One of the biggest mistakes to make is to think that because of your fast metabolism you can eat what you like. Not true! Even though your body does not hold weight very well, you have to think about your arteries which will get clogged and restricted just as badly as anyone else's. Its been scientifically proven that larger people who lead a healthier lifestyle (a few hours of cardio a week and eat the right foods) will have less chance of heart disease and other related illnesses than someone who is naturally slim and shovels fatty foods down at every available opportunity. The human body is an amazing thing, heals itself, can adapt quickly based on its environment and so much more so taking care of it makes sense. To put it another way, think of your favourite car (for me its gotta be the X5), if you had it - you'd take care of it right? You wouldn't go throwing petrol in if it was a diesel engine and you wouldn't just leave it on the drive gathering dust either, so why would you do that to your body? The general rule of the universe is that if you take care of something, it lasts longer - so keep this in mind.
Good foods and bad foods
So, when I first started gaining weight people would tell me "easy, pie and chips every night should do it" which is probably true but as my old trainer used to say "eat crap - look like crap!". The point is not just to gain weight but to gain "good weight" and you don't need to stuff yourself with fatty foods to do it. Think sensibly and logically and you can't go far wrong - here are some examples.
Kentucky fried chicken with chips
Think about it, you got a piece of chicken covered in a form of batter deep fried in fat along with potatoes that have had roughly the same treatment for lord knows how long. May taste gorgeous but its the quickest way to send you to an early grave! Crispy or not, that fat has to go somewhere and your arteries are as good a place as any!
Healthy equivalent
Skinless Roast chicken pieces with jacket potatoes.
Tastes just as nice, both can be thrown in the oven without a lick of fat and come out tasting spanking if you use the right seasoning.
You'll also want to steer clear of processed foods! They're about as good as fast foods (which is not very good at all) and if you ask any dietitian they'll tell you "avoid that stuff like it's been dipped in cyanide!". Fresh foods are the way forward, no dodgy preservatives or artificial colourings are going to help you gain the "good weight" you need. They can also have a major correlation to your stress levels, skin condition and your mojo among other things. As an aside, try and keep skin on chicken, fat on steak/pork chops down to a minimum. May taste nice but that does not change the fact that you're shoveling pure fat down you!
Lots of protein, loadsa carbs and overdose on the calories - regularly!
Protein is basically what you need for your muscles to grow and carbs are what your body needs for energy (more on that in the next article). The human body can only process around 30 grams of protein per meal and requires a source of protein on average every 3-4 hours. This is why you may notice people eating smaller meals every few hours as opposed to large meals less often. The idea is to keep your Protein levels up and you metabolism going pretty much constantly throughout the day - 1 giant meal won't cut it even if it has your planned amount of carbs/protein/calories for that day. There is a formula with regards to gaining weight based on your current weight which will be added to this article at a later date. Either way - if you're like me, I can't be bothered with all of that so I generally go for something like this. Every meal I aim to have 30 grams of protein and 90 grams of carbs. Works out OK give or take a few grams. Also, calories help loads too - UK Medical guidelines state that the average woman should intake 1940 calories per day where as the average man should intake 2550. Being as we're not average (this is for thin people remember) a good idea would be to keep an eye on how many calories you intake in 1 day (this web site should help a ton!) once you know - aim to add 500 onto that. Try it for a week - check your weight before and after and then if no difference...keep increasing until you see a difference.
Best sources for protein
Meats! Chicken is the best followed by fish, steak, pork (not sausages!). However, if you're a vegetarian, pulses (baked beans for example) are going to be your best bet. One of the things that has helped me tremendously are protein/carb shakes. I have trouble eating anything first thing in the morning, I end up chewing for what feels like ages so a pro/carb shake every morning sorts me out.
Best sources for carbs
Wholemeal (not White) breads, rice and pasta and potatoes are excellent starting points. White bread is actually classed as being bad for you (shocked when I found out too!) it actually removes nutrients from your body and is not good for the digestive process.
Hang on! Every 3-4 hours? When am I meant to fit all that in?
Sucks I know but its all about routine (you'll see me say that a few times in these articles). Yeah you're not used to it but that does not make it impossible. As an example, here is my eating plan on an average workout day.
- 7 am - Wake up and have a protein/carb shake once I finish guzzling that down I'll make another one and put that in a container to take with me to work (most supplement shops will do them!). Breakfast is very important being as you want to start your metabolism going as soon as you wake up. I would have been asleep for about 12 hours and even though my metabolic rate slows down while I sleep - I'm going to need to fire things up again.
(50g protein / 150g carbs / 970 Cal) - 10.30 am - its been 3.5 hours so I'll have half of my protein shake.
(25g protein / 75g carbs / 485 Cal) - 12.30 pm/1 pm - Egg Mayo & Cress sandwich, carrot cake (we're all entitled to a treat!), packet of low fat crisps and an innocent smoothie (gotta squeeze those 5 a day in somewhere). Also, while the above may seem a little expensive...not really. Less than £3.40 from Marks and Spencer in the meal deal. Bargain!
(26g protein / 133g carbs / 892 Cal) - 3 pm/3.30 pm - The other half of my protein shake. Its only been 2/2.5 hours but with an hour journey home I don't wanna be running for the nearest loo the moment I get off the train!
(25g protein / 75g carbs / 485 Cal) - 7 pm - I would have just finished my workout so I'll eat first. Maybe some salmon cooked in the oven with steamed mixed vegetables and new potatoes accompanied by a protein shake. The reason for the drink just after the workout will be explained in the next article "Working out helps a ton".
(75g protein / 185g carbs / 1320 Cal)
Total Protein Intake : 201 grams
Total Carb Intake : 618 grams
Total Calorie Intake : 4152
Different people have different make ups so while the above helps me gain weight at a rather slow rate - for someone else this could turn them into a complete bloater within weeks so find what works best for you and stick with it.
Now I have mentioned nothing about working out so far which will be in the next article. I think it may be an idea to get used to the eating bit first and then move onto adding the workout routines into it (your appetite will increase quite a bit once you start working out). Either way, this is all possible once you get into a routine and it takes mere seconds to have a quick read of a label (99% of products have a label telling you carb and protein content). So you don't need to become a slob to gain weight and with some careful consideration you can keep it all healthy too.
Good luck!
