The calorie is the basic unit of energy in all the foods we eat. Calories come from different sources: some come from protein, others come from carbohydrates that are complex and digest slowly, and still others come from simple carbohydrates like sugars that turn quickly into fat. It’s true that to gain weight you have to increase your caloric intake. There is no beating around this simple fact. However, you can be selective as to which high calorie foods you take in to increase your chances of healthy weight gain.
Not all foods are created equal. Some foods have a higher calorie density than other foods: this means that one cup of one food may have more calories than a cup of another food because the calories are more concentrated. If you need to gain healthy weight, you need to focus on calories from four major areas:
- Calorie-Dense Proteins: Things like red meat, peanuts, pork, sausage, and salamis have a lot of protein which means a lot of good calories. You should incorporate protein-rich foods into your diet plan.
- Complex Carbohydrates: Pasta, whole grains, cereal, potatoes, beans and rice all have high levels of complex carbs which means weight gain.
- Simple Carbohydrates: For gaining weight, skip the vegetables and try eating more fruits filled with fructose, a sugar that is a simple carbohydrate.
- Good Fats: A tablespoon of olive oil, peanut butter, or flaxseed oil is loaded with good calories from good fats for healthy weight gain.
Healthy Weight Gain
Weight gain can be very crucial for your health. If you are preparing to complete a lot of strenuous activity, you should prepare for this by building up as much muscle mass as you can. You do this by ingesting higher levels of proteins and complex carbs. Being conscious of the things you eat will make you have healthy weight gain and not useless weight gain.
