How to Gain 20 Pounds of Body Mass

Gaining weight can be a healthy thing to do if you are underweight or a professional athlete who needs extra weight to properly participate in a sport. Though there are several products on the market promising fast results, the smartest course of action actually involves a slow but steady weight gain that results from caloric surplus. You might not see results overnight, but the weight you gain is likely to be more permanent as you change your eating habits gradually.

Things You'll Need

• Food journal
• Pen
• Meal planner

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Instructions

• 1

  Use your food diary to keep a log of all foods you consume over a two-week period. Make a note of any patterns you see in your eating habits, how many calories you are consuming and what your body weight is.

• 2

  Visit with a nutritionist to talk about your food choices, and decide on how much weight you should gain. One pound is equivalent to roughly 3,500 calories of food.

• 3

  Determine how many extra calories you need to consume at your current activity level in order to ensure weight gain. If you want to gain one pound per week, that works out to 500 extra calories per day.

• 4

  Replace low-calorie foods with higher-calorie foods to achieve your caloric surplus without feeling overly full. Replace low-fat salad dressing with full-fat dressing. Use butter instead of margarine. Sprinkle nuts on your cereal or eat peanut butter on sesame seed crackers. Plan your foods in a meal planner, and measure your portions to be sure you are eating enough.

• 5

  Continue tracking the foods you eat in your food diary, and weigh in once a week to check on your progress. If the scale is not moving as much as you want it to, try increasing your caloric consumption by another 100 calories per day until you reach the healthy level of weight gain that has been recommended for you.