Hi Azhar,

You want to gain weight healthfully by eating nutritious foods and gaining weight at a moderate rate. The goal is to increase your lean body mass rather than just gaining fat mass. A diet to increase your lean body mass is not that much different from a normal, well-balanced diet. You want to make your calories count so choose nutritious foods over things like fast food, which provides a lot of calories but will most likely lead to fat gain.

A well-balanced diet is one that is rich in low fat protein sources like lean meats, white meat chicken, fish, beans and eggs. Many people turn to protein drinks when they are trying to gain weight; however, they are high in sugar as well as protein and often lead to fat gain. Lean meats and other low-fat protein sources are preferrable to protein drinks. In addition to healthy protein foods, eat whole grain carbohydrates like brown rice, sweet potatoes and oatmeal instead of processed flours like white bread, pasta and rice. And don’t forget to eat your fruits and vegetables, they may be low in calories but they are rich in vital nutrients.

Instead of increasing that amount that you eat at each meal, which can lead to stomach discomfort, try to eat more frequently throughout the day. Try adding snacks to your daily diet rather than just eating the standard three meals a day. But make these snacks count and opt for nutrient rich foods like banana with peanut butter, fresh vegetables with salad dressing and nuts instead of candy and other sweets.

Good luck and good health.

Heather Reese, MS, RD