Gaining weight is just as challenging as losing weight. Your ability to gain weight depends upon your body type. Some people gain weight easily, while others, mostly known as hard gainers, struggle with bulking up. Among the different types of body, ectomorph includes this category of people. They usually have a very high metabolic rate and their body is characterized by a thinner frame.
This means that they need to increase their calorie intake to support weight gain. However, that is not a license to binge or eat unhealthy foods. Even when you are bulking up, there are some steps to follow to make sure that you are on a healthy track.
Check Your Body Mass Index
Before you begin your weight gain journey, you must determine the constitution of your body. Just like being overweight, being underweight also poses serious threats to your health. Checking your body mass index with an expert before you start to gain weight can reveal a lot about your body. Modern BMI machines give you a lot of information including your metabolic age, the ideal weight for your body type, the water content and fat content in your body.
These details are vital before you change your diet to ensure that you remain healthy.
Eat Frequent Meals
The calorie intake for the types of body ectomorph needs to be as high as 4000 calories a day in order to start to build muscle. A high-calorie diet like this is hard to achieve if your meals are not planned correctly. Eating more frequently not only makes this easier for you but also allows your body to process the food that you consume more efficiently. That way, you get maximum benefits from the nutrients that you are consuming.
Pick the Right Calorie Sources
Eating high calorie foods is recommended to gain weight. However, this does not mean that you opt for fatty and sugary foods as they are a source of empty calories. Instead, choose healthy sources of calories like proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats. This can be found in whole grains, red meat, nuts, avocados, bananas, fish and dairy products. These calories can actually be utilized by the body for metabolic functions and muscle building or repair. So, it is not stored as fat which leads to unhealthy weight gain.
To get a faster source of these healthy calories, you can also include protein bars like MuscleBlaze High Protein Bar in your diet. These foods can be used as a replacement to snacks. They are also easy to consume even when you are on the go.
Add Liquid Calorie Sources
Eating frequent meals can be tiring. So, how about you drink your calories instead? You can opt for mass gainer supplements that help you load up on your calories. With a product like MuscleTech Mass Tech Performance Series which gives you over 800 calories in just one serving. You can also prepare a host of smoothies with natural ingredients like cream, peanut butter and nuts that increase the calorie count of the drink effectively. Including these drinks in between your meals is the easiest way to keep up your daily calorie intake. These drinks can also be consumed on the go. So, even with a busy schedule, you can ensure that you do not miss out on your calorie consumption. With these drinks, you also get to build muscle that is lean.
Top Up On Calories
Do not miss out on any chance to get a top up on your calories. For instance, a dollop of cream with your cereal or milk in your protein shake instead of water quickly increases the calorie count. You can also add nuts to your foods whenever possible to gain weight. Topping up is one of the most effective ways of increasing your calorie intake as you can reduce the number of meals. Of course, this does not need as much preparation as making a snack or meal from scratch.
Work Out Frequently
If you want to build muscle and bulk up, your diet is ineffective if you do not workout on a regular basis. For those who are trying to gain weight, lifting heavy is highly recommended. This helps build strength and volume in your muscles. This gives your physique a good shape as well. For ectomorphs, working out is especially important because they have a naturally slender frame which can only be improved by gaining muscle. Working out also ensures that the extra calories that you consume to gain weight is used productively. If not, all the added calories are stored in the body as fat, making it extremely unhealthy.
Whenever you make dietary or lifestyle changes, do it slowly. Make sure you consult an expert before you make drastic changes to ensure a healthy weight gain journey.
