Being underweight can be just as stressful for people as being overweight. That's why many individuals set themselves the goal of gaining a few pounds. This is often not as easy as it may sound. Find out how you can still increase your weight – in a healthy way – here.
Causes of underweight and calculation with BMI
When do we actually speak of being underweight? The body mass index (BMI) is often used as a guideline. This is a parameter that evaluates body weight in relation to height. A table with the different weight categories will then help you estimate how far your weight deviates from the normal weight range. With the help of our BMI calculator , you can find out with just a few clicks.
Underweight can have many causes. While some people have difficulty gaining weight due to their genetic predisposition, physical or psychological factors can also lead to underweight. In any case, if you are underweight, you should consult a doctor to rule out organic or psychological causes. Additionally, medical advice is needed to ensure that there is no malnutrition that makes the underweight dangerous in the first place. Because even if the BMI is too low , one cannot draw any conclusions about a person's health from the value alone, as many important components are ignored. For example, BMI calculators do not take into account the ratio of muscle to fat.
How to gain weight healthily? Nutrition and sports to build muscle
If you feel uncomfortable due to your weight and would like to gain a few kilos, you can reach this goal relatively quickly with high-calorie sweets, fast food, or greasy dishes. However, this approach is by no means healthy. It is much healthier to build muscle with a nutritional plan and exercise and to achieve healthy weight gain in this way.
If you want to gain weight healthily and quickly, it is especially important to do it the right way. In order to predominantly build muscle mass and reduce fat with a constant calorie surplus, a healthy diet and a training plan are essential. Foods with a high calorie density should end up on your plate at every meal. These include, for example, carbohydrate-rich foods such as cereals, pasta, or potatoes. You can increase the calorie density of your meals even further with high-quality vegetable oils. Avocados, for example, should not be missing from your menu – there are also wonderful avocado oils. It is important to increasingly incorporate valuable oils with unsaturated fatty acids into your diet. Oils work well in salads or with pickled vegetables. Fruits and vegetables provide the necessary vitamins and minerals. Soups can be refined with a little cream to achieve extra calories and enjoy a slice of whole wheat bread.
If you find it difficult to achieve your calorie intake with just three meals, you can also eat six to eight smaller meals a day. This way, you won't have to consume large quantities at once.
When it comes to sports, you should avoid the most common muscle-building mistakes and focus primarily on strength training. With heavy weights, you can grow your muscles and gain weight in a healthy way.
Build and gain muscle with the help of the calorie calculator
How you can build muscle and gain healthy weight when being underweight can basically be explained in one word: excess calories. A controlled change in diet is therefore required.
That is, to gain weight, you need to take in more calories than your body burns. It is therefore worthwhile to count calories here, even if this is otherwise more likely to be used in diets.
You can easily find out how many calories you should eat daily to achieve a calorie surplus with our calorie calculator . With just a few clicks, it calculates how many calories you need to consume daily to maintain your weight. So that you can build muscle with the help of the calorie calculator, you should add 200 to 400 kcal to your daily energy needs. However, depending on how active you are in everyday life and how much exercise you do, your daily energy needs may vary.
5 Healthy Nutrition Tips Against Underweight
To help individuals who are underweight achieve a healthy weight, we have finally collected the most important tips for a balanced diet:
Tip 1: Fat as an Energy Supplier
Fat is literally an energy source, because compared to the other two macronutrients, protein and carbohydrates, one gram of fat contains more than twice as many calories. Make sure to always include healthy fats in your diet. These include, for example, vegetable oils, nuts (e.g., walnuts, peanuts, cashew nuts, etc.) and seeds.
Tip 2: Carbohydrates for More Energy
Also, carbohydrates should not be missing from your diet. They not only help you exceed your daily calorie requirements, but also give you the necessary energy to achieve personal bests in strength training. It is best to rely on long-chain carbohydrates, such as whole grains, oatmeal , rice, or potatoes.
They don't cause your blood sugar levels to rise rapidly and then fall again. If your blood sugar level drops too quickly, your performance during training will also decline rapidly. Porridge is therefore particularly suitable as a meal directly before training. It provides you with the necessary energy, consists of long-chain carbohydrates, and ensures you won't feel overly full.
