What to Eat to Gain Weight and Muscle

So you think it's easy to gain weight, huh? Well, I'd say bullcrap to that! True, you can gain weight hogging on junk foods and calorie loaded snacks and colas but that's not how you gain weight the respectable way - you just end up becoming obese! Along with obesity, you get a generous baggage of cholesterol, heart disease, high blood pressure and weakened bones absolutely free! On the other hand, if you go about it in a healthy, scientific and methodical way, gaining weight can do your body a whole lot of good. Bestowing it with health and fitness are the best ways to honor your body for all the efforts it makes to keep you alive. Therefore, if you're looking forward to gain weight and body mass for fitness and strength, you must know what to eat to gain weight and muscle.

Before we proceed any further, let me make it clear that the body weight is the sum total of all the bones, muscles, organs, fluids and fatty layers that make up your body. However, among all these components, muscles and fats are the only variables that you can easily manipulate to regulate your body weight. However, the proportion between the muscles and fats in your body are such that if one is in excess, the other will automatically be in deficit. In other words, in the given body capacity allotted for both muscles and fats, it is not possible for muscles to increase in mass without the fats getting diminished in quantity. Therefore, we can either choose to gain weight by increasing the body's muscle mass or by increasing the fat layers.

How to Gain Weight and Build Muscles

Since we all know that going the way of increasing muscle mass is the wiser option for gaining weight and body mass, here we will discuss how to gain weight fast the natural way. It all begins with what goes inside, what you eat. Regulating the proportion between muscles and fats in your body begins with being aware of what foods to eat to gain weight and muscle. When it comes to muscle talk, the first thing that comes to the mind is proteins followed by exercise for strength training. For this, you need to plan a diet that has a whole lot of proteins, sufficient quantities of carbohydrates and enough fats. While you must have got the point in including lots of proteins, you must be wondering about the carbs and fats part. Well, while protein helps you add more mass to your musculature, the carbohydrates give you energy for those vigorous workouts that are required for strength training.

In absence of carbohydrates, your body will turn to the proteins for energy, hampering all your muscle-building efforts in a bid to sustain sufficient fuel for itself. When I'm talking about carbohydrates, I am referring to the complex carbs like those in brown bread, whole wheat, rice and potatoes. Complex carbs take longer to digest and give energy to the body for a longer duration than simple carbs that can be found in sugar rich and sweet food items. Sufficient amounts of good fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) are necessary for gaining weight and building muscles. Also, sufficient amounts of fats help the body absorb various nutrients and fat based vitamins besides safeguarding various vital organs such as kidneys, various glands and the brain from damage.

Now, coming to the proportion in which these nutrients should be included in the diet, it all depends upon your current body structure, lifestyle and metabolism. On an average, a muscle and body mass gaining diet should comprise about 20% - 50% proteins, 30% - 60% carbohydrates and 20% - 30% fats. Now, if your daily routine includes lots of physical activities and if you have a fairly active metabolism, you can increase your carb intake by about 10%. If you have an extremely slight, almost bony frame and have difficulty in gaining weight, then fats and proteins should be consumed in higher quantities. In case you have a sluggish metabolism or a significant body fat level, protein should rank the highest in your diet with carbs and fats constituting only bare essential proportions.

What Foods Should Be Eaten?

Foods high in proteins, carbohydrates and beneficial fats should be included in the daily diet. In case you're still wondering what to eat to gain weight and muscles, here's a list of foods to eat to gain weight and build muscles that should give you some idea.

Dietary Proteins	Dietary Complex Carbohydrates	Dietary Beneficial Fats
Chicken Breasts Cottage Cheese Protein Shakes Yogurt Soy Beans Soy Milk Egg Whites Turkey Tuna Green Leafy Vegetables Nuts Sprouted Beans and Legumes Brown Rice Whole Wheat Products Salmon Halibut Whey Milk	Brown Bread Brown Rice Potatoes and other starchy vegetables Yams Whole Cereals Oatmeal Bagels Whole Wheat Pasta	Almonds Fish Oil Olives and Olive Oil Flaxseed Oil Avocado Peanuts

Now that you know what to eat to gain weight and build muscles, plan your diet accordingly keeping in mind your body mass, metabolism rate and lifestyle. Also, make sure you religiously stick to your workout and fitness training plan otherwise these nutritious food sources will only make you gain weight. Also, drink lots of fresh fruit and vegetable juices and water to keep your body well-hydrated. Rather than eating high volume meals thrice a day, eat smaller meals more frequently, spaced out evenly throughout the day. The eating part is only to help you gain desired body mass. Exercise and workouts are necessary to tone this body mass and turn all those calories and flab into a rippling temple of health!