Not all representatives of the fair sex dream of losing weight. There are many girls who want to become more feminine, and to achieve this goal they must gain weight. Excessive thinness can cause self-doubt and even lead to deterioration in health. And if for those who want to become slimmer, gaining a couple of kilograms and no more is not a problem, which becomes the main reason for excess weight, then such a “luxury” is often not available to those suffering from excessive thinness. To gain appetizing shapes, they must try no less than those losing weight.
How to gain weight for a girl: action plan
Achieving your goal involves developing a clear action plan that will allow you to quickly gain the desired weight. It comes down to three fundamental points:
- changing eating habits;
- regular strength training;
- revising your lifestyle.
Each requires detailed consideration, clear perception, and application to daily routine. Otherwise, the weight will either remain unchanged or, conversely, begin to decrease.
How to quickly gain weight for a girl
Potatoes and starchy crops
Eating potatoes and other starchy foods is a very simple and economical way for a thin girl to gain weight at home. Try choosing one of the following healthy sources of these carbohydrates:
- Quinoa.
- Oats.
- Corn.
- Buckwheat.
- Potatoes and sweet potatoes.
- Zucchini.
- Beans and legumes.
Potatoes and other starches not only add carbohydrates and calories to help you gain weight, but they also increase muscle glycogen stores. The latter is the predominant source of energy for most sports and vigorous activities.
Many of the above carbohydrate sources contain important nutrients and types of fiber, as well as resistant starch, which can help feed beneficial gut bacteria.
What lifestyle contributes to weight gain?
Stressful situations and constant depressed mood in naturally thin people are accompanied by the loss of kilograms. Constantly being in a good mood and positive emotions, on the contrary, will help the body quickly adapt and readjust to the fact that you need to gain weight, and not spend existing and incoming energy sources.
No bad habits. Neither large nor small doses of alcohol provide any health benefits. Smoking not only has a detrimental effect on the body, but also speeds up the metabolism. By giving up smoking, gaining the desired kilograms will become much easier. All this is true only when activities that consume excess energy are eliminated.
The latter means that you should refrain from any aerobic exercise. Dancing, running, swimming, aerobics, exercise on bicycle and elliptical trainers require energy expenditure, but have virtually no effect on the growth of muscle tissue, and, therefore, lead to an even greater decrease in volume.
You definitely need to believe in your own strength and success. Having a clear idea that the goal will be achieved is motivating. Otherwise, no results will be achieved. Another important point that should not be misleading is that, of course, it will not be possible to build a beautiful body in one month. It takes much more time, but every change that occurs will bring an incredible sense of satisfaction and make you work further.
Cereal bars
Some of the healthier granola bars can be a great snack when you're on the go. They are also a good choice for a pre- or post-workout snack, as they contain a mixture of slow and fast digesting carbohydrates.
As with cereal, try to choose bars made with healthy whole grains. You can also find options that contain other healthy ingredients, such as nuts, dried fruits, or seeds.
For a snack or on-the-go meal, try combining the cereal bar with other sources of protein, such as natural yogurt, boiled eggs, cold cuts or a protein shake.
Strength training
The pounds you gain represent both fat and muscle tissue. And if you don’t get rid of the former, the result will not be rounded feminine outlines, but folds that will in no way add attractiveness to the figure. This can be avoided by strength training aimed at increasing mass primarily through muscles.
Energy consumption for an hour of strength exercises ranges from 350 to 450 kilocalories, which will not allow weight loss, but will give a significant impetus to the growth of muscle tissue. It is the part of the body that is being worked that will increase in volume. Thus, you can easily adjust your silhouette and the most problematic areas by pumping up your buttocks, abs, calves, and so on. The main thing is to choose the right exercises.
Red meat
How can a girl get better quickly? Red meat, according to experts, is one of the best foods for building muscle mass. For example, steak has about 3g of leucine per 170g. Leucine is a key amino acid your body needs to stimulate muscle protein synthesis and add new muscle tissue.
