How much weight do you need to gain or have gained? It all depends on your goals, managing a chronic condition like diabetes, or preventing health problems that could arise in the future. Weight gain tips can help you make intelligent decisions about healthy weight gain and reduce your risk of developing any complications due to being underweight. Here are tips to help you get started today!
Improve Your Appetite with Exercise
To help keep your weight gain healthy and safe, remember that it’s best to choose food sources high in protein and fiber. You can increase your calorie intake by consuming eggs, fish, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, and dairy products. Fiber-rich whole grains—along with starchy vegetables such as squash and sweet potatoes—are also great ways to meet your goals. Keep in mind that high-calorie foods should be limited; if you find yourself gaining weight too quickly or not gaining any at all after a few weeks of increasing your food intake (so long as you’re eating enough!), cut back on calorie-dense options.
Choose Foods for Weight Gain
Certain foods are better for weight gain and therefore ideal to use when you’re trying to put on a few pounds. So, it’s essential to know what these are. Some of them include soybeans, nuts, avocado, olive oil, and whole-grain loaves of bread. All weight gain foods have calories in them and will help you get your weight up faster. Also, don’t forget that good old-fashioned lean red meat has lots of calories.
Boost Your Calorie Intake
Eat more snacks! Snacks help you get to your daily caloric intake goal without going overboard. Eating between meals keeps you from getting too hungry and helps stabilize blood sugar levels, which can lead to eating less at mealtime. The calories in a snack are far less likely to be stored as fat than any of those consumed during a meal—but stick with low-fat, high-protein options like yogurt, cheese, nuts, and fruit.
Eat Foods with the Right Texture
Foods that are soft and easy to chew, like scrambled eggs and oatmeal, are ideal. As you age, you experience difficulty chewing certain foods, and swallowing them can become a problem. Make sure you eat small bites of food throughout your meals to give your body time to destroy what it has in its mouth. If foods are too hard for you to chew or swallow, cut them into small pieces or avoid those foods altogether.
Eat Smaller Meals More Often
Your body needs fuel to live, and your metabolism slows down as you age. To increase your body’s daily caloric intake without taking in too many extra calories, opt for small meals that are spaced out over three or four hours throughout each day. If possible, make sure to eat more often than you usually would on a typical day: consume six meals instead of three, or divide one large meal into two smaller ones. Are you having trouble remembering to eat? Consider setting the alarm on your phone or watch to remind yourself every few hours; it will be easier than trying to remember what time it is when you’re tired after work. Also helpful: Place snacks within easy reach.
The tips we’ve discussed in today’s post are all evidence-based. As we grow older, so do our metabolisms, but there are a few key ways you can ensure that your weight remains stable and you stay healthy. Avoid eating too many calories and enjoy nutritious meals regularly. This will help keep your weight where it needs to be as you age. Also, get plenty of exercise by taking walks or participating in activities such as bingo, table tennis, or ballroom dancing.
