The truth is that some individuals who struggle to gain just a couple of extra pounds do not eat enough protein to put on weight. Vitamin and nutrient deficiencies can contribute to being too thin. Like losing weight, gaining weight takes time and cannot be achieved within a few days. People trying to gain weight must learn to eat healthfully, just the same as those individuals who are trying to lose excess pounds. The nutritional content of the foods you eat makes a difference, along with eating more than the amount of energy you use.
Other medical conditions can contribute to the inability to gain weight. Graves' disease, or hyperthyroidism, often causes people to lose weight despite having an increased appetite. If hyperthyroidism goes untreated for a prolonged period of time, muscle tissue begins to waste away. Chronic lung disease can cause unwanted weight loss as well. Considering that it takes a lot of energy to breathe, proper nutrition is essential. Eat a high-protein diet and do not drink fluids with your meals. Drinking fluids makes you feel full, so you might not eat as much. Increase calorie consumption by 300 to 500 calories each day
Gaining Weight
One way to gain weight is to increase caloric intake by eating more. Since people typically should not consume more than 15 times their body weight in calories to maintain, when trying to gain weight, you need to increase the number of calories. A person should eat about 20 calories per pound of body weight in order to gain ½ to 1 lb. each week. After two weeks, if you have not gained any weight, increase the number of calories you consume by 10 percent. In other words, if you have been consuming 2,000 calories each day, increase the number to 2,200. These tips are based on averages, as an individual's activity level and rate of metabolism can make a difference. Individuals who fail to gain weight within a few weeks of increasing their caloric intake likely have a fast metabolism.
