The answer to that question depends on the type of mass you hope to acquire. If you are just looking to be bigger and you don’t care if the weight is fat or muscle, then all you need to do is eat a lot more of whatever you want. However that is very unhealthy and a better way to gain mass would be to build muscle. Along with a rigorous exercise routine a person needs to eat the right foods from a muscle gain diet to gain weight in a healthy manner.

The timing of when a person eats is probably the most important thing to be concerned with when starting a diet to gain mass. In fact, timing of any diet is important as research has shown that they way people commonly eat isn’t the best way to keep the body healthy. You should actually be eating small meals about five to six times a day rather than a large meal three times a day. Even with snacks the large meal plan is not as effective as smaller meals. Eating small meals often keeps the stomach working at a steady pace, rather than giving it a chance to stop digesting food completely for a long period of time. When trying to gain weight it’s important that the stomach is fully digesting all the food you put in so that you can absorb all the nutrients you worked so hard to put into your diet.

So what kind of nutrients do you need? The essentials for gaining weight are protein, unsaturated fats, carbohydrates, and general vitamins and minerals found in a well rounded meal. In order to get a good amount of protein without getting a lot of the bad fats, you should add a lot of lean meats to your meal. Red meats with the fat reduced or cut off have less fat than regular red meats but still have a high amount of unwanted fat and are not your best option. Try to eat more chicken and fish especially because they have a lot of protein without the crazy amounts of fat.

Unsaturated fats come in two types: mono and poly. You’ll find these fats in foods such as nuts and seeds, and many fruits also have unsaturated fats. You want both types of unsaturated fats so be sure to add both fruits and either nuts or olive oil into your diet consistently.

Carbohydrates are actually needed to give the body energy, although too many of them can lead to fat gain instead of muscle gain. What you’ll want to do is make sure you are only eating higher amounts of carbs when you are actually doing the necessary workouts that go along with gaining muscle. Pastas, rice, and other grains are the best way to get carbohydrates into your diet because they also have other nutrients.

Eat well rounded meals to ensure that your body gets a good variety of vitamins and minerals. Milk, fruits and vegetables, grains, and meats should be a part of your everyday eating habits.

Muscle Gain Diet Continued