Why Eat Healthy?

What you eat matters for healthy weight gain and well being. After all the true purpose of food is nourishment which we need for growth and repair, function, protection, energy and warmth.

 What you eat can affect your life including:

• How well you feel.
• The energy you have.
• How you feel about yourself.
• Even how well you sleep.

Ultimately good nutrition results in improved general health.

 Can Slim People Eat Whatever They Want?

Is there anyone reading this who thought they could eat whatever they wanted because they just never gained any weight?

I sure did!

Growing up we followed a balanced diet at home, mainly because my mum made us. (Thanks Mum!) But after I left home, I would eat lots of junk food just because I could, because of time pressures, or the hassle of cooking.

Here’s the thing. Being slim and able to eat “anything” without gaining weight is not a pass on illnesses linked to poor eating habits.

Poor diets can be those that lack fruits and vegetables, with too much junk food, no/ low fibre diets, large amounts of processed sugary drinks or alcohol, or too much rich food, just to name a few.

In fact eating anything you want could mean an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, hypertension, stroke, and other preventable or chronic diseases.

The Real Skinny On Poor Eating Habits:

Have you heard of the term normal weight obesity? Sometimes also known as “skinny fat?”

Very simply, this is when your body weight is normal, but your body fat percentage is so high that you have the same health risk of someone with obesity.

People assume the risk is lower for slimmer or people in the normal weight range, but research is showing this is not the case based on studies on normal weight-central obesity

Also bear in mind there are factors that can increase health risks such as genetics, lifestyle, gender and age, for slim or underweight people with poor eating habits.

Quality over Quantity:

Food is often measured by a unit of energy called a calorie. Something important to remember is all calories aren’t the same. Generally speaking there are empty calories and nutrient dense calories.

Empty calories are made of added sugars, fats and alcohol and have little or no nutritional value. Nutrient dense calories contain healthy nutrients like protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals that the body needs. This is why what you eat matters.

You know, trying to achieve healthy weight gain can feel like hard work and seem so expensive. Also, how many people feel like going grocery shopping nowadays can give you a headache?  

You may have seen labels on healthy foods like: GMO free, hormone free, organic, biodynamic, no added sugar, chemical/pesticide free and so on. Huh?

We just want an apple that isn’t going to poison us, right?

Lots of people think eating healthy is expensive, especially organic food. I would suggest buying the best quality food that you can afford. Just increasing your intake of whole foods including fruits and vegetables, whole grains and good fats, could overall improve your health.

If eating non- GMO food is an option for you, please take it. If eating organic is an option, please do it to the extent you can. Always think about what your budget allows.

Ways To Gain Weight. Why What You Eat Matters:

People use different methods to gain weight and here are a few of the more common ones. Many do a combination of these.

1.Weight Gain Using Healthy Foods.

I believe this is the best way for several reasons including:

• Eating healthy foods fuels our bodies with needed protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals, and helps reduce the risk of disease. What you eat matters.
• Healthy foods are delicious and there is so much variety. Every time we eat we can use our senses to elevate our food experience. Consider the sight of a punnet of plump juicy berries, the smell of a zesty lime, the sound and satisfying crunch of biting into an apple, or the texture of an almond.  
• Healthy weight gain costs less in the long run, both in terms of health and money. Staying healthy by avoiding preventable and chronic disease really is cheaper.
• Better dental health. A diet high in processed foods will encourage tooth decay, while eating wholesome natural foods like vegetables and dairy can actually improve dental health.
• Buying and eating whole foods also benefits local farmers and the environment.
• Because we need more real in our lives and far less substitutes.

2.Weight Gain With Junk Food

Perhaps you’ve heard what Renee Zellwegger and Charlize Theron ate to gain weight for their respective roles in Bridget Jones Diary 1 and Tully?  

They both managed to gain a lot of weight by eating chips, steak, sugary fizzy drinks, cakes, doughnuts, pizza…….I think you get the picture.

Interestingly, Charlize Theron in an interview later said eating all that junk food for weight gain actually made her feel depressed. Charlize on junk food

Please don’t do this. Not an Oscar nor anything else should have you punish your body in this way. What you eat matters for physical and mental health.

Junk food is not just terrible nutritionally for the body, but also it is a very low quality product. It is full of chemical preservatives, artificial colours, cheap and nasty fillers, and possibly pesticides which can cause harm to your body.

It’s also unlikely that you’d be able to pronounce the names of all those artificial preservatives in junk food.

3.Weight Gain With Protein Powders.

This is a very common and popular method of weight gain practiced all around the world. Does it work? Yes it does.

These powders are generally blended in with milk, water or juices to create protein shakes. And they are an easy source of protein, with the most common being whey, casein and soy protein.

Actually, protein powders are also used by dieters, athletes and also those looking to maintain their weight.

Folks looking to gain weight or muscle use these powders for added calories, meaning in addition to eating their regular meals.

So, is there a downside?

Well, protein powders aren’t regulated in many Western countries. This means you may not be getting what you think you are. And in other ways, you may be getting what you weren’t expecting at all.