Basic Recipe: Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 250 ml milk or a plant-based alternative for vegans (oat milk, almond milk, soy milk,...)
- 50 g oatmeal (grams of oatmeal)
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 tsp agave syrup optional
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon of your choice
Preparation
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Boil the oatmeal with the pinch of salt and the sweetener of your choice in the milk or plant drink (preferably with constant stirring). Cooking the cereal flakes only with hot water is also a possible variant.
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Let the porridge steep for 3 minutes.
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Empty the porridge into a bowl and sprinkle with cinnamon.
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Enjoy!
Nutritional Values
Tip 3: Pay Attention to Your Protein Intake
Especially if you want to gain weight through muscle building, you should definitely pay attention to your protein intake. Proteins are the building blocks of our cells and thus also of our muscles. That's why every meal should contain at least one source of protein. This can be meat and fish, but also legumes, soy products, cereals, and seeds or dairy products. It's best to start the day with a protein breakfast for athletes in the morning.
Valuable ingredients for this are, for example, oatmeal, eggs, or low-fat quark. They contain a lot of protein and facilitate muscle building. Our top tip: sports breakfast from VERIVAL. Not only does it serve as a source of strength in the morning, but it also contains healthy plant-based protein sources.
Tip 4: Regular Meals Against Underweight
If you want to combat your underweight, you should make sure to eat regularly. Stick to your main meals and build snacks if you can't eat that much at once.
Tip 5: Healthy Snacks Between Meals
In addition to regular meals, healthy but high-calorie snacks are also a good way to secure your daily calorie surplus. The best healthy snacks include, for example, fruits, nuts, student food, dried fruits, or cereal bars. You can also easily make the latter yourself and refine it according to your personal taste with fruits, chocolate, or nuts.
Recipe: Healthy Granola Bars with Cocoa Banana Porridge
Ingredients
- 150 g Verival Sport porridge cocoa banana
- 20g nuts of your choice
- 50 g puffed quinoa
- 20 g cocoa
- 30 g butter or coconut oil
- 50 g agave syrup
- 50 g honey
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 pinch of salt
- Dark Chocolate
Preparation
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Mix all dry ingredients.
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Melt the butter, mash the banana with a fork, and add butter, agave syrup, and honey.
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Mix well and place in a greased casserole dish.
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Place in the oven at 170°C for 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely, cut into pieces, and decorate with a little melted chocolate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I gain weight quickly and healthily?
The recommendation for healthy weight gain is: 500 grams per week. This would mean that you can gain about 10 kilograms in a healthy way within half a year. If you want to gain weight healthily and quickly, it is especially important to do it the right way. In order to predominantly build muscle mass and reduce fat with a constant calorie surplus, a healthy diet and a training plan are essential.
What are healthy calorie bombs?
healthy fats (valuable vegetable oils, nuts,...) long-chain carbohydrates, such as whole grains, oatmeal, rice, or potatoes legumes, soy products, eggs, cereals, seeds, and dairy products (yogurt, cottage cheese, cream,...) fruit, dried fruits, cereal bars,...
How can you gain weight if you are underweight?
To gain weight, you need to eat more calories than your body needs. A calorie increase of about 500 kilocalories per day is recommended. However, "just eat more" is often not enough. To gain weight in a healthy way, it is important to do it the right way. It is also often helpful to eat several portions throughout the day.
Which food is good for gaining weight?
Nuts, granola bars, protein bars, bananas, salmon, cheese, healthy oils, yogurt, smoothies, rice, pasta, cereal flakes are foods that can help you gain weight.
Can you gain weight with oatmeal?
To gain weight, you need to eat more calories than your body needs. Oatmeal is a healthy component to help you gain weight, especially when combined with other high-calorie foods.
Which fruit helps with gaining weight?
The banana is one of the higher-calorie fruits, with 90 kilocalories per 100 g of fruit. Lychees, grapes, and cherries also have a lot of energy and can be helpful if you want to gain weight in a healthy way. The lowest calorie fruits include strawberries, raspberries, and watermelon - so they are not very suitable for a diet aiming at weight gain.
