Gain Weight: How Much To Eat
Gain Weight: How Much To Eat
If you are trying to gain weight it can become confusing determining how much to eat. General guidelines tell us that consuming a daily caloric total of about fifteen times that of your current body weight is considered the right amount of calories to maintain your weight. For instance, if you weigh 140 pounds you need to eat about 2,100 calories every day in order to maintain that weight. To gain weight you need to increase the number of calories that you eat every day by adding them to your maintenance calorie count.
Most people who want to gain weight should start by increasing their daily calories to about eighteen to twenty times that of their current body weight. The formula for that calculation looks like this: (18)(current body weight) = your daily calorie consumption. If you don’t have a lot of body fat you might want to lower the calculation to about sixteen to eighteen times your current body weight.
The above calculations will vary from person to person since they don’t take into consideration personal factors such as how active you are or your body metabolism. Use the calculation as a starting point to gaining weight but keep in mind that you might have to alter it if after a few weeks you haven’t noticed any weight gain. Keep track of your weight gain and how your body is reacting. If you are not gaining any weight, and are consuming twenty times your current body weight, you might have a very fast metabolism rate. This means that you need to increase the number of calories you consume beyond that twenty times if you are to see any weight gain. On the other hand, if you find that you are gaining too much weight too fast, you might need to adjust your calculation. Keep in mind that gaining too much weight too quickly will result in an increase in your body fat. Your ultimate goal should be to gain weight slow but steadily.
It is very important that as you gain weight you know exactly how that weight gain, combined with your new diet plan, is affecting your body and the way you look. Weigh yourself regularly so you know how fast you are gaining weight. As well, determine your body fat percentage and use a body tape measurement to show you exactly what your weight gain is doing to your body. By keeping close track of your progress you’ll be able to step in at any time and make the right adjustments if your weight gain isn’t going in the direction that you want it to.