This article by Harvard Medical School shows that, depending on the brand being used, consumers may be drinking high levels of sugar, as well as toxins in fairly large amounts including BPA, lead, mercury and other heavy metals. Also, milk based powders can cause issues for those with lactose or dairy intolerances.

Another thing is, there have been a number of lawsuits over protein powders relating to false advertising of actual protein content and the use of cheap fillers instead.

If you look this up online, you’ll find there has been a range of class action suits.  All protein powders aren’t equal, do your research if choosing to use them.

4.Weight Gain With Nutritional Supplement Powders and Drinks

These are specially pre-mixed powders formulated with a range of nutrients including protein, minerals & vitamins. This is to supplement a diet lacking these.

They are mixed with milk or water or added to desserts, cereals and soups. Some brands come as already prepared drinks. 

Health professionals often recommend these products for older / frail adults, or people recovering from sickness or surgery.

Some health professionals argue they aren’t really suitable for the general public although they are found in supermarkets and pharmacies.

But that in fact, the high sugar amount is specifically to provide energy for certain groups such as people with low appetites or those struggling to eat solid foods after surgery or illness.

Please note these powders and drinks don’t provide all the body’s nutritional needs.

They can be hard to drink down as some don’t mix well forming lumps, and may have an unpleasant taste. They generally have very high sugar levels.

Actually, I’ve tried using one of these for a short time in the past but it didn’t work for me. I didn’t like the taste, found it too sweet and more to the point, I didn’t gain any weight while using it.

So there you have it. This is why what you eat matters for healthy weight gain. Until next post.

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Hi there and welcome to gain healthy weight. So, why would anyone be intentionally trying to gain weight?

Chances are if you’ve been trying to gain weight, you’re not shouting it out to the world.

Because it’s just not the weight problem that most people have. And it’s quite likely their eyes will glaze over if you talk about it.

So this first post is a bit about folks looking to gain weight.

Reasons For Wanting Healthy Weight Gain

Here are a few reasons why this may be important to you:

• Being constantly underweight and wanting to increase body weight, build size and energy levels with good nutrition.
• Wanting to develop curves and/or muscle and feel better about yourself.
• Boosting your body’s immunity using nutritious food while putting on much needed weight.
• Recovery after a sudden or chronic illness that’s resulted in weight loss.
• Perhaps you care for a loved one; an underweight child, frail or older person whose weight and health you are concerned about.
• Or for sports/ athletic needs.

Why I Wanted To Gain Weight

There were several reasons I wanted to gain weight.

Firstly, I wanted body fat in general to cushion me because I looked really “bony”, and because I always felt SO COLD regardless of the time of year.

Secondly, I was just constantly falling sick. I would go from having a cold to flu to a sore throat to ear ache, back to a cold over and over again. Seriously, I could have started my own pharmacy with all the antibiotics and other medicines recommended by the GPs. 

Also, I was gaunt and didn’t look healthy. People assumed I was older than my actual age, and some weren’t shy of letting me know either.

This next one may seem a strange reason, but maybe some of you can relate.  There was hardly any difference between the size of my lower and upper arms.

The truth is my forearms remain tiny. However now my upper arms are toned, stronger and distinctly proportional. You may find there will be some things that can’t be changed with weight gain.

The BMI System

Being slim can be due to a few different factors like genetics, fast metabolism, high satiety cues, lack of appetite etc.  Many people who are/look underweight may be in overall good health. 

In saying this, there is an international standard for body weight measurement, the Body Mass Index (BMI).

This system is an approximate measure of body fat. Now, it isn’t perfect. For example it won’t take into account your genetics; like you may come from a long line of lean Kenyan runners.

So, it’s a kind of one-size-fits-all, but it is the international standard. Hard weight gainers may fall in the underweight category.

There are tons of BMI calculators out there. To figure out your BMI, input your height and weight ratios in a BMI calculator like this one.

For the longest time I hovered just over the 17 mark on the BMI scale, but I’m now sitting at over 20.

Now, a quick word about wanting to gain weight.  If you looked at this site’s About page, you’ll see I put on what I consider to be quite a bit of weight. However even with that increase, I still remain quite slim. But, we’ll talk about managing expectations in other posts.

Why It’s A Good Idea to See Your GP Before Starting A Weight Routine

Before I finish off this post, I just wanted to highlight one thing. I recommend before you start trying any weight gain program to see your doctor and if you can, get some blood tests done.

This may seem like an unnecessary and expensive step, especially if you’re young and feel healthy, but there are good reasons for this.

A GP can:

• Do a check-up to make sure that being underweight isn’t due to an underlying medical condition. There could be a cause or contributing factor like digestive issues, uncontrolled diabetes, hyperthyroidism or even parasites. Also, a blood test can show if you have high blood pressure or other condition that a high protein, high carbohydrate diet may affect.
• Give some advice about practical weight gain goals specific to you. They can discuss diet and how active you are, as well as lifestyle, food and exercise changes that will encourage weight gain.

Till next post on gain healthy weight.

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