the energy component by 15–20%.

Calculate how many calories you currently consume, add the percentage of this amount and get the number of calories needed to increase weight.

In the future, if the mass indicators do not increase, increase by the same amount.

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Butter

Butter should be in your diet if you want to gain weight. This is a high-calorie product. In large quantities it is harmful, so you should choose high-quality oil. According to most people, oil is harmful because it contains cholesterol, but in fact, in small quantities it is not only not harmful, it is beneficial and important for the body. It is believed that cholesterol is the culprit of atherosclerosis, but in fact this only occurs when there is an excess of it, in combination with other unhealthy processes in the body, for example, when the thyroid gland is not functioning properly. In fact, cholesterol is needed for sex hormones. Have you noticed that if you do not eat enough cholesterol-containing foods, your hormonal levels may be disrupted and your menstrual cycle may change? Even children have cholesterol added to their diet to strengthen their immunity.

So, are you still giving up butter?

You don’t need to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but don’t exclude it from your diet, use it only cold, that is, first heat the porridge and then add oil. It should not be heated. If you are going to bake with butter, do not microwave it, let it melt naturally.

Nutrient ratio

So, you have decided on the dominant nutrient in your diet and your daily calorie intake. However, food products for the mass must contain proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fiber and vitamins. This should be taken into account when choosing them.

First, determine the percentage of the main nutrient. In the first case, these are carbohydrates. Let's say you decide that they will be 60% of your daily calorie intake. Add proteins 20-30%, the rest - fats.

Foods for gaining muscle mass are distributed differently: proteins 60%, and carbohydrates 30%. Leave 10% of daily calories for fats. These data are approximate and depend on individual characteristics, so they need to be adjusted. If your body weight increases by less than 1 kg per week, increase your caloric intake from those foods that are essential for you. If it’s more, then, on the contrary, reduce it (you shouldn’t accumulate fat).

Learning to understand porridge

When choosing the optimal diet for muscle growth, it is very important to take into account the fact that I described above. According to the above classification, both simple and complex carbohydrates can predominate in such dishes. The lower the glycemic index in the finished product, the better.

This is especially true during the drying period, when you are faced with a very difficult task: you need to lose excess fat mass, but at the same time preserve all muscle fibers. The most difficult stage in this process is the “detailing” of the abdominal muscles, which, as a rule, give up only at the very last stage.

If you dream of beautiful abs on your stomach, then this course will help you:

In it you can find not only the most detailed recommendations regarding your diet, but also a training program for any type of person. In general, don’t put off until tomorrow what you can improve today.

• Complex carbohydrates are found in porridges such as buckwheat (it’s better to take kernels), oatmeal, rice, and almost all legumes: chickpeas, peas, beans, and so on.
• Simple carbohydrates predominate in semolina, corn, millet, and some others.

In fact, we can say: the finer the grain is crushed, the more simple carbohydrates it will contain. Therefore, choose only whole grains. The problem is further aggravated by the fact that whole grains have a shell, or endosperm, that protects the future sprout. It contains a lot of vitamins and nutrients, as well as fiber.

When the grains are crushed or peeled, then, naturally, it is lost, which means you lose most of the useful stuff. Sometimes crushed cereals are additionally enriched with useful elements, but they are not absorbed by our body so effectively.

At the same time, there are no obstacles to mixing different types of cereals, for example, the combination of buckwheat and rice is very tasty, you can add mung bean here.

If we talk about the time of taking porridge both for gaining weight and for drying, then the recommendations will be of a similar nature.

Reasoning logically, we understand that we need the greatest boost of energy in the morning. In addition, our activity level is at its highest during this period. The peculiarities of digestion also tell us that those foods that we ate in the morning most often go into energy, and not into fat reserves.

Based on all of the above, we conclude that the most optimal breakfast for you will be porridge consisting of complex carbohydrates. Carbohydrates can be consumed in much smaller quantities during lunch, but it is better to combine them with protein foods.

If you decide to have porridge for dinner, then it is better to give it to the enemy, because it will not do you any good.

When you choose which cereals to eat, based on the list above, give preference to those with more complex carbohydrates. This way you will forget about hunger for several hours and will feel great until lunch.

But in such early hours it is quite acceptable to have breakfast with more energy-intensive (read: simple carbohydrates) porridge. This is especially true for overweight men.

But at lunch, put only complex carbohydrates on your plate, such as buckwheat or peas.

By the way, don’t forget about the fact that cereals can be used not only for preparing porridges and side dishes. We are used to using them exclusively in this role.

However, you can make excellent soups with them, and barley, rice and even buckwheat make excellent pilaf. Don't forget about exotic dishes, for example, bulgur or paella. Try preparing a variety of salads, both warm and cold, with quinoa, rice and other grains.

By the way, porridge contains not only carbohydrates, but also proteins. And although their ratio is not very large (about 5 to 1), nevertheless it is also important. But there is practically no fat in them, which makes this dish an almost unique dietary product.

Key Points of Weight Gain

Whatever food products you choose for mass, for a uniform and high-quality set you must follow the following rules:

• Eat food evenly throughout the day 6-7 times (at night - mandatory);
• Do not eat a lot of food at once to avoid intestinal problems (even if you miss some meals);
• In the first half of the day, priority is given to carbohydrates, in the second half they consume proteins, and at night - cottage cheese;
• Drink at least two liters of clean water (up to three for intense training).

By choosing products for gaining muscle mass or overall weight, taking into account the above, you can easily gain the desired kilograms without unpleasant health consequences.