In addition, red meat is one of the best natural sources of dietary creatine, arguably the world's best muscle-building supplement. Consider choosing fattier cuts, which provide more calories than lean meats, to increase nutritional value and weight gain.
In one study, 100 older women added 170 grams of red meat to their diets every day and did strength training six days a week for six weeks. They all gained weight and experienced an 18% increase in strength and an increase in the important muscle growth hormone IGF-1.
Both lean and fatty meats are excellent sources of protein, although fatty meats provide more calories, which can help you gain weight.
Nutrition is the basis for weight gain
Without changing your diet, it is impossible to make any progress in weight gain. Weight gain occurs in the body when nutrients are supplied in excess. The surplus is spent on:
- building muscle tissue during strength training;
- support of glycogen and fat depots, which are energy reserves.
Fat deposits, that is, unwanted folds, appear only when nutrition is uncontrolled and vigorous activity is reduced to a minimum. This necessitates the need to perform strength exercises.
You need to consume more calories than you burn during the day. If they are smaller, it is simply impossible to achieve any progress in gaining weight - neither muscle nor fat will increase.
Weight gain due to health problems
The solution to the problem of weight gain for girls is quite simple, but when it comes to weight gain for asthenics and health problems, the situation becomes a little more complicated. With gastritis, gastrointestinal disorders, slow metabolism, and diabetes, it is much more difficult for a person to gain weight.
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For gastritis and stomach ulcers, it is necessary to strictly control the amount of fats and carbohydrates consumed, replace excess fats with proteins, and also avoid large portions of food and overeating. 2-3 meals a day are enough, but the food should be as balanced as possible.
Please note: For such categories of people as asthenics, diabetics and patients with gastritis, there are special dietary supplements and tablets that help stimulate weight gain. You can find such drugs in pharmacies, sports stores and on the Internet.
Since people with stomach problems have difficulty digesting food, food must be chewed thoroughly. Regardless of the problem or existing illness, it is necessary to give up bad habits and lead a healthy lifestyle.
How many calories does it take to gain weight?
Finding the balance point allows you to answer this question - this is an indicator of when the weight remains stable, that is, a person neither gets better nor loses weight. To do this, you need to weigh yourself and eat as usual for a week, counting your daily calorie intake.
Sudden jumps should not be allowed. You need to eat within the same calorie limit every day. You should not deny yourself anything. You just need to strictly count calories, including both main meals and snacks.
After seven days, re-weighing must be repeated. Better at the same time as the first. If the weight has not changed, then the average calorie intake for the week is the equilibrium point at which body weight remains unchanged.
Girls are recommended to gain 500 g per week, that is, approximately 2 kg per month. For some, the figure, depending on individual characteristics, will be a little lower. However, the total increase over 30 days should be between 1 and 2 kg. And if you stick to this course, then over time you will gain the desired weight.
An increase of half a kilo provides an increase in calorie intake. There are no exact recommendations here. For some girls, it is enough to introduce 400 kilocalories into their diet, while for others, even 500 kilocalories is not enough. Finding the exact number can only be done experimentally.
During the first week of starting a “weight gain program,” caloric intake should be increased from the equilibrium point by a minimum of 300 kilocalories. If there is no increase or it is less than 500 g, you should slightly increase the daily caloric intake and so on until the required increase is achieved.
Physical activity if you are underweight
If body weight is reduced due to illness, excessive dieting, stress or overwork, then physical activity should be postponed for a while. The body should be brought back to normal: eat right, normalize your state of mind, get plenty of rest and sleep, and spend time in the fresh air. As Carlson said: “Calm, only calm!”
It’s a different matter if a person is naturally thin and his clothes hang like a bag on him. How can a girl gain weight through exercise and add roundness and attractiveness to her figure? Remember that intense physical activity will not allow you to increase body weight, so do not get carried away with it too much.
