Having been skinny for most of my life, I know the frustration of trying everything to gain weight but never quite getting it right. Most of the time it’s not so much about bulking up on muscle and looking ripped, but just about getting a bit more meat distributed around your body.
We spoke to fitness expert Ronald Abvajee and asked him to offer some tips on how skinny gents can structure their diet so that it helps them gain a bit of weight.
Here’s Abvajee’s advice in his own words:
Include calories and nutrient-dense food in your diet
Everything we eat has some calorie content. So like we eat food with fewer calories to lose weight, we need to eat food that has more calories to gain weight. Foods rich in calories and protein easily help people gain and maintain weight.
What you have to do
1. Add vegetables like beans, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, spinach, asparagus, pumpkins and eggplants to your diet.
2. Add a healthy portion of red meat to your diet, too. But keep in mind not to overdo it. The aim is to add weight, not cholesterol!
3. You can even add olive oil in generous quantities to your salads.
Post-workout nutrition
You also must be absolutely sure you’re eating good food immediately after your workout. If you let yourself suffer at this point, you’re not maximising the true potential of that workout.
Increase the number of meals
Have six meals a day – three big meals and three small ones. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner should be heavy and calorie-rich. A heavy dinner adds weight to your body, as your metabolism is not as active when you sleep. Eating every three to four hours helps maintain consistent energy levels. The meal portions are not big, so there is no fat gain. Gaining lean muscle mass is something that you should focus on.
Healthy Fats
Good fats are necessary for muscle growth and production of hormones like testosterone. This is essential for the growth and strength of muscles. This also helps elevate the metabolic rate, which, in turn, helps the body lose bad fats and gain good ones.
High protein
You need to include the right amount of protein in your diet. Remember, if you want to put on weight and look fit, you need to build muscles, not flab.
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