As soon as we say diet, most of the people will first think of losing weight. However, the term “diet” hides a much broader meaning. Diet is a term that describes a practice of taking exactly determined amounts and types of food so a certain goal could be achieved. Its most common goal is reduction of body weight but there are other reasons why people decide on diet. Some carry it out because of health reasons, others because of aesthetics, and there are the ones that do it just to feel better or to reduce fatigue. In this article, we will deal a little bit with those who have a specific problem, and that is underweight.
Statistics show that 10% of men suffer from underweight. The same as overweight is dangerous; underweight can also cause a significant problem. The cause of this problem can be simple – insufficient energy input considering the consumption or bad insulin sensitivity and fast metabolism.
The importance of hormones
In this whole helter-skelter about calories and food, we often forget that hormones have an important influence on body weight changing. It is well known that thyroid hormone deficiency (hypothyroidism) slows down the metabolism and can lead to increased body weight, while on the other hand the excess of this hormone(hyperthyroidism) can cause losing weight. Another important hormone that should be mentioned is insulin.
When we eat food rich with carbohydrates, it degrades quickly and gets absorbed into the bloodstream. Blood sugar level increases quickly, and from pancreas insulin is excreted, which removes sugar from blood in that way that it leaves a small part in the muscles and liver so it can be used as fuel for the body in the next few hours, and the rest is transformed into fat and stored in fat cells as spare energy. As insulin acts quickly, blood sugar is even lower a few hours after eating than it was before and the body “thinks” that it lacks energy, and the insulin in blood is still high, which doesn’t allow using fat for energy. The result is hunger and need for food rich with carbohydrates that provides energy quickly.
After we are fed up with carbohydrates once more, the body prepares them as fat at the same time while insulin in blood is high. As opposite of that, lack of insulin allows for fat cells to slowly discharge their content of fat into the bloodstream where the fat transforms once again into energy that is needed for normal functioning thanks to liver.
When it comes to gaining weight, the easiest way to do it would be with loads of chips, liters of Cola and other unhealthy food. However, nobody wants to gain weight in a way to “stack up” pillows of fat so with gaining weight we want to be careful and choose food that has higher caloric value but are also healthy and of good quality carefully. In well balanced diet the food that should be present are proteins, carbohydrates and fats. For an average person that doesn’t have increased physical activities that ratio should be 15-20% proteins, 55-60% carbohydrates and 25-30% fats. For people that want to gain muscle mass this ratio is changed in the advantage of proteins, and the percentage of fat is lowered.
Here is some useful advice:
1. Increase caloric intake and amount of meals
The first and basic rule that we must follow if we want to gain weight is to eat more and to eat more often. That implies 3 main meals a day and 3 snacks. Time difference between meals should be 2.5-3h. For starters, calculate how much calories do you need a day to maintain the weight that you have and then you add 500 more to that number. You need that much calories to gain 0,5kg a week which is acceptable because just like in losing weight, the goal is not to cram up 10kg in 2 weeks.
Daily calories input to maintain your current weight you will calculate by multiplying your BMI with 1.2 if you are not active as much, with 1.375 if you are active a bit, with 1.7 for major physical activity and training up to 6 days a week and with 2 if you are a professional athlete. It is also very important not to skip meals, and “stuffing” with food must start in the morning.
Many probably see it as a mission impossible, but good breakfast is very important so you could continue with the right intake of calories throughout the day. Nutritionists recommend bread, honey, butter, marmalade, high fat milk products, eggs, fruits…Make a simple omelet with eggs or pancakes with whey powder and you will get a super caloric breakfast. It is also desirable to drink a liter of milk (plain or chocolate) a day, so start with it in the morning.
For snacks it is good to eat dried or fresh fruits (hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, and bananas), high fat milk products (yoghurt, pudding, cheese), fruit compote, fruit cake, ice cream. It is recommended to eat all kinds of cheese, and the healthiest is white, cottage cheese.
