Gaining weight before the wedding is the top priority of skinny brides. Being thin is good, but skinny can at times look unsightly. Not everyone is blessed with a curvy body. There are many girls who are skinny by birth and no amount of junk-food or fat rich diet adds anything to their lean frame. If overweight is considered undesirable, so is underweight. Thankfully, there are many easy tips using which skinny brides can gain weight in a healthy manner. We spoke to the experts from Nutrihealth by Dr. Shikha and they recommend following tips for a healthy weight gain:
1. Add calories
In order to gain weight a person need to increase their food intake by at least 500 calories per day, which can then result in 0.5 kilogram of weight gain in a week. The number of calories consumed needs to be higher than the calorie spent. We have mentioned some right snack options below to add healthy calories.
2. Follow a healthy nutritional diet
To gain weight in a healthy manner, one needs to include following food items-
- High calorie food like whole grains, nuts and oats.
- Calorie dense foods like banana, nuts and dried fruits such as dates, etc. (More on this later).
- High protein food like lean meat, eggs, fish.
- Unsaturated healthy fats like olive oil, seeds, nuts, avocados, peanut butter.
- Replace coffee, diet sodas, and tea with protein shakes, milk shakes and juices. Do avoid alcoholic beverages as they don’t have any nutritional benefits.
3. Eat frequently
To gain weight in a healthy manner, skinny brides-to-be need to eat strategically. We recommend adding 3 – 4 snacks to the three main meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) at the interval of 2-3 hours. You can keep following points in mind when breaking meals into 5-6 meals per day.
- Always keep nutritious snacks like pistachios, almonds, walnuts , roasted channa, whole wheat / grain crackers (with butter) on hand.
- Keep a plate of fruits or salad ready in the refrigerator.
- Follow your diet chart strictly when eating the main meals.
- Avoid skipping meals, especially breakfast, as it stresses the body.
- Consume a diet rich in protein- include one protein source and a carb source in each meal.
Skinny brides who want to gain muscles instead of fat need to consume proteins in the form of eggs, fish, lean meat, pulses, sprouts and dairy products. A protein rich diet is also high in amino acids which are helpful in building as well as toning muscles.
4. Go for calorie dense snacks
Foods which are helpful and boost up calorie intake are bananas, potato, yogurt, pineapple, jam, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin cookies, cheese, ice cream, etc. Consume the latter in moderation as they tend to have tons of sugar in them. When a person is underweight, he/she tends to feel fuller faster. So, by adding calorie-dense snacks in between meals one can gain weight in a healthy manner. It is best to avoid drinking fluids before and after meals or while eating as it hampers the digestive process and can make a person eat less.
5. Pile up on healthy fats
Good fats can help skinny brides gain weight. However, one must eliminate harmful fats like trans-fat as they pose a risk to the heart. Go for healthy fats like monounsaturated fats which are good for body –they are found in fish, olive oil and almonds
6. Eliminate stress
Losing or gaining weight is also linked to stress. Stress can become a major hurdle when a person is trying to gain or lose weight. Therefore, it is important for a bride to remain stress-free and at the same time perform exercises to tone the muscles. Just put on some good music and dance or hit the gym and do some weights. Walking and swimming are also great exercises. Also meditation, yoga, and breathing exercises can help in reducing stress.
Featured image:Confetti Films