Aerobic sports are contraindicated in our case; they are designed for weight loss. To increase muscle mass, anaerobic exercises are necessary, that is, strength training with the use of weights, and, if possible, all muscle groups should be used.
Strength training helps increase your appetite, so be sure to take advantage of the moment and eat protein-rich foods. This is the building material for your muscles; without food there will be no body. Regular exercise increases metabolism, which means the body will require more and more food. This is how, little by little, by combining proper nutrition and exercise, muscle mass will increase, and you will no longer seem like a set of bones to those around you.
For girls, the best exercises for increasing weight are squats with dumbbells, bench press and pull-ups. By following the exercise regime and gradually increasing the load, you will definitely achieve positive results.
Always start your workout with a warm-up to warm up your muscles. Do a set of exercises with light weights, and then three sets with regular working weights.
It is advisable if you have an experienced instructor who can create an individual program and control the training process.
In addition to strength training, some yoga strength and breathing exercises will help you gain weight.
What should the diet be like?
Calories represent the energy expended by the body both to maintain vital functions and systems, and to carry out any physical activity that a person performs. It comes exclusively from the food consumed. The source of energy can be any basic nutrient - protein, fat, carbohydrate.
There are 4 kcal per gram of protein and carbohydrates, and 9 kcal per gram of fat. Therefore, it does not matter what kind of food you eat to gain weight. The main thing is how many calories the body receives along with it. This allows you to eat as balanced as possible and not deny yourself various tasty things, which are mostly carbohydrates.
Principles of weight gain - BZHU ratio
A girl who wants to gain weight, but gain kilograms mainly from muscle tissue rather than fat deposits, should correctly distribute nutrients in her diet.
Squirrels
Training increases the need for protein, but the amount per kilogram of body weight varies from 1 to 2 g per day. Recommendations from sports nutrition manufacturers are a little higher, but they are often driven by the desire to sell a rather expensive nutrient, which is protein.
Its excess is converted into glucose when energy is needed, or excreted when it is not needed. Girls should take an average number equal to 1.5 g per 1 kg of their own body weight. This amount is enough not only to replenish energy costs, but also to build muscle fibers. And if your weight is 50 kg, you need to consume 75 g of protein per day.
Fats
The body needs essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins. If they are excluded from the diet, it leads to health problems. Fears about fats are largely unfounded. Fats contain a large number of calories, which quickly and satiate well. The main thing is to adhere to the daily norm of 20-30% of the total diet. If the daily caloric intake is 1500 kcal, then fats should account for approximately 375 kcal (25%), that is, 42 g (375/9).
Carbohydrates
They represent the cleanest source of energy. Having calculated the amount of protein and fat, the rest of the diet can be safely filled with both slow and fast carbohydrates. The main thing is to stay within calorie limits.
Approximate daily diet
If you consume 1500 kcal per day, and the initial weight is 50 kg, then the nutrients may account for the following ratio:
- Protein: 75 g per day x4 = 300 kcal
- Fats: 44 g per day x9 = 400 kcal
- Carbohydrates: 1600 – 700 = 900 kcal/4 = 225 g per day
Based on this calculation, you can easily calculate your daily caloric intake.
Diet and lifestyle
In order to gain weight and form the correct body proportions, you need to rebuild not only your own diet, but also your lifestyle. Even with a long-term adherence to a special diet for weight gain, bad habits such as smoking, drinking coffee and alcoholic beverages will greatly spoil the final result.
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To gain weight, girls need to switch to a balanced diet or develop their own regimen aimed at increasing fat mass.
Please note: with any diet, sleep plays an important role; with an incorrect, disrupted sleep pattern, a person experiences stress, which in turn leads to weight loss. To gain weight, you need to adjust your sleep schedule and sleep no less and no more than 7-8 hours.
Any diet regimen for weight gain or loss requires long and hard work. A quick result will be short-lived and may affect your health. Remember that excessive nervous excitement, frequent stress and breakdowns lead to accelerated fat processing and weight loss.
