Best Healthy Foods to Gain Weight

Rose May Pimentel in Health

Nov 23, 2020 • 3 min Read

Not everyone’s goal is to lose weight and some may want to increase their weight. Gaining weight or adding muscle can be just as difficult as losing weight for others.

Whatever your goal is, there are healthy ways to gain weight. Here are some of the best foods to help you gain weight or add muscle from Healthline:

1. Milk

Milk has been used as a weight gainer or muscle builder for decades. It provides a good balance of proteins, carbs, and fats and a good source of calcium, as well as other vitamins and minerals. For those trying to add more muscle, milk is an excellent protein source that provides both casein and whey proteins. Studies found that milk, or whey and casein combined, can lead to greater mass gain than other protein sources.

2. Rice

Rice is a convenient, low cost carb source to help you gain weight. Rice is also fairly calorie-dense, you can easily obtain a high amount of carbs and calories from a single serving. This helps you eat more food, especially if you have a poor appetite or get full quickly.

3. Red meats

Red meat is an excellent source of protein to help you gain muscle. It contains leucine, an amino acid that helps stimulate muscle protein synthesis. Also, it is one of the best natural sources of dietary creatine, which is possibly the world’s best muscle-building supplement. The fattier the meat, the more calories you’ll take in.

4. Potatoes and starches

Potatoes and other starchy foods like oats, corn, sweet potatoes, squash, winter root vegetables (carrots, onions, etc.), beans, etc. are very easy and cost-effective way to add extra calories. They also increase your muscle glycogen stores. Glycogen is the predominant fuel source for most sports activities. Many of these carb sources also provide important nutrients and fiber, as well as resistant starch that can help nourish your gut bacteria.

5. Salmon and oily fish

Salmon and oily fish are excellent sources of protein and important healthy fats. Out of all the nutrients that these provide, omega-3 fatty acids are among the most significant and well known. They offer numerous benefits for your health and help fight diseases.

6. Whole grain bread

Whole grain breads can be effective in gaining weight, especially when combined with a good protein source.

7. Dark chocolate

High quality dark chocolate provides a ton of antioxidants and health benefits. Dark chocolate with at least 70 percent cacao is said to help regulate stress hormones and blood sugar levels. It may help reduce the risk of heart disease, some cancers, inflammation, stress, and type 2 diabetes. Like other high fat foods, dark chocolate has a very high calorie density, meaning easy to get many calories from it.

8. Cheese

Cheese is a very good source of protein and rich in healthy fats.

9. Whole eggs

Eggs are one of the healthiest muscle-building foods on the planet. They provide a great combination of high quality proteins and healthy fats. It’s also important to eat the whole egg. In fact, almost all of the beneficial nutrients in eggs are found in the yolk.

10. Healthy fats and oils

It’s important to include healthy fats and oils in your diet, particularly if you’re trying to gain weight. Healthy fats and oils are some of the most calorie-dense foods on the planet. Stick to healthy oils such as coconut oil and olive oil.

All these foods listed above will help you gain weight, increase muscle and boost overall health. Also, try to follow a few healthy weight gain tips like doing regular exercise, avoid junk food, quit smoking and eat at regular intervals.

Stay healthy and safe!