Weight Gainers
A weight gainer is a calorie-dense food designed to help one intentionally gain weight. A weight gainer may be used by athletes, patients suffering from a wasting illness or growth disorder, or anyone else who desires to gain weight, whether for vanity or another reason. They can replace a meal for those who are having trouble eating regular food, or they can provide a between-meals snack if one is looking for extra calories.Athletes are prominent users of weight gainers. A weight gainer used by athletes normally is rich in protein to aid in muscle development. Muscle is more dense than fat, burns more calories and provides the strength required for the fast and powerful movements many sports demand. Some weight gainers used by athletes are also loaded with carbohydrates and sugar to help in the muscle-building process and to provide energy for sports performance.
Athletic weight gainer comes in many forms. Most athletes choose a whey-protein-based powder that is mixed with water or milk to create a calorie-rich drink. There are also pre-mixed drinks that are sold in individual servings and high-calorie snacks similar to candy or granola bars. These drinks and bars come in a variety of flavors to help make them more palatable, because they are often considered to be bland or even offensive tasting.
Weight gainer is also used by those who suffer from illnesses that cause of a loss weight. Cancer patients typically have a hard time retaining weight while going through therapies to treat the disease, and they may supplement their normal diet with pre-packaged snacks or meals designed to help them gain weight. These types of supplements normally contain a higher ratio of carbohydrates to protein than their athletic counterparts. Like athletic weight gainers, they come in a variety of forms, including powder, pre-mixed drinks and bars.
Not all weight gainers are pre-packaged or in powder form. Whole foods also can be used as weight gainers, though they take more preparation and planning than the pre-packaged types. There are many calorie-dense foods that can serve as weight gainers. Fruit smoothies contain a high amount of calories and sugar. Greek-style yogurt mixed with berries is another common whole-food weight gainer.
Weight gainers often are a hybrid of the pre-packaged and whole-food types. Athletes often add fruits such as bananas or berries, along with chocolate or peanut butter to their whey protein drinks. Additional calories and fiber also can be added to fruit smoothies through the addition of oatmeal or yogurt.
Choose the Best Weight Gainer
Typically, someone who uses a weight gainer is doing so to gain muscle mass instead of fat mass. Very underweight individuals who need to gain fat or athletes who need to bulk up quickly may not worry if some fat is gained in the process of adding more muscle, but most of the time, fat gain should be kept to a minimum. Therefore, the best weight gainer is one that includes healthy ingredients, such as protein and multivitamins, that will use the extra calories to build muscle rather than to add more fat to the body. When choosing a weight gainer, also look for ingredients that will help you accomplish your goals, such as increase energy, and a reputable brand or source.
The best weight gainer product most likely will contain some form of protein supplement, such as whey protein. Whey protein is one of the most commonly used ingredients because it is believed to be reliable, healthy, and beneficial to muscle growth. Sometimes, weight gainers also include all or many of the vitamins often found in a daily mulitvitamin, optimized for maximum muscle building. Most weight gainer supplements have added ingredients that may provide extra energy for workouts and increased recovery for after the workout, such as creatine and L-glutamine.
Supplements for Gaining Weight
Today, a wide range of supplements like weight gain pills, protein powders, weight gainers, and carbohydrate powder are available in the market. While choosing any kind of supplements, it is important to make sure that they are safe, and they do not cause any serious side effects.
Moreover, it should be kept in mind that supplements are not the substitutes for a healthy diet and exercise. They can help increase your body weight, only if supplemented by a healthy diet. If you are already following a healthy and balanced diet, rich in protein, essential fatty acids, and carbohydrates, then you can take the help of some weight gain supplements after consulting a physician or dietician.
1. Protein Powder
Protein is the building block of muscle tissues, and so, it is crucial for maintaining an ideal body weight. Weight gain that results mainly from an increase in body fat is not healthy. But weight gain that results from a gain in lean muscles is considered healthy. Therefore, protein supplements are considered one of the best supplements that can help increase weight. Protein powder or supplements come mainly in four types - whey protein, egg protein, soy protein, and casein. But some protein supplements can combine all the four types of proteins, and they are known as blend or blended protein.
2. Branched-chain Amino Acids
Amino acids are the basic components of protein. Branched-chain amino acids are the amino acids with a non-linear aliphatic side chain. They are essential for gaining weight. They help maintain muscles or prevent the breakdown of muscle tissues. This is the reason why these amino acid supplements can help maintain a healthy body weight.
3. Creatine
It is a naturally occurring acid which supplies the energy to our muscles, if creatine is supplemented the body gets extra energy and muscle growth. Beef and tuna are some of the natural resources of creatine, but if you use creatine monohydrate it will give you more energy and strength. Creatine helps build lean body mass and also helps muscle recovery after a workout. Since its introduction to the sports supplement market in 1993, creatine has emerged as one of the best muscle-building supplements for men.
4. ZMA
It was developed by Victor Conte and is known to increase anabolic hormone levels and muscle strength, it is one of the best weight gain supplements for men. ZMA is a combination of monomethionine aspartate plus magnesium aspartate and vitamin B-6. Athletes have successfully used ZMA to increase their muscle mass and performance. There are no known side effects of ZMA as all the contents used in developing this product are naturally occurring in the body. ZMA is considered by many as the best weight gain supplement for hard gainers.