Diet Tips for Weight Gain
When asked how to gain weight for a thin girl without harming her health, most nutritionists give an ambiguous answer. It all depends on nutrition and metabolism, but each person has an individual body and physique, so everyone needs an individual approach.
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Rapid weight gain involves a certain nutritional method based on the following principles:
- It is best to exclude refined foods from your diet; they are low in calories and beneficial.
- Meals should be nourishing, but measured and frequent; it is best to eat 5-6 times in moderate portions.
- The diet should consist of fats, proteins and fast carbohydrates in equal proportions.
- It is recommended to add foods high in fats of plant and animal origin to the menu.
- It is better to exclude cereals and eggs from your diet.
- For lunch, it is recommended to consume liquid dishes, side dishes of meat and vegetables.
- For dinner, it is best to focus on protein foods.
- It is recommended to eat sandwiches and sandwiches as snacks.
- The diet must be combined with exercise.
It is best not to rely on existing diets, but to develop your own diet according to your taste and individual preferences. Nutrition for weight gain must be correct, contain a lot of calories, at least twice the usual amount of calories consumed per day.
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List of useful products
When dieting for weight gain, the main thing is not how much food you eat per day, but what kind of food. An irregular and ill-conceived diet, which consists only of flour and fatty foods, will, of course, affect weight gain, but in this case the fat will be deposited unevenly, in folds. In order to gain weight, you need a thoughtful diet with pre-selected foods.
To gain weight, you need to include more of the following in your diet:
- Dried fruits and nuts (almonds, dried apricots, walnuts, prunes, hazelnuts);
- Fatty dairy products (yogurt, fermented baked milk, whole milk, cheese, cream);
- Meat (pork, beef, chicken, turkey);
- Whole grain porridge (brown rice, oats, buckwheat);
- Fat and oil (avocado, coconut, olive oil);
- Chocolate and flour products.
In addition, to gain weight, it is recommended to add avocado and coconut oil-rich foods to your meals more often; peanut butter and jam are also advisable for consumption.
Recommendations for creating a menu
In order to competently and correctly create a menu for girls to replenish, you need to focus on the calorie content of foods and dishes. To achieve weight gain, all foods consumed must have a high calorie content and a high fat content.
However, you should not eat only fatty confectionery products and smoked meats. Products must be both high-calorie and healthy, contain vitamins, amino acids and minerals to support the body.
Important! Nutritionists have proven that with a constant diet of the same type, a person experiences more stress, nervous tension and loss of strength occur, which lead to weight loss. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to diversify your diet for weight gain and change the menu every day.
In this case, in order for the girl to get better, it is recommended to eat often, but in moderate portions. The best option for increasing body weight is 5-6 times a day. When creating a menu, you should also take into account and be sure to add snacks, because frequent snacks lead to a guaranteed increase in body weight.
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Diet for weight gain: sample menu
At first, it can be extremely difficult to choose a diet to increase weight that would suit your taste preferences and regimen. For girls who are faced with a similar problem for the first time, it is best to focus on existing diets for gaining weight.
