- 1). Eat three heavy meals a day. Skipping meals or stretching out the time between meals may hinder weight gain efforts. Eat more often to take in additional calories and increase your weight. Include meats, pasta, rice and bread in your choices.
- 2). Eat extra calories. Along with increasing the number of times you eat in a day, upping your daily calories by 500 can theoretically help you gain at least one pound each week (3,500 calories equals one pound). Add cheese, gravy and other dressings to food to help add calories, and snack during the day on healthy choices such as nuts, raw vegetables and fruits.
- 3). Increase protein consumption. Protein helps boost cell growth and increases muscle tone. Eat plenty of meats, eggs and dairy foods to take in additional protein.
- 4). Add higher-calorie beverages. Water is a good choice for overall health. But if trying to gain weight, select beverages with a calorie count such as fruit juices, healthy smoothies, tea and milk. Drink throughout the day to fill up and increase daily calories.
- 5). Start lifting weights to build back muscles. Muscle tone will decrease once you stop strength training. Use resistant bands or hand weights to increase tone in your arms. Take advantage of weight machines to tone and define muscles throughout your body, and exercise the lower body with workouts such as Pilates, running, swimming and biking.
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