When and how to make the diet to gain weight

A diet is not always slimming and even putting on weight requires attention and supervision of the doctor.

For those who are perpetually struggling with the scale, a diet has the sole objective of losing weight. But in reality there are cases in which it may be necessary to increase one’s weight and to do so it is necessary to modify the diet. As for slimming regimes, however, even for fattening ones it is essential to follow the indications of a nutritionist, so that weight gain does not turn into a boomerang.

When a diet can be needed to gain weight

“More than a fattening diet it is correct to speak of a diet for weight gain, because the real goal is not to increase fat mass exclusively, but rather to aim to increase especially lean mass, that is, muscle mass,” explains Diana Scatozza, doctor, specialist in food science and pharmacology. “Of course, adipose tissue is also important, but without excess, otherwise you end up increasing not only weight, but also a series of health risks, starting with the cardiovascular one”.

“Having made this necessary clarification, a diet to increase weight is necessary, in general, in those who are underweight, that is, with a body mass index of less than 18“, recalls the expert.

The body mass index (BMI) is a mathematical calculation that is obtained by dividing the weight in kilograms by the square of the height expressed in meters. The result is compared with a specific table that allows you to determine if you are faced with a situation of underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity.

For example, for a person who weighs 60 kilos and is 1.70 meters tall, the calculation to be made will be as follows: 60/(1.70 x 1.70) = 20.76. The person in question will then be of normal weight.

If thinness is a sign of a problem

The first step is to understand if you are faced with a constitutional or pathological thinness. In the first case, in general, the person has always been thin and has no particular health problems, even if slightly underweight. Despite this, he may still want to increase his physical structure by a few kilos.

«What is most worrying is the condition of those who have been normal weight for a long time and then find themselves, for the most diverse reasons, to have lost, perhaps even quickly, many kilos. Thinness can have occurred for different causes: it can be the result of eating disorders, or the consequence of traumas and psychological events or, again, be due to a pathology. Even the stress of surgery that has not been followed by adequate post-operative nutritional planning can leave excessive weight loss as a result» recalls Diana Scatozza.

A pathological thinness is generally evident not only for the reduced weight of the body, but also for deficiencies that are reflected for example on the teeth, nails, hair, making them appear weak and brittle. An underweight woman may also have difficulty initiating a pregnancy.

“In all cases where thinness is not constitutional, it becomes essential to consult a doctor to find the causes. Only according to the latter the specialist will be able to evaluate how to proceed: if there is a specific pathology, the resolution of the same, when possible, can help to recover healthy physical shape without necessarily requiring specific nutrition. In other cases, however, it may be necessary to eat some foods rather than others and also resorts to supplements, but these are strategies that must be absolutely personalized » reiterates the specialist.

More calories, in a personalized way

To gain a few extra pounds a healthy subject must follow a high-calorie diet set by the nutritionist. “The higher caloric intake must be proportionate to the sex, age, lifestyle of the subject and should be equal to about 20% more than the caloric intake normally recommended for the same person” advises Diana Scatozza.For example, if the normocaloric diet for that individual provides 1,800 daily calories, for the same a high-calorie diet must be provided that provides an energy equal to 2,160 calories (precisely 20% more).

Even if you increase your calorie intake, you need to maintain a balanced breakdown of energy nutrients. “In a healthy subject it tends to be better to favor a greater intake of carbohydrates, equal to about 60%: a part is used to have energy, which in turn is necessary to obtain lean mass, while the excess is converted into triglycerides and, therefore, into fat mass. Fats, on the other hand, should not exceed 20% of energy intake because, if in excess, they immediately end up increasing adipose tissue without helping to give energy to the body. Finally, the protein intake should be slightly higher than that of a normocaloric diet and be around 20%, so that these nutrients can be used to form muscle mass» explains the nutritionist.

For example, in a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet, carbohydrates should provide 1,200 calories (equal to about 316 grams, if we consider that one gram of carbohydrates provides 3.8 calories), while fat and protein 400 calories each, equal to about 43 g of fat (one gram of fat provides 9.3 calories) and 100 g of protein (one gram provides 4 calories), respectively.

A diet of this type must be carried out for the time necessary to gain the kilos that you have set yourself, but always under strict medical supervision. “Once the goal has been reached, as happens in weight loss diets, with the nutritionist it will be necessary to provide a maintenance diet with a gradual reduction in caloric intake, so as not to return to the previous thinness and nullify the effects”, recalls the doctor.

How to adjust in the kitchen

The main mistake you can make when you want to gain weight is to throw yourself on junk food and carbonated drinks, which tend to be rich in saturated fats and simple sugars that make you fat, but in particular increase adipose tissue and, with it, health problems.

“It is good, in fact, to favor complex carbohydrates (pasta, bread, rice) over simple sugars (sweet); unsaturated fats compared to saturated fats (for example, you should not switch to the consumption of butter as a condiment, but you can give yourself two teaspoons per meal of extra virgin olive oil, instead of just one, as recommended in normocaloric diets) and, as far as proteins are concerned, it is good to give ample space also to vegetable ones, which abound in legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils, soy, etc.) and in cereals, consuming meat no more than 2-3 times a week, and including eggs, cheeses, fish among the protein foods» underlines Nadia Scatozza.

“In addition, fruit and vegetables should not be missing as in normocaloric diets, ie at least five servings a day. The only precaution, in these cases, must be not to consume vegetables at the beginning of meals, because it would confer greater satiety, but consume it as a side dish».

Even as part of a diet that aims to increase weight, it is good to consume five meals a day, that is, the three main ones (breakfast, lunch, dinner) plus two snacks, one mid-morning and one mid-afternoon. “Eating in this way, bringing to the table every time a meal with a higher caloric intake than usual, but still balanced in nutrients, allows you to gain weight while allowing your metabolism to work properly,” confirms the nutritionist.

If you want to give an example of a daily menu, breakfast can include bread and jam with tea and a teaspoon of sugar, or a cup of unsweetened milk with cereal flakes and dried fruit. Or, again, for those who prefer salty, bread and ham, accompanied by a citrus juice.

The mid-morning snack can be made with a toast or a slice of cake (if the breakfast was sweet you can make the salty snack or vice versa).

Lunch should be complete, with a first course (one ounce of pasta or rice), a grilled second course (meat or fish) with a side of vegetables or boiled eggs.

In the mid-afternoon you can treat yourself to a fruit salad with yogurt or a banana or a canapé with ham.

Finally, dinner should also be complete: you can replace the first with 100-150 grams of bread or potatoes to be associated with a protein dish and vegetables or opt for a single dish of cereals and legumes (such as rice and peas, pasta and beans) that provide all the essential amino acids, always completed by vegetables.

Don’t give up sport

The thought that many of those who want to gain weight make is that the way forward is that of a sedentary lifestyle, considering, by mistake, that doing fitness and movement inevitably burns the calories introduced with nutrition and does not help to gain weight.

«Physical activity is instead fundamental: with nutrition we introduce more protein, but it is through physical exercise and muscle activity that we stimulate the formation of lean mass at the expense of fat mass» recalls the expert. “However, we must not focus on intense aerobic activity, but prefer it of a moderate degree and associate gym activities dedicated to muscle strengthening (for example exercises with small weights)”. Also in this case it is advisable to be followed by a personal trainer.