Are you an underweight person and desperately thinking of gaining weight quickly?

These are few tips to help you out if you are in this situation.

 If your BMI (Body Mass Index) is less than 18 then you are considered an underweight individual and you need to increase your weight to become healthy. BMI is calculated as your weight in kilograms divided by square of your height measured in meters.

1. The only way to gain weight is to eat more; i.e., to consume more calories than your daily requirement. Excess calories are converted into mass which increases your body weight. You should determine your daily calorie requirement (from the daily activities you perform) and also your calorie intake (from the food items you consume daily).
2. Try to increase your calorie intake daily so that it will steadily increase your weight. Remember, you have to wait for a few weeks for the results to actually be visible. Distribute your meal timings accordingly. You can go for 1 breakfast, 3 meals, and 1 snack-break daily, rather than consuming in bulk at a single time.
3. Fat-rich food items and protein-rich are more preferred food items that help to gain weight. Fats give more calories per gram, while proteins help to build muscles. You should try to consume eggs, milk, meat, cereals, pulses, and/or whole-grains, which are rich sources of proteins. Cheese, chocolate milk, coconut, peanuts, walnuts are rich sources of fats.
4. Energy dense food items provide more calories per gram. These include, but are not limited to, cheese, dry-fruits, and nuts (such as dates, peanuts, cashews, almonds, etc.). Pastry-items, skimmed milk, and plain chocolate are some of the energy dense food items.
5. Instead of drinking water, you can have beverages like fruit juice, milk, or chocolate shakes which will provide you more calories. Water does not provide you any calories. Your body can fulfill its water requirement from these beverages.
6. You need to perform exercises that tend to stretch your larger muscles. Such intensive exercises, followed by a protein rich meal, will help you develop your muscles. Exercise causes “wear and tear” of your muscles, so protein meals are very important.
7. Starchy vegetables should be included in your diet. Potatoes are rich in starch and hence preferred by those trying to increase their weight.
8. You should avoid addictions like smoking and chewing tobacco (carcinogenic   items) which can cause obstacles in your weight gain process.
9. Avoid junk food items. They provide calories from sugar and fats in them but these food items are very sparse in proteins, minerals and vitamins.
10. Dietitians suggest that you should increase your weight by increasing your muscles and not just by increasing your body fat. This recommendation is based on the principle that the ratio of body fat to muscle, bone and other organs should be maintained within a specified range.

Making a few necessary changes in your diet and your lifestyle can result in healthy weight gain.

There are lots of gain weight program on the Internet and even more are the number of books available that guaranteed weight gain. Though you may be tempted to follow these guidelines by just looking at the images of muscular men on magazines and websites it might not work at all for few individuals.

Never follow these weight gaining programs blindly because what suit for others may not be admissible to your body. Here are a few tips to note before you engage in any of the program:

1. Every individual has a unique body structure. The structure of the human body, his weight and growth of his muscles is highly governed by nature of one’s genes. Hence some people are fat while others are thin.
2. Your daily calories requirement might vary widely from average. Some people has high BMR (basic metabolic rate) i.e., their body requires more calories than average. You must be able to adjust your calories intake by increasing it by 500 extra calories per day.
3. Decide on your weight gain goal. For example a gain of 2 pounds per week is feasible for an average individual. You should be ready to make necessary changes to your lifestyle and your eating habits to ensure you get enough calories to results in weight gain.
4. Do not gulp down any foods that come in your way just because you are intending to put on weight. Make a smart choice amongst the food items that are low in cholesterol, salts, sugars, and high in proteins content along with providing you enough calories.
5. Some people has a belief that taking a high proteins diet will help them to gain muscles and weight. But it is recommended that out of the total calories you consume, 50% must come from carbohydrates, 30% from fats, and 20% from proteins. RDA (recommemded dietary allowance) of proteins intake is 1 gram per kilogram body weight. This mean that a 60kg individual must not take more than 60 grams of proteins per day.
6. Some people blindly follow a diet because it is stated so in the weight gain program. But beware of the fact that you consider these food items for various disorders diabetes, blood preesure, cholesterol, allergies and kidney disorders. Hence a dietitian or nutrition expert can help you to prepare cutomized diet paln according to your body structure and composition.
7. Various weight gain program pitch you to buy their protein supplements which are supposed to increase your muscles and weight. But you should take these supplements with proper proportions and under expert guidance to avoid any side-effect. You should take other necessary precautious like drinking enough water along with these supplements to ensure proper outputs.
8. Your weight gain program must include proper exercise schedule along with balanced diet. If your program lacks exercise, then you will be just gaining body fats and no muscles. This will make you look passive and out of shape. See to it that your weight gain program has enough compound strength training workouts to put on muscles also.
9. Consider the fact that your weight gaining program should not include excess of protein supplements, shakes, powder which you are substituting for your daily meals. Remember that with enough calories and proteins, natural food items provide you with vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants which are very essential for proper functioning of all bod tasks.

In conclusion, every individual has an unique body structure and lifestyle different from others. Make necessary changes in the diets, exercises, and supplements mentioned in the program to suit your needs. Do not just follow blindly the instructions in the weight gain magazines without consulting an expert.