For lunch and dinner combine all kinds of food: carbohydrates, proteins and fat. Here, there is also a rule that fat should be up to 30% of total daily energetic intake, and unsaturated fatty acids that we find in olives and olive oil, nuts, seeds and avocado have the advantage.
However, it is important to be careful with fats so we don’t burden the liver or digestive system too much, and so the level of cholesterol in blood doesn’t get too high.
Meat is recommended to eat two to three times a day, because without taking meat, no positive shift in gaining weight could be expected. With every meal, take whole grain bread, so that throughout the day more than 6 slices are eaten. Vegetables should be eaten fresh and cooked, several times a day, if it is possible, with different dressings.
In two meals starch should be present: potato or rice sauce, topping or butter. With cooking and preparing food all kinds of fats can be used, but the best choice is olive oil.
2. Increase protein intake
While people averagely need 1g of proteins per kilogram of body weight a day, it has been proven that for athletes this number is two times bigger. For fitness beginners this number might be even bigger, up to 2,5g which would mean that a person that weighs 75kg that starts doing fitness should take into the organism around 150g of proteins daily. Otherwise, trainings will result with only moderate development, meaning, acquired muscles can be degraded. What is important is that the amount of proteins is divided into smaller portions.
The main sources of proteins from nutrition are mainly meat, egg white, milk and milk products.
3. Be smart with carbohydrates
Even though proteins have the main role in gaining muscle mass, carbohydrates is also very important.
Being that carbohydrates are basic energetic source in human nutrition, it is important that their intake is regular and correct. So before training it is best to eat a meal that is mostly contained of complex carbohydrates so it can assure continuous energetic provision to the muscles. The best sources of carbohydrates are the ones that are combined with a glycemic index like whole grain bread, pastry, oat flakes, oat meal, various fruits and vegetables.
4. Drink a lot of water
It is very important to drink at least 2, 5 liters of fluids a day, being that with increased import of proteins, the amount of their waste products that are toxic is increased as well. In that way, urination is provoked so, in adequate ratio, the disposal of metabolism byproducts in the body is larger. In this case you can replace water with sugared tea, tea with honey or natural juices. The only trap in consummating a larger amount of water is the one that with urination or fluid disposal, minerals are disposed at the same time. So it is highly recommended to try and compensate them with nutrition or supplements.
5. Exercise regularly
If you are still not exercising, it is time to start. Exercising and right nutrition are key formula for gaining weight and gaining muscle mass. Also, increasing muscle mass will increase the appetite so you will have a need to look into the fridge more often. In the process of gaining mass try to do more exercises with weights, and do aerobic training once a week. Try to train as often as possible. Of course, how much you will train, that much more calories you will burn, so you will have a greater need for food. After training, it is recommended to eat a meal rich with proteins.
6. Insert supplements
Various supplements are really useful for those who gain weight harder and for the ones that have food problems! Whey protein has the main role here, with athletes in general, and with people that are doing bodybuilding. Being that it is very quickly absorbed in blood, it is ideal to take immediately after training, when the muscles need it the most. The best preparation before exercising is a concentrate of milk whey proteins and a mix of complex carbohydrates that will secure continuous energy provision during the training.
Here are examples on how to simply sort your menu:
1. Meal:
- 150g of oat flakes
- 2 slices of integral toast
- 1 banana
- 4 egg whites
- 1 yolk
- multivitamin
2. Meal:
- 1 orange
- protein shake
3. Meal:
- 150g of skinless chicken breast
- 200g of baked potatoes or 100g of rice (integral if possible)
- 100g of mixed vegetables
- 500mg of vitamin C
4. Meal:
Whey protein shake
5. Meal:
- 200g of non-fat beef
- 300g of baked potatoes
- 100g of mixed vegetables
6. Meal
- 150g of oat flakes
- 4 egg whites
- 1 yolk