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What to avoid

The best cereals have a positive effect on the body, but some cereals should be treated with extreme caution. Despite their popularity, they can slow down the process of mass gain. However, it is not at all necessary to exclude them from the diet altogether; it is enough to reduce their consumption to a minimum.

Corn porridge is suitable only as an alternative when it is necessary to diversify the diet. This is not the best choice for an athlete because it is very high in calories and contains a lot of starch. However, corn works as a brush for the intestines, so it is indispensable when problems with the gastrointestinal tract arise, which is often observed when consuming sports nutrition or illiterate menu planning.

Be especially careful with rice. It is healthy and contains absolutely no fat. During the period of active weight gain, the lack of fatty acids reduces the production of anabolic hormones (including sex hormones), which can slow down progress.

Limit your consumption of semolina. It is rich in gluten, very high in calories and highly allergenic. Its use is indicated for ectomorphs who have difficulty gaining weight.

Fried potatoes

This product contains the highest amount of calories, so by eating a plate of fried potatoes, you can quickly gain weight in a few days, which will again be harmful. Don’t give it up, but make its consumption as rare as possible, and gradually completely replace it with boiled or baked potatoes, which also contain enough calories, but are also good for the heart and blood.

fried food

We almost all love fried food, chicken with a crispy crust, fried homemade cutlets, potatoes with mushrooms. However, you should remember that there is little benefit in such a product, and if you decide to pamper yourself a little with such food, then the next day take a fasting day, without eating anything fried, eat boiled or stewed food. Fried foods not only allow you to quickly gain weight, but also carry carcinogens that accumulate in the body, which can even lead to blockage of blood vessels.

To avoid harm to the body, it is not necessary to give up meat and your favorite potatoes. Meat can be baked in the oven, potatoes can be stewed, chicken can be stewed in its own juice. So these products not only retain nutrients and beneficial substances, but also do not harm your body with carcinogens. However. Such products contain a lot of plant and animal protein.

You should be able to combine animal and vegetable fats correctly. The fact is that when you simultaneously eat fatty meat, that is, protein and animal fat, and vegetable fat, for example, sunflower or olive oil, you combine them, they will begin to accumulate in the body, being deposited in women on the buttocks and on the so-called butt ears. It is likely that you will develop cellulite, and it is much more difficult to deal with than being underweight. Therefore, you should eat meat not with mayonnaise or dressed salads, but with fiber and carbohydrates, that is, with cereals, fresh or stewed vegetables, not seasoned with oil.

Salads containing both vegetable and animal fats should be consumed extremely rarely and in small quantities.

Refined flakes

If you buy natural flakes, then they have enough benefits. During refining, the product loses all useful substances. Experts call what remains “bad carbohydrates.” If you use them for breakfast every day, then instead of benefiting you will get extra pounds, but no nutrients. Don't forget about real fruits and vegetables, give up refined cereals, replacing them with natural ones with the addition of dried fruits. Then you will make your breakfast high-calorie and nutritious.

Processed meat products

Natural meat is healthy, especially when boiled or stewed. Processed meat: smoked, sausages, frankfurters and small sausages, instead of natural meat, contain preservatives that are not absorbed by the body and do not provide any benefits or useful vitamins. Regular consumption of these products not only saturates your body, but also fills you with harmful calories; you gain weight not only from calories, but also from changes in metabolism, from improper functioning of the digestive organs. Replace such products with natural meat, it is better to prepare homemade semi-finished products from fresh meat yourself, and more often eat steamed, boiled or baked meat with vegetables.

Potato chips

Potatoes fried in large amounts of oil are very harmful to the digestive system; they contain not only a huge amount of calories, but also carcinogens and a large amount of salt, so those who often consume chips not only gain weight, they may develop cardiovascular diseases. Salt in this form is practically not excreted from the body, it clogs blood vessels, so this product does not provide any benefit to your body at all.

So, you want to gain weight and be healthy and beautiful, always be in good shape, then give up unhealthy foods, eat healthy foods and cook them properly, stop snacking, eat regularly, balanced, but without fanaticism and gluttony. Remember, high-calorie foods can be both healthy and harmful, be able to distinguish between them, then you will gain healthy kilograms and be able to easily regulate your weight. You will not only do something pleasant for your body, but also something useful. Your figure will delight not only you, but also those around you. Your attention will shift to your family and family relationships, instead of constantly counting the calories you consume.

Fruit juice and fruits

We love all kinds of juices, believing that they contain vitamins. In store-bought juices, in fact, there are practically no vitamins, but there is a lot of sugar, so next time read on the packaging the number of calories in 100 grams of the juice that you love so much.

Eating fruits is necessary not only for those who want to lose weight, but also for those who are gaining weight. It is very important to eat sweet fruits and make fresh juices from them. This way you get vitamins and essential plant glucose, which is perfectly absorbed by the body, adding calories to your diet. Grapes are very useful, as one of the sweetest fruits.

Many girls eat bananas to lose weight, this is a misconception. Bananas have the most calories, so for those who want to gain weight, a banana is perfect, but only as a second breakfast or afternoon snack. Bananas should not be eaten on an empty stomach, just like sour apples and citrus fruits, so as not to spoil your stomach with their acid. The fact is that bananas have a high magnesium content, so it is considered a heavy food. If you often eat it on an empty stomach, you will not only disrupt your digestion and cause bloating, but you may also develop problems with your heart and blood vessels.

It should be remembered that dried fruits contain several times more calories, so by consuming them regularly, you can gain weight and replenish your body with vitamins.

Here is a table of calorie content of fruits

Fresh fruits

Dried fruits