How To Gain Weight Fast – Diet, Lifestyle & Exercises

Being underweight is just as big a problem as being obese is. There are numerous people across the globe are who are now worried about how to gain weight. In this article, we are going to look at the consequences of being underweight and how to gain weight fast, in a healthy way.

What is being underweight?

Before starting to learn the ways to gain weight, let’s see what is actually being underweight means. When your body mass index (BMI) is below 18.5, you will know that you are underweight. This is an average value and the body must maintain it to sustain optimal health. Some people do not consider this BMI scale check as it only looks at weight and height and does not take muscle mass into account. While some people are naturally very skinny by birth but still healthy. Being underweight according to this scale does not necessarily mean that you must have a health problem. According to a survey done, it was found that being underweight is about 2–3 times more common among girls and women, compared to men. [source] While a natural thin-build body is considered being okay if you maintain a healthy diet and exercise regularly, it’s not a health concern.

Consequences of being underweight

• Being underweight is considered to be worse than being overweight. According to a study, in men being underweight had increased their death by 140% while it was 100% in women. [source]
• Weighing too little is seen to contribute to a weakened immune system, fragile bones, and feeling tired, raise your risk of infections, lead to osteoporosis and fractures and also cause fertility-related problems.
• Underweight people are much more likely to get sarcopenia: age-related muscle wasting, delayed wound healing, hormonal abnormalities, and may also be at greater risk of dementia.
• While people with obesity face many problems, being underweight can lower your self-esteem and make you question yourself. Besides, the medical consequences also affect you mentally and emotionally.

Gaining weight in a healthy way

Underweight people are searching all over the internet, consulting dieticians, seeking help to gain some weight. And when they see no results from it, they turn to the unhealthy way. While the unhealthy way may show you instant results, but it is causing you to harm in the long run. Here’s what you can do instead.

As much as important gaining weight is, it is equally important to do it healthily. If you’re underweight, you want to gain a balanced amount of muscle mass and subcutaneous fat rather than a lot of unhealthy belly fat. Therefore, it becomes essential to eat healthy foods and live an overall healthy lifestyle in the process of gaining weight.

Experienced Health Coaches at Ufinity Life will help you in this journey. Scroll down to find out the effective ways to gain weight fast, without ruining your health simultaneously.

What to eat?

The only secret rule of gaining weight is to eat more calories than you burn. In this process, you can create a calorie surplus, meaning you eat more calories than your body needs.

1. Aiming to intake 300 to 500 more calories than you burn will help you gain weight slowly and steadily while aiming for 700 to 1000 more calories above your maintenance level will give you the results fast.
2. Protein is the most important nutrient when you are focusing on gaining weight. Without protein, most of the calories that you will intake will only result in body fat, as muscles are made up of proteins. Hence eating more protein will help gain muscle weight rather than just body fat. But protein is a double-edged sword, it’s highly filling, which will reduce your hunger and appetite significantly, and make it harder to get in enough calories. High-protein foods include meats, fish, eggs, many dairy products, legumes, nuts, and others.
3. Include high carb and high-fat foods in your meals. Eating at least three meals per day, including plenty of proteins, carbs, and fats, and in addition to that, eat energy-dense snacks whenever possible. This will help you gain weight faster.
4. Start focusing on whole, single ingredient, and energy-dense foods. Foods like macadamia nuts, peanuts, raisins, dates, prunes, milk, cheese, cream, extra virgin olive oil and avocado oil, chicken, lamb, etc. Choose fattier cuts, peanut butter, coconut milk, granola, trail mixes, etc. will help in the process of gaining weight.

These foods are very filling and you have to force yourself to keep eating them. One way that can help is adding sauces, condiments, and spices to your foods and makes them easy to eat.