Here is a sample diet menu for weight gain, designed for a week:
| Day of the week | Eating | Menu |
| Monday | Breakfast | Oatmeal with milk with dried fruits, sandwich with smoked chicken and cheese, juice |
| Snack | Yogurt with any fruit | |
| Dinner | Meat broth, fried veal with vegetable side dish, banana, fruit juice or tea | |
| Afternoon snack | Homemade fermented baked milk, 100 g hazelnuts and peanuts | |
| Dinner | Pork or chicken chop, vegetable salad with corn, toast with butter, tea with milk or cream | |
| Tuesday | Breakfast | Millet porridge with milk, nuts, toast with jam, coffee with cream and sugar |
| Snack | Sandwich with cheese and tomato | |
| Dinner | Casserole with carrots and mushrooms, vegetable salad, juice | |
| Afternoon snack | Full-fat yogurt with raisins and dried apricots | |
| Dinner | Buckwheat with milk and butter, a glass of full-fat milk with cookies | |
| Wednesday | Breakfast | Cheese omelette with ham or bacon, a couple of toasts with butter and jam, coffee |
| Snack | Carrot salad with nuts and hazelnuts | |
| Dinner | Borsch with pork and cream, pork schnitzel 200 g, tea | |
| Afternoon snack | Banana and strawberry smoothie | |
| Dinner | Stewed rice with liver, lemon jelly, sponge cake, a cup of full-fat yogurt | |
| Thursday | Breakfast | Donut with powdered sugar and sour cream, coffee with cream |
| Snack | Apple, yogurt with dried fruits | |
| Dinner | Soup with meatballs and mushrooms, chicken dumplings with sour cream 200 g, juice | |
| Afternoon snack | Squid salad, toast with Nutella, kefir | |
| Dinner | Vegetable salad with ham and olive oil, macaroni and cheese, fruit drink | |
| Friday | Breakfast | Oatmeal with milk and nuts, ham and cheese sandwich, sweet coffee |
| Snack | Fruit salad with full-fat yogurt and nuts | |
| Dinner | Meat soup with pasta, boiled potatoes 200 g, two chicken chops in batter, fruit drink | |
| Afternoon snack | Biscuit cookies, a glass of full-fat milk | |
| Dinner | Sandwich with tuna, cheese, tomatoes and mayonnaise, tea | |
| Saturday | Breakfast | Sandwich with bacon, cheese and salad, coffee with cream |
| Snack | Toast with jam, yoghurt | |
| Dinner | Cream soup with mushrooms, chicken salad with pineapple and cheese, tea | |
| Afternoon snack | Fruit smoothie, 200 g of any nuts | |
| Dinner | Pasta with tomato sauce and seafood, vinaigrette 150 g, green tea | |
| Sunday | Breakfast | 3 pieces of toast with jam and butter, full-fat milk, nuts |
| Snack | Fruit salad with nuts and cream | |
| Dinner | Borscht with lamb, potato casserole with cheese and chicken 200 g, juice | |
| Afternoon snack | Chocolate pudding, 100 g dates | |
| Dinner | Roast chicken, vegetable salad with nuts and mayonnaise 200 g, sweet tea |
General recommendations regarding nutrition
Nutrient distribution is not the only principle that should be followed when creating a menu for weight gain. It is necessary to drink a large amount of liquid, but not only water, but tea, compote, juice, and so on. Liquid is directly involved in all processes occurring in the body. The main indicator of sufficient moisture is the absence of the feeling of thirst.
You should definitely take vitamins. It is better to give preference to sports ones. If this is not possible, pharmacies will do. The cost for them is different, but it is formed not due to the difference in quality, if the composition is similar, but is determined by the brand. You should carefully study the list and dosages of minerals and vitamins included in the complex.
The diet should include vegetables. They are a valuable source of minerals, vitamins and fiber. Their amount from the daily menu should not exceed 30%. They may not be included in the total caloric intake. The main thing is not to replace the carbohydrates, fats, and proteins necessary for weight gain with vegetables.
The number of meals should be determined based on your own feelings of hunger. You can eat three to six times a day, and make up for missed meals with larger portions. Weight increases not due to frequent snacking, but due to increased caloric intake.
Dried fruits
Dried fruits are a high-calorie snack that contain antioxidants and many micronutrients. There are many different types of this product.
However, they are quite high in sugar and are not ideal for weight loss diets. On the other hand, this makes them a good choice when solving the problem of how a girl can gain weight. Moreover, they are easy to use and taste great.
Although many people think that fruits lose most of their nutrients when dried, this is not true. Dried fruits contain a lot of fiber, and most of the vitamins and minerals remain the same as when eaten fresh.
Try mixing this product with any source of protein (such as pieces of meat or a protein shake). They also pair well with nuts and natural yogurt to create a blend of healthy fats, proteins and other key nutrients.
