Think you’re too skinny but can’t seem to bulk up? Lost a lot of weight and struggling to get back to normal? Need to gain muscle mass? Our round-up of the best tips and science-backed substances will help you finally achieve your weight gain goals.
In theory, gaining weight is simple. All you have to do is provide your body with more energy than it needs: approximately 2000-2200 kcal for women, and 2400-2700 for men, around 70% of which will be used up covering essential functions.
Of course, energy expenditure is likely to increase if you exercise, but the logic remains the same: if you maintain a balance between energy input and output, your weight will remain stable. If you eat too little, your body will draw on its reserves and you will lose weight in the medium term all the time the imbalance persists. If you overeat, the opposite occurs: the body stores any excess in the form of fat, or muscle mass if accompanied by the right kind of exercise.
In practice, however, it’s a bit more complicated. Baseline energy expenditure varies significantly from one person to another: certain individuals are genetically ‘programmed’ to gain weight quickly while the reverse is true for others (1).
Thin people may not be able to create the necessary imbalance, through lack of appetite, very high metabolism which adapts to food intake, or other mechanisms involving the microbiota and brown fat which are as yet, little understood. Women are usually more affected than men.
Fortunately, there are ways of creating a significant energy differential, by sensibly increasing your energy input and temporarily reducing your energy output.
All foods are permitted to produce a significant energy surplus, but for health reasons, it is better to eat as balanced a diet as possible. There are three ways to achieve this: stimulate the appetite, avoid foods with a low energy density (which take up a lot of room in the stomach), and slow down your metabolism.
A sensible goal would be to progressively increase your calorie intake by 250-500 calories a day, to achieve a weekly weight gain of 250-500g.
Here are 8 tips to help you gain weight healthily and effectively :
In all cases, your diet should be high in vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids: this is essential for achieving healthy, durable weight gain.
If, in addition to dietary changes, you still need an extra boost, taking appropriate dietary supplements can be effective, whether for increasing your calorie intake, stimulating your appetite, or slowing down your metabolism. Here is a - by no means exhaustive - list:
References
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