The best food to gain weight is the food that you like the taste of and can keep in your diet sustainably. However, if you naturally have a lower appetite it’ll need to be calorie dense foods. Because the biggest obstacle when wanting to build muscle is usually not eating enough. And it doesn’t matter how hard you’re training, insufficient fuel means a lack of brick men to build a house of bricks.
Best Foods to Gain Weight
So, we now know that calorie dense foods are important especially if you have a low appetite. But, one mistake we see regularly is those training super hard and not tracking calories. And this is a huge problem. Because no matter how calorie dense the food is, eating fewer calories than are burned in a day, won’t build muscle!
Moreover, turning up to the gym everyday remaining the same level of muscularity, is soul destroying. With that said, foods like: peanut butter, oats, avocado, nuts, seeds, fatty fish, olive oil, pasta, rice, dark chocolate, feta cheese, protein ice cream, popcorn etc. These are calorie dense foods but watch your saturated fat daily total doesn’t go over 30 grams. So, these foods will enable you to achieve a calorie surplus very easily! Also, these foods top up your calories but of course, proteins like, chicken, salmon, Greek yogurt, whey protein etc are standard. This blog by very well fit includes some great ideas too.
Tracking Calories
Tracking calories is very simple to do after a couple days of getting used to an app like My Fitness Pal. Honestly, it’s the difference, so if you want muscle enough you’ll track. And by nature, we eat very similar foods most days. So, it becomes a case of just clicking on food already added via your food history which takes me 2-3 minutes most days!
Best Food to Gain Weight and a Calorie Surplus
So, calorie dense foods and a definite daily calorie surplus are key. But how much of a calorie surplus? Well, one that allows 1-3 pounds of scale weight gain per month. Moreover, equating to around a 125-375 daily calorie surplus. But you may be thinking, how the hell do I figure that out. Basically, beginners should aim for a scale gain of 1.5-3 pounds per month (lower end for females). Intermediates to aim for a scale gain of around 1-2 pounds per month (lower end for females). Furthermore, for the advanced 0.5-1 pound per month is recommended. Because the closer to your genetic ceiling, the less gains you have to make (which can take 10-15 years so don’t worry). And the surplus begins to accumulate as fat.
Breaking the Surplus Down
For an estimation of your maintenance calories use this calculator. Then from this point we shoot for either a 125 daily calorie surplus (1 pound per month gain). Or a 375 daily calorie surplus (3 pound per month). Also, simply shoot for the half way mark between those two numbers for two pound per month gain rate. With this in mind, being super cute and attempting to gain 1/2 a pound per month (equating to a 62.5 daily calorie surplus) is almost impossible to track for most. And risky, because if you move more that day you very easily burn that energy that was meant to be available for muscle gain.
So, it is better to air on the side of caution and aim for one pound per week upwards. Alternatively as advanced lifters, focus all of your assessments on whether you are getting stronger over time or not. In addition to this, scale weight should go up at least every couple of months.
Lastly, to know the exact amount of calories that maintains your weight, check our other blog out.
For further questions and to join our coaching team contact us via this page.
Coach, Luke and Kate