Changes in lifestyle to gain weight

While gaining weight gain is more about eating and exercising, a change in your lifestyle will help in your overall holistic development. Here’s what else you can do to make sure you get the most out of your workout without harming your body:

• You must make sure to sleep six to eight hours at the night. Getting enough sleep is very important.
• Stress releases cortisol, which will make you gain weight in an unhealthy manner or also lose weight even more. Therefore stop taking stress.
• Quit alcohol and smoke. They make you lose weight.
• Plan properly and set a reasonable goal for yourself. Getting too strict on you will do more harm than good. So, start easy, increase your reps each time, and record your progress.

Changing your lifestyle all of a sudden and maintaining the changes can be difficult for you. That’s why we at Ufinity Life extend our hand to help you. We will provide you with a dedicated health coach, who will help you set personalized health goals based on a complete consultation session and will track your progress until you reach get your desired physic.

Recommended Exercises for Weight Gain

As female and male bodies store fat and distribute mass differently, you can focus on the exercises that give you the most promising results for your body type. Try out these exercises.

1. Push-Ups

Push-ups are beneficial for building upper body strength. They majorly work on the triceps, pectoral muscles, and shoulders. They are simple and easy to do and help build muscle in your arms and shoulders. To do a Push-Up follow these steps:

• Lie on the ground with your face downwards.
• Put your hands on the ground, palms flat, arms out at your sides, and hands shoulder-width apart.
• Push your body up slowly until your arms are fully extended. Keep your back and legs straight so that your body makes a straight line.
• Slowly lower yourself back down until your nose nearly touches the floor.

2. Bench press

This is a compound exercise involving the pectoralis major of the chest, the anterior deltoids of the shoulder, and the triceps brachii of the upper arm. It helps build strength as well as encourages the growth of these muscles. This is considered a good exercise for bulking up. The more weight you can bench, the more muscle you’ll build. To do a bench press follow these steps:

• Lie on your back on the bench. Hold the bar carefully.
• If there’s a rack, grab the bar with both hands, thumbs included. You can spread your fingers a bit.
• Extend your arms to take the bar out of the rack.
• Slowly lower your arms to bring the bar down to your chest.
• Slowly straighten your arms and raise the bar back toward the rack.

3. Lunges

Lunges increase muscle mass and help in building up strength and tone your body, especially your core, butt, and legs. It improves your posture and range of motion. It works great for bulking up and toning your leg and butt muscles. To do lunges follow these steps:

• Stand straight.
• Extend one leg like taking a step, then lean forward like you’re kneeling until your knees are at 90-degree angles.
• Push back on your heel to lift yourself back up to your initial position.
• Repeat with the other leg.

4. Squats

Squats not only give you toned legs, but they also promote body-wide muscle building by creating an anabolic environment in your body. They work upon your quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, abdominal muscles, lower back, and your butt too. To do squats follow these steps:

• Stand up straight with your feet are a hip-width distance apart.
• Put your hands on your hips and flex your abdominal muscles.
• Begin lowering yourself down using only your legs, as if you’re about to sit down, and get into a seated position until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Keep your upper body as still as possible.
• Raise to your original position.

5. Pullups

Pullups help in strengthening the arm and shoulder muscles. They work on the forearms and shoulders and improve your strength in these areas.

• Grip the pullup bar with both hands. Palms facing away from you. Arms shoulder-width apart.
• Pull yourself up enough to hang off the bar so that your feet aren’t touching the ground and your arms are straight.
• Continue to pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar.
• Slowly lower yourself down till your arms are straight.

Gaining weight can become very difficult, but remember, consistency is the key to success. Staying determined in the rough days will surely give you the desired results.

We at Ufinity Life understand your problem. We are here to help you through your weight gain journey. We have facilities of providing a dedicated health coach, a dietician, and a nurse to look after your health conditions. They will help you set up your goals on the Ufinity app where you can track your daily progress. We will also help you keep a record of your exercise, diets, calorie intake and guide you throughout your weight gain journey. Based on an exhaustive and comprehensive study of your routine and past health issues, our specialist will create a holistic plan for you. We cater to your every need because we care for you.