The crave for better weight management and healthy eating, have been trending across the globe at least in the current decade. However, more focus tended towards people losing excess weight, than to gain weight. Why? Because eating loads of junk, processed and genetically-modified foods have led to huge numbers of overweight and obese people. In just half of a century, it is almost a pandemic.
Before You Gain Weight: Watch Out
The World Health Organization (WHO) in a recent report stated that “overweight and obese persons nearly tripled between 1975 and 2016”, and that “the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased significantly worldwide in children and young adults between 1980 and 2013. In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults aged 18 years or more were overweight, with 650 million obese.” (Source: Taylor and Francis Online). This means that few people are careful about their health and eating patterns, and so excess weight becomes a problem.
And the numbers continue to increase every year. Not only that, obesity and overweight cases amongst children and youths are rapidly increasing. This pattern of weight gain comes with serious life-threatening health disorders. Notable cases we know include diabetes, heart, liver & kidney diseases, bone troubles, fertility problems, cancer, food poisoning and more.
Also Read- 10 Most Popular Foods in Nigeria
To Gain Weight: Any Help for the Lightweight?
But that aside. Our human society has been blessed with candid advice from health experts. Both orthodox and alternative medicine practitioners have come to the rescue on weight reduction.
How about helping our skinny folks, or someone recuperating from illness to gain weight? Indeed, is it possible to GAIN WEIGHT WITHIN A WEEK? Perhaps a pound in a week would make a difference – in fact that’s just enough. As you yearn to look fresher and healthier with just some added weight, take care not to overdo it. One must strike the right balance for the sake of maintaining sound health, not just to pursue appearance alone.
The fact is, it is best to pursue any weight gain (or even weight management) plan gradually and carefully. It is unsafe and even likely to fail if you attempt to gain weight quickly. Because the body must be allowed to adjust gradually. Learn to cooperate with your body and mind, at a natural pace.
Quick Tips to Gain Weights Safely
So what methods or strategies can you follow to gain some weight in 10 days or less, to begin with?
The safest starting point is with your dietician or doctor.
It takes a health expert who knows your medical history (or has run the necessary tests) to prescribe the best weight gain plan for you. An honest chat with the doctor will identify if you need to pursue such weight gain or not.
Again, a noticeable weight gain will only occur if you are consuming more calories than you are burning everyday. Persons who do a lot of physical activity will need more food intake (and thus more calories) to retain weight. That is, compared to those who sit more often or rest the more. To gain one pound in a week, you would need to consume at least 500 extra calories per day – according to Jaime Gnau, RDN (biomedical sciences clinical instructor, Missouri State University’s dietetics program).
Nibbits here and there – eat more of the smaller foods frequently in the day.
Don’t take on the three square meals with a soldier-like dedication. You will be doing your stomach a great favour by REDUCING THE QUANTITY (and increasing the nutritional quality) of your foods. This will also stop any sudden increase in your blood sugar level. Nuts, fruits, veggies, and cereals would be very useful fillers to gain and retain weight.
Eat more of foods that contain high calories.
A good combination of fruits, seeds, veggies, nuts and protein with high caloric values can perform weight gain magic to your body. For instance, add the following high-calorie foods into your daily intake:
- Full-cream milk
- Nuts (Hazelnuts, peanuts, almonds etc)
- High-energy fruits (e.g. avocados, bananas, dates, dried apricots, raisins)
- Black beans
- Olive oil
- Quinoa
- Sunflower seeds
- Canola oil
Eat a higher quantity of protein, and learn to eat protein first before other foods.
Because protein takes longer to digest than other food types, it is best to start by eating your protein first in a meal with a variety of food nutrients. It would also require you to drink more water to avoid dehydration.
You equally need to eat more healthy protein (but never too much). The recommended daily intake of protein is about 35% of the daily calories. The aim is for your body to gain more muscle and less fat. Protein-rich foods would include lean meat, white meat (e.g. poultry and rabbit), nuts, salmon, fish, eggs, beans, lentils and pork.
Drink more smoothies and shakes.
High-protein drinks, shakes and smoothies are very beneficial for weight gain. Incorporate protein-rich ingredients such as the following into your drinks: soya, chia, peanut butter, whole milk, yoghurt, fresh fruits, oatmeal, sesame seeds. Adding protein powder to your drinks could also be helpful.
Take more full-cream milk and milk products.
Full-cream milk, cheese, full-fat cream and yoghurt are excellent sources of protein and fat.
For persons who suffer from lactose intolerance, there are plant-based alternatives to dairy milk. Soya milk, sesame, milk sourced from nuts are recommended for lactose intolerance, as well as low-fat cheese (e.g. Parmesan and Cheddar).
Eat more healthy carbohydrates.
Such foods come packed with more than just carbohydrates; they are usually rich in protein, minerals and vitamins as well. We have such foods as oats, potatoes, whole grains, pasta, brown rice, and wholemeal bread.
Do exercise
Carry the dumbbells! Some good old exercise done at least three times per week can help to build the muscles. And – these exercises do not need to be intense. Carrying weights and dumbbells, doing squats, and walking are great ideas.
