We all have that one friend that eats all the junk food he or she can get their hands on but never gains an ounce. For us, looking from outside in, everything seems all too perfect. Soda, cookies, burgers, French fries, ice cream, pasta, and all other enemies of the chiseled body. Now, we oftentimes oversee the other perspective. It’s not all fun and games when you look at things through other person’s eyes. Some folks genuinely struggle with the reflection they see in the mirror. It ruins their self-esteem, affects their social life, and most definitely impacts their romantic relationships. This time, instead of talking about how to lose weight, we are going to tackle the problem from the other end. How to put a little meat on the bones without gaining fat in the process? Keep reading.

Proper calorie intake

Firstly, try to keep track of how many calories intake on a daily basis. Once you determine that, then you take more to maintain slow and steady weight gain. Don’t just think “weight”, think “quality weight”. That’s what you need, muscle, not fat. The question still stands, how much can you gain? Healthy pound packing is estimated at 16lbs per year. Pure, lean muscle, that is. To speed up the process you should get into a gym, lifting some weights can put you on a good path in adding lean weight.

How many calories to intake?

That depends on how much pounds you want to add. For example, to put 3lbs per month you would need to take 600 calories above your maintenance level, whereas to gain 1lbs per month you will only need 200 calories more. Give it a try for a couple of weeks and monitor how your body reacts. Don’t panic if you gain more weight than expected in the first weeks. More carbs and sodium will trigger your body’s natural reaction to hold onto extra water. Be persistent, and you will have an insight into how much calories are optimal for the results you want to achieve. Remember, always choose quality over quantity. Make every bite you take count, and watch what you drink. Chose freshly squeezed juices over soda, or even better some natural energy boost drinks you can mix up yourself, like apple, red beets, and ginger cocktail.

Carbs, proteins, and fats

Proteins are crucial in gaining muscle weight. A balanced diet with carbs, proteins, and fats included will get you faster to reach your goal. You will need around 200g of protein every day, and if you are super-skinny feel free to up that to 250g. The recommended intake of proteins is 150g, but you will be taking in many more carbs, so a healthy balance of nutrients is desirable. Carbs you can find everywhere, in fruits, veggies, rice, even ketchup. Don’t worry about carbs, it’s much harder to find natural sources of proteins. As far as fats go – there are fats, and then there are “healthy fats”. Healthy fats you can get from nuts, butter, dairy, and avocado. Fat has 9 calories per gram, whereas carbs and proteins have half that much. To sum it up, more healthy fat – more weight gain. For more detailed insight about nutrients, you can visit newsflashing.com where you can find many stories addressing this issue.

Training

Just eating right isn’t going to get you far. Without progressive training, this is just a meal plan. To become a lean-mean-machine you’re going to get your back into it, and head for the gym. Pumping iron is going to give you lean muscle and strength. Since you probably have no muscle tissue exercising is crucial for your physique. At the gym, repeat each set for as many times as you can. You absolutely need to exercise because if you don’t you will gain unwanted fat. Make every workout count, every set you repeat, make it count too. Dedicate. Push yourself for as many reps as possible.

Supplements

Nutritional supplements are your best allies. They can assist you with energy levels, recovery from a workout, and add to your protein and calorie intake. Take into consideration a whey protein shakes. They could give you 25g of protein in one drink, without filling you up with that heavy feeling in your belly. There are also pre-workout supplements that will give you that extra oomph. It will give you the potency to take your workouts to the next level. Multivitamins are very important, so don’t skip on them. They are your back-up plan, giving you additional energy when you exhaust all your other reserves.

Stay on top of your weight gain

This is very important so make sure you do it religiously. Besides weighing yourself every 10 days or so, you should also take measurements of the thickest parts of your legs, arms, and stomach. If you feel that your weight gain is going too slow, you can always fix that by adding more calories but make sure you don/t go overboard, 300cal per day are quite enough. In case you do this, give it a time to see if your new program is giving some results, and patiently wait two to three weeks to see if there is any. Measuring your body at different, thickest, points will give you an idea if you’re gaining a muscle. Do not be discouraged, since muscle building is very intense in the first six months, after which it starts to slow down noticeably. You just keep doing your thing. Once you reach your desired weight cut down on your calorie intake while pushing your limits at the gym.

Being underweight is not going to relieve you of focusing on health. Always be mindful of excess fat and sugar. Especially sugar. Having a pie with an ice cream scoop on top is OK, from time to time. Indulge your cravings and quench your thirst. No judging. Having said that, most of your treats should consist of healthy choices like bran muffins and granola bars.