5. Whey
It is a by-product of cheese made from cow milk, it is a natural source of energy, and when used as a supplement increases strength and stamina. Whey is a pure protein and has the highest value of amino acids which are the building blocks of muscles. Protein can be obtained from meat and dairy products but they do not compare to the quality or the ease of use like whey protein.
6. Glutamine
It is a non-essential amino acid and is beneficial in boosting the immune system and energy levels of the body. It is a good resource for muscle-building because when we workout the glutamine levels in the body drop and the best way to replenish them is with supplementation. Glutamine gets converted to glucose which is necessary to energize the body. The breakdown of muscle tissue can be minimized by glutamine and it also improves protein metabolism.
7. Multivitamin Supplements
No matter how much you try, you won't be able to gain weight if you are suffering from nutritional deficiencies. So, if your diet is not providing adequate amounts of all the essential vitamins and minerals, you can consider to take supplementation. However, be sure to take multivitamin supplements in the appropriate dosage, and under the supervision of your physician, as an overdose can cause many side effects.
8. Essential Fatty Acids
To https://www.myotcstore.com/store/c/2530-Weight-Gainers.aspx, you have to consume foods that are high in healthy or essential fatty acids, like unsaturated fatty acids and omega-3 essential fatty acids. It is possible to gain weight by consuming junk food and food that contains unhealthy fats, which however is not a healthy option. But foods that are high in essential fatty acids, such as, olive oil, nuts, avocados, flaxseed oil, seeds, and fish should be included in the diet. You can also consider to take the supplements of essential fatty acids, in order to gain weight.
In addition to these weight gain supplements you could also take some protein shakes after the workout to achieve your weight gain goals. The important thing to remember is regular exercise, rest and healthy diet are also important if you want to gain weight.
While it may seem like the best weight gainer would contain all of this and more, some experienced fitness enthusiasts find they have the best results with simple whey protein powder, and recommend trying out products before buying into what might be largely hype surrounding the ingredients. The exception to this rule may be supplements that contain multivitamins. The body needs the right amount of vitamins to function optimally, and many individuals do not get enough vitamins through diet alone.
Choosing the best weight gainer can be hard to do the first time, and may require some experimentation with several products that include different ingredients or vary the amounts of each of the ingredients. Since everyone has a different diet and exercise routine, and everyone's body reacts differently to foods, exercise, and supplements, it is difficult to predict which weight gainer would work the best for a specific person. It may help to determine what issues you would like help with and then purchase a supplement that can assist you in that area. For example, if you often lack the energy to get a good workout, try searching for weight gain supplements that increase energy safely.
Foods for Weight Gain
1. Fruits and Vegetables
Carbohydrate content in fruits and vegetables provide the necessary energy and help in weight gain. Include broccoli, zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, onion, peas, beans; and fruits like banana, pears, plums, almonds, peanuts, chestnuts, apricots, avocado, etc. in your diet. You can have fruit juices, dried fruits, vegetable salads with dressing made with cream or cheese, etc. as they contain a high amount of calories.
2. Dairy Products
All dairy products are rich sources of proteins and also contain calories. But, they also contain high amounts of fats. Fortunately there are fat-free versions available which are safer to consume. You can have a cup of milk or a cup of yogurt regularly to get all the essential calories. On the other hand, you can add low-fat butter, peanut butter, almond butter, soy cheese, feta cheese, etc. to your sandwiches and salads to gain weight quickly.
3. Meat and Poultry
As mentioned above, certain fatty fish contain good fats and hence, are safe to consume. You can eat fatty fish like salmon, herring, mackerel, lake trout and sardines which contain the necessary calories. Similarly, egg dishes, lean meats, grilled or boiled chicken are also healthy food options.
4. Starch
Whole wheat flour contains carbohydrates and right amount of calories. You can eat products made from whole wheat flour, rice, pasta, corn, peas, potatoes, etc., to gain weight in a healthy manner. You can even have dried fruits and nuts, flax seeds, all kinds of beans like soy beans, kidney beans, etc. for the same.
5. Sweets
Desserts made from powdered milk or condensed milk are safe to eat. Secondly, you can have dark chocolate as it contains antioxidants. For snacking, you can have nuts, granola with nuts, a bowl of berries with yogurt; or baked and fat-free cookies; pretzels, smoothies, fruit salad, etc.
Tips to Gain Weight Healthily
Most of us think eating large amounts of food, specially, fatty junk food is the only way to increase your weight. This is untrue! Some people do not gain weight even after having regular and adequate meals. However, if you are among those few people and are thinking of gaining weight, then there are some tips that you need to consider.
• Firstly, in order to gain weight, you need to consume foods that have higher calories. But, the sources of these calories should be healthy.
• You should not rely on fatty and greasy foods as they can result in increasing the cholesterol levels of the body, which are unhealthy. Therefore, gorging on a pizza or cheeseburger every day is a total no-no.
• Rather, try including good sources of fats like nuts, olives, olive oil, fatty fish like salmon, cream-based soups, etc. in your diet.
• Foods in your daily diet should have proper amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins. You should have foods that have high amounts of carbohydrates and proteins; and low amounts of fats.
• Beverages, soft drinks, contain empty calories and are not good for health. Skip sodas and chilled drinks and include fruits juices and vegetable soups in your diet in order to gain weight.
• You should avoid having beverages or fruit 1 hour before meals as they tend to suppress appetite.
• Lastly, in order to gain weight, you should avoid starvation and eat often (5-6 small and healthy meals per day).
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