How to Gain Weight – 7 Weight Gain Tips

Weight gain isn’t something that is easy to do, it requires patience and discipline to diet and training. Hopefully the weight gain tips on this site will help you to achieve your goals.

One of the best weight gain tips to remember is DO EVERYTHING BIG! That means eat BIG and lift BIG to get BIG. Say that over and over again in your head until you fully understand it. Many people think weightlifting is the key to gaining weight. Of course weightlifting is an extremely important part. However to gain weight, think beyond weightlifting! Your diet is just as important when it comes to gaining weight.

Weight Gain Tip No 1 – Get Counting

Count your calories on a normal daily basis. That doesn’t mean you have to change your normal eating habits – just eat as you normally would and count the calories you have consumed. This is of crucial importance to try to be as accurate as possible. Then get on the scales and weigh yourself. 

Weight Gain Tip No 2 – Get Eating!

Eating is first and foremost the most important thing you need for proper weight gain. It makes sense that you need to eat more calories than you burn. This does not mean eating anything and everything within reach! It means you need to include in your weight gain diet, foods that will help you gain lean mass, not bad fats. 6 meals a day is a good start. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and three other small meals at regular intervals throughout the day. Make it your goal to eat every 2.5 to 3 hours. Remember the principal weight gain tip is to get BIG, you have to eat BIG!

Steak, chicken, fruit, milk, vegetables, cheese and assorted types of nuts are the foods to feast on. Eat 4 – 6 pieces of fresh fruit a day, and at least four tall glasses of milk. Low fat milk is a great, cheap protein source – take advantage of it. A sample snack meal would be a glass of milk, an apple, and a hand full of peanuts.

Plan your meals carefully and stick to the plan. What you eat is the most important ingredient in a successful weight gain program.

Weight Gain Tip No 3 – Get Lifting!

As stated above, proper eating is of utmost importance if you want to gain weight, but if you do not complement eating with weightlifting, all that gained weight will be fat – not muscle.

When trying to gain weight, try working out 3-4 times a week. Make sure you are weightlifting correctly! Lift hard and then recover for the next workout. Focus on the big exercises such as squats, deadlifts, bent-over rows, chin-ups, bench press, & military press. These are the exercises that will turn those extra calories into muscle and therefore help you gain weight. You are not going to gain weight by doing lateral raises and step-ups every workout. It’s the multiple-joint lifts that will shock your system and stimulate your body into growth. Gradually add a little amount of weight each time you workout – this will help you strengthen those muscles. If you focus on strength, size will follow. You need to gain muscular strength in order to get bigger. Look around at your local gym – the strongest guys are also the biggest!

Weight Gain Tip No 4 – Get Weighing!

Weigh yourself at the end of a week. You’ll notice you’re gaining more weight after only one week! However, don’t expect miracles. You won’t have put on 10lb!. Remember that when it comes to weight gain, gaining anymore then 1 or 2 pounds a week is unhealthy and means you’re putting on fat instead of muscle. Patience is a virtue! What you want is to see 1 or 2 pound gains at the end of the week. It may not seem like a lot but add it up. You easily gain weight at the rate of 5-8 pounds a month! 

Sooner or later you will stop gaining weight and it is now that you should concentrate on eating even more. So, when you stop gaining for at least 2 weeks, start eating an extra 250 calories a day. Every time you see you haven’t gained weight for at least 2 weeks, add an extra 250 calories. 

Weight Gain Tip No 5 – Cut out the Bad Fat!

Avoid trans fats like the plaque, and go for the “good fats”. Yes, you want to gain weight, however you don’t want to gain weight that is in fact just fat. So, cut out the cakes, chips and candy. No more visits to McDonalds and steer clear of anything fried. High protein low fat foods like tuna fish (and other seafood), chicken breast, turkey, lean meats, fruits and vegetables etc, are the good clean foods to eat.

Weight Gain Tip No 6 – Get Drinking! (Sorry, water only)

Drink around a half gallon of water a day and even more if you can. Sure, that’s a lot of water, but believe it or not, it’s that water you need for the energy you need to gain weight! Dehydration can lead to all sorts of health problems, including less stamina at the gym.

Weight Gain Tip No 7 – Go to Sleep!

Get lots of sleep. This is one of the easiest yet most neglected weight gain tips. Sleep for a minimum of 8 hours night. You’re body needs it to function properly. 

How Much Will I Gain?

Of course as the saying goes “everyone’s body responds in different ways, so it varies”. That said, if you do eat well, lift heavy, and use weight gainers or mass gainers, you can expect to gain about 10-15lbs within 8 weeks.

Supplements?

To gain weight, you do not NEED supplements, but they will help you gain the weight quicker. That’s what they are, supplementation to an already good diet and training program. Think of supplements as the finishing touch.