5 Of The Best Muscle: Building Foods To Gain Weight For Hardgainers

Contrary to most people who are trying to LOSE weight, you’re probably a skinny guy who actually wants to GAIN weight.

You might think that building muscle is as simple as eating larger quantities of foods to gain weight, particularly high-calorie foods. However, it’s not quite that simple!

You’ll not only need to eat more overall calories, you’ll also want to make sure you’re eating the right foods in the right amounts in order to make muscle gains.

Here are 5 of the best foods to help you gain weight:

1 – Chicken Breast (skinless)

Skinless chicken breasts are one of the most common foods in the bodybuilding community. Due to the high amounts of protein, as well as the absence of fat, bodybuilders commonly use this food to bulk up.

It is noteworthy that the chicken breast with skin has an increased amount of fat and cholesterol. Thus, you should always buy it skinless. This food can be included in a number of meals and meets the protein needs of a weight gain diet. There is roughly 30g of protein and 0g of fat in 100g of chicken breast.

2 – Tuna

Tuna is a very important food for those looking to gain weight, particularly through fat-free mass. Tuna is rich in essential fatty acids, which means it a product that contains healthy fats.

These fats are essential for the proper functioning of the human body and increase the natural production of hormones like testosterone and growth hormone.

There are roughly 23g of proteins, 3g of carbohydrates and 9g of fat per 100gr of tuna. It can be consumed every day at any time; yet, it should be consumed before bed for the best results.

The body excretes anabolic hormones while you are asleep. You can facilitate this process and increase your muscle growth by eating essential fatty acids.

(Side note, my favorite way to eat tuna is by making a tuna melt sandwich… Try it, it’s delicious!)

3 – Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are low in protein, but contain a large amount of low-glycemic carbohydrates, which are perfect for guys who are working out for mass.

The low glycemic index of sweet potatoes provides a long and gradual release of energy and a controlled response to insulin, preventing fat accumulation.

Proteins are vital for muscle mass gain. However, for the body to use the protein for muscle tissue rebuilding, you also need the correct intake of carbohydrates.

In a 100-gram sweet potato you will find 30g of the highest quality carbohydrates. Sweet potatoes are also rich in vitamin A, which acts as an antioxidant and is important for the maintenance of bone, epithelial tissue, reproductive, and immune systems.

4 – Egg Whites

Egg whites are rich in proteins of high biological value and amino acids. It is one of the fundamental foods for building muscles and hypertrophy. It should be consumed after cooking or frying (without oil).

In its raw form, egg whites contain enzymes that may harm the biological value of its proteins, affecting the quality of the food, and may even contain bacteria like salmonella that can cause symptoms such as fever, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Just cook this food and you won’t have to deal with any of these problems.

5 – Red Meat

Red meat is rich in protein and contains essential amino acids for healthy muscle growth. Red meat is also rich in iron, which acts as an oxygen transporter in your body.

The downside is that some types of red meat contain too much saturated fat and cholesterol. Eating red meat once or twice a week will not affect your health in any way, so that’s what I recommend you shoot for.

Why Can’t I Gain Weight?

The difficulty in gaining weight is usually due to a fast metabolism among other things.

Other causes of difficulty gaining weight are genetics, or even due to disorders such as hyperthyroidism that can hinder weight gain.

For instance, the thyroid gland is responsible for producing hormones that regulate our metabolic rate. When these hormones are produced in excess (hyperthyroidism), there is an increase in our basal metabolic expenditure (requiring more energy than normal).

The recommendation for a healthy and balanced diet, suitable for those who want to lose weight, also applies to those who want to gain weight.

Increasing the amount of caloric food intake is one of the the best ways to gain weight, however heavy consumption of fat is dangerous and may raise the levels of blood fat, and pre-dispose you to health problems.

Likewise, excessive consumption of simple sugars can also lead to hazardous health consequences. Disorders such as high cholesterol, hypertension, or diabetes can also affect skinny people.

Ideally, you should consult a nutritionist so he can prepare a diet to gain weight that suits you, or get a pre-made weight gain diet plan from someone who has experience gaining weight.

9 More Weight Gain Diet Tips

Before I leave you, I’d like to give you a few more tips about foods to gain weight that can help you gain a few pounds without harming your health:

• Avoid going more than 3 hours without eating;

• Eat 5-6 meals a day, interspersing three small meals with salted snacks. Meals can be small, yet they should be condensed, i.e. composed of a variety of good quality weight gain foods, and fortified products such as dairy products, whole wheat grains, etc.

• Consume fruits and oilseeds like macadamia nuts, walnuts, and chestnuts. They are a source of so-called “good fats” (mono and polyunsaturated) and also help in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

• Increase consumption of cereals and whole-wheat pastas that do not contain too much fat in their preparation (e.g. bread or cooked pasta derived from corn, rice etc). Pasta with fatty sauces and greasy yellow cheese should not be part of a regular diet, because as mentioned earlier, it could result in higher levels of blood cholesterol.

• Avoid products containing excessive fiber. Fiber provides a prolonged feeling of satiety (“full stomach”), which reduces hunger and causes satisfaction with lower amounts of food. Fiber products are best for weight loss.

• Use grains in abundance (peas, beans, chickpeas, corn etc) in salads, custards, soups etc. These products increase the protein content of your food and can be prepared in many different ways with various meals.

• Increase moderate consumption of animal protein foods such as cheese, milk, meat, fish, etc. You should prefer meats and cheeses containing lower fat content.

• Using olive oil seasoning in salads is a good way to consume a bit more fat without major health risks; even in this case, exaggeration should be avoided.

• Some types of sweets, and soft drinks can give a false sense of fullness, reducing the appetite for the following meals. Avoid candy and sweets that contain empty calories.

Aiming to gain weight without sending your body fat through the roof is an ideal way to approach this. Nevertheless, skinny people should remember that it’s natural to gain a little bit of fat while on a high-calorie weight gain diet. This is unavoidable if you want to achieve fast results.

Remember, it takes perseverance to gain weight. Lifting weights in the gym combined with an appropriate diet that supports weight gain is the most suitable method for gaining weight fast.