As I mentioned in earlier blogs, the most common health problem is related to body weight, prior to this I have already discussed about obesity and now, I am going to speak about another problem related to body weight i.e. “underweight”. If you are skinny and want to add on some heathy weights through muscle mass, but could able to do so. Then read it carefully you will find it helpful.
Like obesity (Overweight), being underweight also might bring some serious problems like malnutrition, low or deceased muscle strength, osteoporosis and it also lowers your immunity. Being underweight might also be a sign of some illness. So, first if you are struggling to gain muscle mass, get diagnosed by a doctor and do the needful. If staying underweight is not an effect of illness then, you can follow our tips and can gain weight easily.
Now, lets talk about what are the simple things you should do, that will help you to putting on healthy weights,
Stay in Calorie Surplus :
- Firstly, when you are underweight, it means you are not in a calorie surplus (you are not eating enough nutritional foods), when trying to gain weights you will have to eat 300 to 500 calories more than the calories you actually need to maintain your present body weight. For example, if you need 2000 kcals to maintain your current body weight then for gaining you will need, 2000+500 kcals=2500 kcals.
Note: The additional calories should be from balanced diet and not from any kind of junk foods.
If you want to know your daily calorie goal, you can calculate it through the calorie calculator available on our site for free.
Meals (When and how many) :
- Secondly, you should take a total of 5 to 6 meals, consisting of 3 major meals and 2 meals as snack. Time between each meal also play a significant role, you should take a meal after every 2 to 3 hrs. This will not let your muscles to starve and your muscles will get to feed on the nutrition which will help your muscles grow faster.
Exercise Routine :
- Next is, when trying to gain muscle, you should not workout for a long duration rather keep your workout session short and keep the intensity high. A session of 30 to 45 minutes is enough to stimulate muscle growth. Now, you might wonder what kind of exercises will be best? Focus on the compound movement exercise (which includes multiple muscle activation through one single exercise) like deadlift, bench-press, squats and even pushups. It is seen that compound movements makes noticeable differences in muscle gaining.
Note: If you don’t have access to a gym, just doing pushups and squats will also help.
Rest and Recovery :
- Last but not the least, the most important of all is rest i.e. sleep. No matter how much you eat healthy or workout consistently, it will not make any changes until you sleep adequately. Because, when you sleep, your damaged muscle fibers get healed up resulting in the muscle growth. So, sleeping for at least 8 to 9 hours is mandatory if you serious about gaining healthy weights.
What type of food should you take for better results?
Since skinny people has low appetite, try to eat calorie dense foods like nuts, banana, milk and other dairy products, dry fruits, rice etc. Do ensure that all the daily nutritional requirements are getting fulfilled through your diet plan. Let me break down the macros for a better understanding,
Macros Count :
- Protein = For every kilogram of body weight, you need 2 to 2.2 grams of protein. It means if you have a body weight of 60 kilograms you will need to take 60 x 2 = 120 grams of protein from your daily diet. Best sources of protein are :
- Chicken breasts.
- Eggs.
- Pulses.
- Milk and dairy products like paneer, tofu etc.
- Soya Chunks.
- Whey Protein (Optional).
- Carbohydrates = When gaining weight (muscle mass, not fat), you should take 4grams of carbohydrate for every kilogram of your body weight. That means 60 x 4 = 240 grams of carbohydrate daily. Best Sources of Carbohydrate are :
- Oats.
- Brown Rice.
- White Rice.
- Banana.
- Bread etc.
- Fat = As our goal is to gain weight through muscle mass, so, you should take 1 grams of fat for every kilograms of your body weight. That means 60 x 1 = 60 grams of fat everyday. Best sources of healthy fat are :
- Nuts.
- Peanut Butter.
- Ghee.
- Fishes like sardines, mackerel etc.
If you can follow all the tips I gave so far, for at least 90 days sincerely, without losing consistency in diet, workout or sleep, you can achieve the healthy body weight that you were dreaming of. Be consistent, be true to yourself and you will definitely achieve it one day.