While most of my clients have come to me for fat loss, a number of high school and college students have enlisted my services because they needed to add weight for their chosen sport. If anyone knows how to put on weight it’s me. At 15 years of age, I vividly remember stepping on the scale in my parent’s bathroom and being just shy of 140 lbs at 6 foot 2 inches tall. Being bone thin sucks.
Today I am an inch or two taller and 75 lbs heavier at approximately the same body fat percentage as I was back then. We all look and perform better with some muscle on our frames. It took me several years to put that weight on, but I did it the right way. I wasn’t eating large pepperoni pizzas and chasing them down with 2 litre bottles of coke. I did my research. I read the literature and sought counsel from a few guys who had done it before me. I spent a lot of time in the gym throwing weights around, but my nutrition was spot on.
When you are trying to put on weight, I recommend that you look at what you’re eating and see if there is a nutrient-dense, higher calorie alternative. You don’t want to add calories at the expense of your nutrition because this will just make you fat and sick. A good rule of thumb is to start by increasing your calorie intake by 10%—you want to gradually increase your intake to avoid adding fat. If you put on any more than a pound or two a week, you are overeating. Better to start small and build the calories up as you go.
The first thing I did was become very familiar with a blender. Because everything is blended and already broken down, the ingredients will usually sit well in your stomach. You would be amazed at how calorie dense you can make a smoothie by adding protein powders, frozen fruit, and nut or seed butters. Ideally you want to chew your food as much as possible, but blending up a couple of shakes every day can easily add an extra 1500 calories to your daily intake.
Start swapping your low fat dairy for full fat options. Preferably seek out organic grass-fed dairy products including milk, cheese and yogurt. You can add whole milk to puréed soups, sauces like curries, or pour it over your cereal. I like to drink a litre of it post workout which adds an extra 600 calories of high quality protein, carbohydrates and fats to help me recover. Not everyone does well with milk, but many of those who don’t are able to tolerate yogurt. It is great to make parfaits by adding berries, nuts, seeds and granola. So the calories will add up in a hurry.
Avocados not only taste great, but they are loaded with high quality, nutrient-dense calories. One medium size avocado contains a whopping 225 calories. Those calories come primarily from monounsaturated fat (the good kind of fat). You can blend them into dressings, pesto sauces, chop them onto salads, add slices to sandwiches or in wraps, blend into smoothies, use as a dip, or just eat them on their own.
Keep a container full of dried fruits, nuts and seeds lying around the kitchen. Every couple of hours when you feel a hunger pang coming on, go into the jar and grab a handful. They will keep your blood sugar constant and provide you with a ton of nutrient-dense calories. This is what I put in mine: dried blueberries, figs, pineapples, Thompson raisins, cherries, figs, pistachios, pecans, macadamia, brazil nuts, pumpkin and sesame seeds. Sprinkle in a handful of cinnamon to give them some extra flavour.
Start eating grass fed beef and chicken thighs for dinner. They are high in fat and calories and the nutrient profile goes up dramatically when they are organic. You can use grass fed ground beef to make burgers, casseroles or throw them in a Shepherd’s pie. Chicken thighs make a great substitute for white meat. They have a lot more flavour and more calories. I would use them the same way you would a chicken breast.