THE BRIGHTEST HUB FOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS

weight gain

Tips For Safe Weight Gain in Teenage Girls

by 1 Comment

Small changes in diet and lifestyle can turn weight gain in teenage girls an easy task.

Teenage is the most troublesome time in a girl’s life since the physical changes get accentuated by emotional upheavals and concerns related to puberty, height and weight gain get prominence.

While teenage sensation Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana fame) is concentrating on a special diet and exercise plan to shed some tummy fat, there are several girls who can’t actually manage to put on even an extra pound.

Worse still, they are either termed ‘anorexic’ or are believed to be suffering from bulimia, an eating disorder. Lack of information on weight gain in teenage girls also makes them feel lost. Fast metabolism, an active lifestyle, lack of balanced diet and deficiency of certain nutrients are some of the basic reasons which can lead to difficulty in weight gain.

Get extra

One of the most prevalent practices among teenagers is not to change their eating habits as they grow up. From being a child to a fast growing  girl, the dietary requirements differ and you need to increase your calorie intake to deal with that. So the rule is to eat extra.

However, that does not mean that you should start gorging on cheese-laden pizzas or fried chips and colas because they will only mess up your metabolism and lead to unhealthy weight gain which will be difficult to lose later. Also, such reliance on junk food will lead to deficiencies of nutrients essential for a growing up. So, you need to choose what you eat very carefully.

Concentrate on a balanced diet with lots of carbs, protein and essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals. Just keep in mind that your daily calorie intake should be greater than the calories burnt. Adding around 250 to 500 calories can help you gain around a pound in a two weeks’ time.

Taking another helping of rice in your lunch, having an extra toast in your breakfast or adding spoonful of a protein powder to your daily glass of milk are some of the smart ways you can punch in some extra calories without much effort.

Choose the right food

Don’t forget to have your breakfast because that’s one meal which sees you through the day. When you wake up in the morning, your body is on a fast because it did not get any food while you were sleeping. This is why the first meal is called break-fast.

Go for oatmeal or bread toasts instead of cornflakes since the latter are high in sugar. Milk or juice can supply you with essential minerals and vitamins. Besides filling yourself up in the morning, snack in between the meals. An energy bar or a fruit is a good option. Such snacking will help you avoid binging during lunch or dinner and also confuse your fast metabolism which had gotten used to dealing with big meals at particular times.

Chicken breast instead of leg, brown cereal bread in place of white bread and low fat yoghurt instead of ice cream are some of the healthy options which can increase your intake of proteins, vitamins and minerals, essential during teen years.

Sweat it out

Exercise is another strategy you should adopt. If you think strength training, which involves using free weights, is only for guys, it’s time to dump your beliefs. Strength training not only helps you gain weight but also keeps the out-of-shape tummy or hips at bay. It is one of the recommended techniques for weight gain in teenage girls.

Girls generally start with light weights but do talk to your trainer before initiating any routine because there are certain exercises recommended for specific body types. Also, if there are concerns related to any impact of weight training on development of height, go for body weight exercises like pushups, pull ups, squats and crunches. Stretching and flexibility training are also a good option for teenage girls since they help in overall growth.

How To Gain Weight When You Have Fast Metabolism

by Leave a Comment

Gaining weight is a struggle for those with fast metabolism. Here’s a systematic food and exercise plan for them to follow

Look around and you will find lot many people talking about how miserable they feel just because they gained some extra pounds. They avoid eating junk food, sweat it out in the gym and indulge in crash dieting but nothing works. On the other end of the spectrum are the skinny people who try extra hard to gain weight but end up nowhere. On top of that the world seems oblivious of their struggles. There are no specific diet charts or exercise plans for them.

Instead, they are termed lucky to be able to gorge on sinful chocolate ice creams and fried chicken because of their fast metabolism. Such motherly treatment continues despite the fact that just like their overweight friends skinny people also dread wearing body hugging clothes lest they appear scrawny.

Here we tell you how right food plan and exercise can still work wonders if you are on the lighter side of a weight scale.

From Tobey Maguire (Spiderman) to Brad Pitt (Troy) and Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), several superstars have relied on health eating and strength training to turn their bodies from scrawny to brawny. They have not only been successful in gaining weight but are also fitness personified.

Gaining weight requires as deep an understanding of your body as shedding pounds. Having a fast metabolism means your body acts very fast to break down the food you eat and you have to deal with this inherent biological trait in your quest for a better body.

Balance it out

Just like the overweight people, you need to avoid fatty food because contrary to popular notion that will only give you only put you at risk of fat deposits in the arteries.

Instead, go for a balanced diet consisting of carbohydrates, protein and some amount of fats. Gaining weight is a systematic process since you also need to dodge your fast metabolism. Increase you daily calorie intake by around 300 calories for a week or two before pressing on the accelerator towards 500 extra calories daily till you reach the 1,000 calorie mark.

Carbs should supply your body around 65 per cent of the daily calories while proteins should make up for 20-25 per cent with the fat pitching in with the rest. Also, since you are going to rely heavily on carbs, the sources should be carefully chosen. Go for whole grains, potatoes, rice, bread, dry fruit, vegetables and fruits. Fruits like banana and mango provide a high calorie punch. Go for mixed juice instead of single fruit juice to get maximum benefits.

Get on with exercise

Complement your diet with proper exercise. Get over the notion that workout only helps lose weight. Start with body weight bearing exercises like push ups, pulls up and squats before graduating to free weights like dumb bells and weight plates. Perform at least three sets with 10-12 repetitions. Exercise will also fire up your appetite but do keep in mind the basic strategy to have healthy food items. Also, don’t completely ignore cardiovascular exercises like cycling or jogging. Do at least 15 minutes of any cardio vascular exercise at slow pace. This will help your body avoid storing fat at wrong places and also build up your heart and lung capacities.

When on a mission to build muscles, your body needs the energy to workout which will again come from carbohydrates. Include around 8 gm of carbs per kilogram of your body weight. Also, you would require extra protein intake of 1.6 gm per kg of your body weight. Egg is the best source of protein. Other sources can be chicken, fish, lean red meat, legumes and soy.

Choose the right fat
You can’t ignore the role of fats in day to day functions of your body. Though they have earned a reputation of being unhealthy, there are good fats around which can actually keep your heart safe. Go for sources such as vegetable oils, olive, canola and peanut oils for supply of monounsaturated (good) fats. Reduce your intake of saturated (bad) fats from palm oil, coconut oil and cocoa butter. These fats can be lurking in various products like cake and pastries to red meat, butter and cheese.

Things will surely start looking up once you give some attention to all these tips and a healthy, fuller you will be a reality soon.