If your BMI is 18.5 or less, you probably have an issue with being underweight. There are many reasons for being underweight like genetics, certain medications, physical or mental health issues, or even very high physical activity levels.
So if you're one of those struggling with being underweight, it’s time to make some changes to your diet.
• Healthy diet plan to gain weight:
The main way to gain weight is to eat more calories daily than you burn.
The easiest way to do that is eating energy-dense foods. So your weight gain plan will be based on increasing your daily calorie intake.
• What types of foods should you eat in your weight gain plan:
You need to eat more than the recommended daily 2000 calories by nutrition experts, so your calorie intake should be higher than that. But make sure you get those calories healthily by eating plenty from all three major nutrients: carbs, protein, and healthy fats.
You might fall into the trap of getting calories from low-nutrition foods that have high-calorie content like sweets, cake, potato chips, and sodas. But sadly, these are unhealthy choices.
• What's your food list for a weight gain diet:-
Usually, weight gain diets don't ban any specific foods or groups. But all healthy diet guidelines, including those for weight gain, focus on whole healthy foods instead of processed ones.
So it's recommended to eat animal protein, fish, dark leafy greens, legumes, avocado, carbs, nuts, seeds, nut butters, full-fat dairy, healthy fats and oils.
And you should avoid:-
- Low-calorie foods.
- Fat-free foods.
• Your shopping list for a healthy weight gain diet:-
- Animal protein: (beef, chicken, turkey).
- Fish: (salmon fillet, gravlax, halibut, shrimp).
- Dark vegetables: (turnip, spinach, arugula).
- Fresh fruits and vegetables: (banana, apple, mixed berries, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot).
- Legumes: (black beans, lentils, soybeans, tofu, chickpeas).
- Avocado.
- Carbohydrates: (regular bread, pasta, white rice, brown rice, quinoa).
- Nuts and seeds: (almonds, cashews, walnuts, flax seeds, chia seeds).
- Full-fat dairy products: (yogurt, milk, cheese, sour cream).
- Healthy fats and oils: (olive oil, unsalted butter).
- Eggs.
• Ideas for healthy meal plans to gain weight:
It's recommended to eat around 2500 calories.
You can increase the calories as much as you want based on your weight gain needs.
Day one:
Breakfast: 1 cup of oats + ½ cup of milk + ½ cup of raisins + 1 cup of orange juice.
Snack:- 1 apple + 24 almonds + 8 ounces of water.
Lunch:- 2 slices of whole grain bread + 4 slices of lean turkey + 2 sliced tomatoes with lettuce and mustard + 1 cup of milk + 1 baked sweet potato with butter or ghee.
Snack:- 1 protein bar + 8 ounces of water.
Dinner:- Fresh salad + 1 cup cooked spinach + ½ cup mashed potatoes with butter or ghee + 1 cup 100% natural fresh juice.
Late night snack:- ½ cup plain yogurt + ½ cup chopped strawberries + 8 ounces of water.
• Second day:-
Breakfast:- Omelette made of 2 eggs + 2 slices of turkey bacon + 1 serving of berry juice + 8 ounces of water.
Snack:- 1 cup chopped cantaloupe + 14 whole walnuts.
Lunch: 2 slices of bread with full-fat cream cheese + 3 ounces of gravlax + 2 sliced tomatoes + slices of red onion + 2 cups Mediterranean salad + 1 cup orange juice.
Snack: 1 sliced avocado + 8 ounces of water.
Dinner: 1.5 cups kale and cranberry salad + 4 ounces grilled beef + a serving of sweet potato casserole + ½ cup roasted broccoli + 100% natural fresh fruit juice + 8 ounces water.
Late night snack:2 oatmeal cookies + 1 cup milk.
