Mistakes You Make While Trying To Gain Weight

W

e live in a diet-centric society that is always concerned about weight loss; hence it is more likely for us to hear advice on weight loss from people. The cultural messaging in the media and marketing supports the idea that thinness or losing weight can mean health and success. 

Weight gain is often considered less challenging and is overlooked but the reality is that putting on pounds can be as tough as trying to shed pounds.

Faster metabolism (burning calories faster than you consume), poor appetite (difficulty eating more calories regularly), genetic predisposition to be leaner, and busy lifestyle (which makes it more challenging to consume more calories), stress, anxiety, and digestive disorders (difficulty absorbing nutrients properly) are some of the reasons that slow the process of weight gain for some individuals.

Also Read: What Is Carb Loading? Is It Useful & How?

In this blog, we’ll explore some of the common mistakes that people make while trying to gain weight…

NOT EATING ENOUGH CALORIES

The primary requisite for weight gain is to keep your body in a caloric surplus. Not eating enough calories is one of the major mistakes people make which could hold them back from reaching weight gain goals. If you don’t consume sufficient calories, your body uses stored energy (like fat or muscle tissue) to meet daily energy needs which can lead to weight loss and not weight gain.

It is also true that if you don’t consume more calories, your body uses the available energy for basic functions like digestion, and breathing, leaving little for weight gain.

Insufficient calorie intake will not allow your body to repair and build muscle tissue after exercise.

When you don’t eat enough calories, your body starts to save energy. It slows down metabolism. Your body believes it’s starving. This makes it tough to put on weight as time goes by.

Insufficient calorie intake will lead to inadequate nutrient consumption, which can affect overall health making it harder for your body to build muscle and gain weight effectively.

To gain efficiently, you need to consume more calories than you expend, from a balanced intake of proteins, carbs, and fat.

Also Read: The Benefits Of Consuming Mass Gainer For Bulking

RELYING ON JUNK FOODS TO GAIN WEIGHT

You might think consuming junk foods can get you an easy amount of calories but the source of calories matter a lot for weight gain. There are two ways you can gain weight, one from muscle mass gain, and the other from fat mass gain.

Junk foods pack a lot of calories, sugar, salt, and bad fats but they lack vitamins, minerals, and protein. Eating junk foods adds fat, not muscle, changing how your body looks. If you eat junk food often, you’ll gain weight in an unhealthy way. You might put on pounds fast, but you’ll feel tired too. Junk foods make your energy go up and down making it tough to exercise. To gain weight healthily, consume foods that are rich in lean protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs instead of junk foods.

Also Read: Top 10 Bodybuilding Tips For Hardgainers

NOT DOING STRENGTH TRAINING

Strength training is often overlooked when it comes to gaining weight. Incorporating regular strength training will provide the necessary stimulus for muscle growth, and cause small tears in muscle fibers, which then repair and grow stronger when paired with proper nutrition.

When you don’t provide your muscles with enough stimulus, your body cannot build muscle, even if you’re eating enough calories.

Since muscle is metabolically active, building more muscle mass will boost your metabolism, and improve your overall body composition.

If you don’t do strength training, you may gain weight, but the weight gain will come from fat rather than muscle, resulting in an unbalanced body composition.

Also Read: Clean Bulking Vs Dirty Bulking – Which Is Better?

NOT EATING ENOUGH PROTEIN

Weight gain doesn’t simply mean consuming excess calories but it’s essential to consume enough protein to provide your body the necessary building blocks to efficiently repair and build muscle tissue.

Proteins have a higher thermic effect compared to carbs and fats, which means your body burns more calories in digesting protein. This can help to increase your overall calorie expenditure, making it easier to create a calorie surplus and gain weight.

Adequate protein intake will help increase the metabolism, thus increasing your caloric intake necessary for weight gain.

Also Read: Can You Take Mass Gainer If You Don’t Do Workouts?

LACK OF CONSISTENCY IN EATING & EXERCISE HABITS

Consistency with exercise and being in caloric surplus is important for achieving weight gain goals.

When you are inconsistent with your exercise routine, your muscles don’t get enough stimulus they need to grow. You must aim for progressive overload and gradually increase reps which is essential for building muscle mass. If you train one day and miss out for the next couple of days or if you take long breaks between your workouts, then you’ll lose muscle mass.

If you are inconsistent in your eating caloric surplus, it will slow down your weight gain progress. Eating high calories one day and going on low calories the next day will result in missed nutrients like protein, healthy fats, and essential micronutrients.

A lack of habit will negatively affect motivation and make you feel discouraged leading to disruptions in the weight gain plan.

Also Read: 6 Important Tips To Boost Your Metabolism

SETTING UNREALISTIC GOALS

People with weight gain goals often have unrealistic expectations of achieving rapid results. But you must note that time and consistent efforts play a significant role in achieving proper and healthy weight gain.

Individual differences in body type, metabolism, and genetics influence how much weight you gain. The results of weight gain vary from person to person.

Some individuals heavily rely on supplements thinking they are miracles for weight gain goals.

Consistent high-calorie consumption, consistent strength training, consistent proper rest, and patience will lead to sustainable weight gain results. Setting unrealistic goals can lead to a lack of motivation and inconsistent effort.

Also Read: Does Whey Cause Weight Gain If Consumed Without Workout?

TRYING TO GET ALL THE CALORIES FROM SOLID FOODS

If you try to get all the calories from solid foods, you’ll be required to eat very large amounts, which can make you feel overly full, bloated and uncomfortable.

Consistently consuming large quantities of solid food will require more chewing and digestion time which can put extra strain on the digestive system.

Also eating surplus solid foods can keep you full for longer, which can suppress your appetite, and make it harder to consistently consume high-calories.

Not all the solid food you consume will be of high calories, and if you try to reach high calories from low-calorie food, you’ll need to consume high-volume foods, which are often impractical.

Try incorporating liquid calories like high-calorie smoothies, mass gainer shakes that are packed with vitamins and minerals to meet your high-calorie goals effectively.

Also Read: Does Creatine Supplementation Make You Gain Weight?

ATOM WEIGHT GAINER & MASS GAINER

ATOM Weight Gainer is a calorie-dense supplement that offers 61g carbs, and 8.8g protein per serving. The quick source of energy helps to replenish glycogen stores, helps delay fatigue, boosts muscle recovery, prevents muscle breakdown, and assists in weight gain for those with fast metabolism. The supplement includes vitamins, minerals and enzyme blend.

ATOM Mass Gainer is an energy-dense supplement that provides 12g protein, and 60g carbs and comes included with a power blend of BCAA, glutamine, Tribulus, and ashwagandha. The supplement includes vitamins, minerals, and enzyme blends.

Both Weight Gainer and Mass Gainer are perfect supplements for skinny people who have a high metabolism and who have a hard time meeting high-calorie goals.

No doubt, gaining weight can be as hard as losing weight, but avoiding these common mistakes can help you reach your goals faster…

Remember, gaining weight is a marathon, not a sprint, stay consistent with your efforts and don’t let these mistakes derail your progress…

Also Read: Mistakes To Avoid While Using Mass Gainer Supplement

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