Weight Gaining Foods

Diet and nutrition is the single most important factor in wanting to gain weight. You can do all the weight training you want, but if your are not feeding your body the necessary food and nutrients it requires for maintenance and growth, then it will all be a waste of time, not to mention unhealthy. Knowing what to eat to gain weight is essential for putting on the pounds. In a nutshell, your weight gaining diet should include high protein foods, high carbohydrate foods and healthy fats.

Identifying which foods contain these things can be confusing, however in this article, there are several charts which list the best weight gaining foods to eat on top (superior), followed by good, inferior and no-no. I like how simplified these charts are because you can immediately identify what NOT to eat. You just need to worry about knowing which proteins, carbohydrates, and fats to eat, otherwise known as good proteins, good carbs, and good fats.

Here are the charts…

Hard gainers typically find it difficult eating more food. What I found to be effective is increasing your meal frequency, trying to have 6 meals each day, but not eating as much per meal, making you feel hungrier throughout the day. Having less fatty foods will also be of great benefit as fats tend to make you feel fuller more quickly, so you eat less.

Include in your diet high protein foods such as fish (tuna and salmon), whey protein powder (for post workout shakes and inbetween meals), chicken and turkey breasts, low fat milk, high carbohydrate foods such as pasta, lots of fruit and veg such as avocado and banana, as well as good fats such as olive oil and flaxseed oil. When snacking it's a great time to eat high calorie snacks such as dried fruits, seeds, nuts, low fat yogurt and cheese. You should be looking to incorporate all of these weight gain foods in your diet if you want to gain weight.