Weight Gain & Nutrition Diet Plan

Though many people struggle on a daily basis with trying to lose weight, you may belong to the opposite group and have a hard time gaining and maintaining weight. You may match your heavier friends in total calories consumed and still remain underweight. If you're trying to gain weight, it's important to do it in a healthy way. Before you start a new diet or nutrition plan, talk with your doctor to share ideas and make sure that he or she approves of the process.

More calories

• Track the number of calories you eat in a day by using a free calorie counter, or record your meals and snacks with pencil and paper and look up the calories later. Keep records for a week, and find your average daily number of calories. Your goal is to increase that number. You can do that by eating more food, eating more often or adjusting your diet so that it contains more calorie-rich foods.

Adding healthy calories

• Pay attention to what you eat every day and think about how you could change it to gain weight successfully. If you have some fresh fruit for lunch, think about adding cottage cheese or frozen yogurt next time. Serve meals with side dishes, and try to occasionally drink 100 percent fruit juice or whole-fruit smoothies instead of water to add extra calories to your daily intake. Make sure that the foods you choose are healthy, whole and unprocessed. Try spacing out your meals so that you will be hungry more often.

Calorie-rich foods

• When you go grocery shopping and prepare meals, choose foods that contain more calories than the foods you usually eat. For example, drink full-fat milk instead of skim, and choose a larger size of whole-grain tortillas. Include healthy, calorie-dense foods in your diet such as whole-grain breads, whole-grain pasta, cereal that is rich in fiber and nutrients, beans, potatoes, rice, nuts and nut butters.

Protein

• Protein-rich foods are essential for building and maintaining muscle mass. If you start to gain weight on your diet, you want to gain lean muscle so that your body is healthy and toned, and that's not possible without a healthy intake of protein. If you don't eat meat, try to add a variety of foods with protein to your daily diet. These can include dairy foods, eggs and beans.

Exercise

• Exercise will help you maintain a healthy metabolism and a strong, toned figure. It will also help you convert the weight you gain into muscle mass rather than pure fat. If you don't get regular exercise now, add it into your schedule and take it seriously. Follow your doctor's directions for physical activity for maximum success.