6 Tips to Help You Gain Weight
Many people work to lose weight. But, there are also those who struggle to keep weight on and work to build a more muscular and bulky physique. If you’re one of those people, here are six ways to help you put on the weight.
1.Drink a gallon of milk a day. A program called GOMAD (gallon of milk a day) is popular with people who have trouble bulking up. Essentially, you drink one half to one gallon of whole milk each day in addition to eating regular meals and lifting weights three times each week. People have reported putting on as much as 25 pounds in a month on this plan.
2.Count your calories – You need to know how many calories you’re eating on a daily basis already, so that you can add sufficient calories to add pounds. Begin by adding 250 calories each day to what you’re currently eating. As you add calories, you should see your weight go up. But, at some point, you’ll see the weight gain stop. When you’ve gained no weight for 2 weeks, add another 250 calories each day.
3.Add good calories – When you add calories, don’t add empty ones. Don’t add sugar and while flour products, fast food or processed foods. Rather, add lean protein and fat calories along with good carbohydrates. Eat six times a day. You need three snacks or smaller meals along with your regular meals. Lean proteins like chicken, fish and eggs are great for helping increase your calorie intake in a way that promotes the building of muscle.
4.Lift 3 times a week. Focus on the most muscle building exercises, like squats, dead lifts, bench presses and military presses. These multiple muscle exercises will help you put on bulk faster. Add more weight regularly to keep building bulk.
5.Eat lots of good fats. Avoid trans fats and saturated fats. You need lots of fat to gain weight, but you want to get the bulk of these from healthy fats like olive oil, avocadoes and nuts.
6.Remember water and sleep. Aim to drink around a gallon of water each day and to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night. These two tricks will help you stay hydrated and will give your body the fuel it needs to put on the muscle.
Look for gains of 5-8 pounds per month. Gains like this help ensure that you’re gaining mostly muscle and less fat. Be patient. Trying to gain faster than this will mostly mean that you’re putting on fat, rather than primarily muscle.
You can also add supplements to help you gain weight. However, it is important to remember that supplements are not required for weight gain. They will help move the process along a little more quickly, but you can gain weight and put on muscle without them.
With a little patience and some good eating habits, you’re sure to see your weight increase, along with that muscle mass you’ve been working so hard to build.
P. Zerkle writes about getting an lpn to bsn.