There are tons of diet books and products that claim to show people how to lose weight, but there are very few that offer tips to gain weight. Yet, there are many people that need to add extra pounds, and for a variety of reasons. Check with your doctor before you make any changes to your diet or exercise routine to make sure it’s okay and that you don’t have any underlying health problems. Assuming your doctor gives you their approval, the following tips will help you to weigh more.

1. Set a goal. You need to set a target weight that you are trying to reach. Try to keep your goal believable, but also big enough to make you work to achieve it. This will help you stay on track and keep you motivated when you don’t feel like doing what you need to do to gain more weight.

2. Lift weights. A lot of people assume that exercising is only good for losing weight,. And while that is true in a lot of cases, muscle weighs more than fat. Therefore, it is possible to use exercise to gain weight as well. It’s all about doing it the right way. Instead of doing a lot of reps with a lighter weight, the key is to do a few resp with a weight that’s as heavy as you can possibly lift a few times. Also, because you will be pushing yourself, be sure to work with a spotter for safety reasons.

3. Rest. Lifting heavy weights tears down the muscle tissue. It’s the repairing of this tissue that adds new muscle mass. The muscles will only repair themselves if you give them enough time to recover. So, be sure to rest at least a full day or two before you do the same weight lifting exercise again. The recommendation to get plenty of rest also extends to getting enough sleep at night.

4. Fill up with the right fuel. The food you eat for building muscle to gain weight makes a big difference. Eat a lot of protein from lean sources to keep the muscles working their best. Prior to working out eat carbohydrates to give yourself a boost of energy.

5. Eat well. One of people’s favorite tips to gain weight is to eat more. That doesn’t mean you can eat anything you want, though. Instead, stick to eating healthy food, just more of it. If you can add an extra 1,000 calories per day, you will gain two pounds per week. This will be easier if you break it down into 200 calories extra for 5 smaller meals each day. Incorporating good fats is a good way to get even more calories (protein and carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram while fat has 9). Olive oil, canola oil, fish, nuts, seeds and flaxseed are all decent source of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

These five tips to gain weight may sound simple, but don’t let that fool you. Stick to them and you will be up to your target weight before you know it.

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weight gaining diets