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.