subject: How To Increase Weight Healthily and Permanently [print this page]
Are you sick of your thin frame and tired of people telling you that you are lucky to be thin? Having to gain weight can be just as distressing as having to lose it and can also be very difficult if conducted in the wrong way. If you are trying to find out how to increase your weight and are seemingly bombarded with only ways of how to lose it, continue reading to find out how to gain weight healthily and permanently.
Along with diet and lifestyle, metabolism generally will dictate your natural shape. If you are on the thin side it is often due to a negative energy balance. This implies that you consume less energy than you expend. In order to put on weight, you will need to increase your daily food intake, however, this doesn't mean vast quantities of food, but rather an increase of around 300-400 calories per day.
To some, this may seem like a considerable increase in food, but actually, it's not really that much when you consider that a yoghurt or a cereal bar is only around 150 calories. The best way to increase weight healthily is to combine a dietary increase with additional exercise, where weight will be gained predominantly as muscle, rather than fat.
If you want to make this change permanent, it will require a continual increase in calories along with an active lifestyle. You will find that these two elements are related, as an increase in exercise directly stimulates appetite and therefore an increased food intake. However, it is crucial to include low GI food in the diet which mean foods that release energy slowly. This allows for a steady release of energy throughout the day avoiding those unwanted sugar slumps.
Low GI foods include grainy foods, cereals and pasta and these should make up the foundations of meals. High fat and sugary foods should be consumed in moderation and are to be avoided between meals as this can suppress the appetite and reduce the quantity of calories consumed in the next meal.
In most cases, knowing how to increase weight healthily just takes a little education into which foods are nutritious. These foods should be plentiful in your diet and foods which contain mostly fat and carbohydrate should only be occasional supplements. Including a wide range of lower fat, nutritious foods in your diet will improve your chances of getting all of the vitamins and minerals required for a healthy body. Couple this with daily exercise to help gain lean body weight.