Foods that will help you gain weight

Category: Healthy Weight Gain

We often discuss about weight loss, ways to get lean and people are often looking for ways to lose weight. However, there is another side to this story. The other side is of the people looking to gain weight. Normally, these people are skinny and underweight. There may be many reasons why a person is not able to gain weight. These reasons could be low appetite, not able to eat much or not eating the right foods, eating disorders or some underlying medical issue in few cases. Most of the time, working on lifestyle, increasing the caloric content of meals, eating well by incorporating certain foods which help to gain weight and strength training exercises can help.

Here we list a few foods which can help you in your weight gain journey:

Whole eggs

An egg is a complete food. It has first-class proteins which is readily absorbed. It helps to build muscle and gain mass. It is also rich in micronutrients. Eggs can be incorporated into variety of dishes.

Paneer

Paneer is again rich source of protein and rich in calories. A small serving provides more calories and thus can be included with any recipe. It can be incorporated as a side dish to increase the overall calorie content of the meal

Avocados

Also known as butter fruit or Makhan Phal, avocado is a fruit with numerous health benefits. Avocados are rich source of healthy fats, fibre, vitamin K, folate, pantothenic acid. Being rich in fats, they are the ‘energy boosters’ without increasing the volume.

Dried fruits

Dried fruits like figs (anjeer) and raisins make for great options for gaining weight. Among nuts, almonds are the best for those who want to gain weight. Including dates as a snack along with other dried fruits can also help increase the caloric content. Dried fruits are the most concentrated sources of sugars and nutrients like protein, fats and micronutrients.

Clarified butter/ Ghee

Clarified butter is a source of saturated fat and calories, hence it can increase your body weight. Ghee is a rich source of butyric acid that helps to boost weight gain. Including ghee in moderation can help increase body weight. However, care should be taken to not go overboard with the quantities as ghee is rich in saturated fats.

Peanut butter

Peanuts are a nutrient dense food that contains proteins and healthy fats. Peanut butter is calorically dense due to its higher fat content. If you are looking for gaining weight, you can incorporate peanut butter in your meals as a spread or add it to your smoothies for additional calories.

Protein supplements

Skinny people at times are not able to eat a lot of foods. At such times, protein supplements come in handy as they provide the essential nutrients and can be easily incorporated into their meals. Good Nutrition smoothie mix can be a delicious treat to people wanting to gain weight as it is rich in protein and nutrients and can be an addition along with meals to increase the caloric content of the entire meal.

Gaining weight can be difficult, and consistency is the key to long-term success. Binging on high-calorie foodstuffs, junk, desserts will definitely lead to weight gain. But these all are empty calories without any nutrition. In the long run, these foods are more harmful to the body.

Nidhi

Good Nutrition

Clinical Nutritionist and Certified Diabetes Educator

Nidhi Makharia Agarwal is a qualified nutritionist and dietitian, as well as a certified Diabetes educator, with 12+ years of experience in the field of nutrition. She has worked in various nutraceutical companies and also as a nutrition writer and practicing nutritionist. Nidhi started her training as an intern with the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital and the Wadia Children Hospital in Mumbai. She has worked with a leading Indian nutraceutical company for 8 years. Currently, Nidhi has her own venture; The Aahar Clinic for healthy living, which she founded in 2018. She has also lent her expertise as a nutrition counsellor to a diabetes project co-initiated by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Indian Dietetic Association. Additionally, she works with food and nutrition start-ups as a nutrition consultant. Nidhi holds a Master’s degree in clinical nutrition and dietetics. She is also a certified diabetes educator. Nidhi is based in Mumbai.