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Weight Loss Exercise

Healthy Foods to Help You Gain Weight


Overweight and obesity problems plague two-thirds of the American population, but there are also people who have exactly the opposite problem – they are much too thin. Some people are underweight due to medical conditions or eating disorders, while others are just naturally thin. If you are someone who needs to put on some extra pounds, your goal would be to increase your calorie intake every day by eating healthy foods to gain weight and build a more muscled physique.

Being underweight can be a problem but it doesn’t mean that you want to become fat and flabby. You need healthy foods and exercise to help you build strong muscles and a bigger body. Avoid foods that are high in saturated fats; they may make you gain weight quickly but are bad for your health. The following foods will help you gain weight and increase muscle mass while providing the calories, vitamins and minerals your body needs.

Healthy Foods to Help You Gain Weight

Healthy Foods to Help You Gain Weight

Healthy Foods to Help You Gain Weight

Pasta and Other Carbohydrate Sources – Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy and should provide up to 65% of your total caloric intake. One cup of cooked pasta contains approximately 200 calories. Pasta topped with marinara sauce and shredded cheese is a great source of carbohydrates, protein, calcium and lycopene.

Other excellent sources of carbohydrates are bagels, potatoes, oatmeal, whole wheat bread, sweet potatoes and yams. If you are trying to gain weight, you need plenty of carbohydrate-rich foods to supply your body with energy. Provide your body with enough carbohydrates for energy, otherwise it will break down muscle tissue and use it for energy.

Dried Fruits – Raisins and dried berries, apricots, pineapple, cranberries and mango are packed with calories, vitamins and minerals. Dried fruits, without the water content, are more calorie-dense than fresh fruits. A half-cup of raisins has over 200 calories while a cup of fresh grapes has only about 60 calories. Snack on raisins and other dried fruits to help you gain weight more quickly.

Nuts and Seeds – Nuts and seeds are some of the healthiest foods to gain weight. Polyunsaturated fats in nuts and seeds provide healthy calories. Walnuts, almonds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and pecans offer a variety of flavors for a delicious, nutritious and calorie-dense snack.

Lean Meats and Other Protein Sources – Your body needs quality protein to build muscle mass. If you want to gain weight and maintain or add more muscles, you need high-protein foods such as lean meats, poultry, eggs, salmon, tuna, cottage cheese and tofu.

Avocado – Avocados are nutrient-dense and calorie-dense. A single avocado provides over 200 calories of nutrition. Avocados are rich in healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, potassium, B vitamins, and folic acid. Enjoy this wholesome fruit in sandwiches, salads and guacomole.

Healthy Fats and Oils – One of the quickest ways to boost your calorie intake is by adding extra fat to your food. Choose healthy fats and oils, and stay away from saturated fats. Olive oil, canola oil, flaxseed oil, and grape seed oil are rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on your pasta, salads, vegetables and other foods to gain weight in a healthy and natural way.

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Weight Loss Exercise

Why You Need Fat to Lose Weight

Why you need fat to lose weight if you already have to much fat? If you read any type of healthy living guide you will be told that 25% –  30% of your total calories should come from fat. If you are eating around 1,800 calories per day this is 250 fat calories each and every day. so it is important to know what and why you need fat to lose weight.

The key to eating this amount of fat each day without health problems is to choose the right type of fat. Fats are classified into two main groups the good fats and the bad ones.

The Good Fats

Why You Need Fat to Lose Weight

Unsaturated fats are classified as the Good fats and can be split into two groups Monounsaturated Fats and Polyunsaturated Fats. Monounsaturated fats help raise good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol. This type of fat also works to prevent a build up of fat in your arteries and helps reduce that unwanted and dangerous belly fat.

The best sources for unsaturated fats are olive oil, olives, canola oil, almonds, peanuts, cashews, sesame seeds, peanut butter and avocadoes.

Polyunsaturated fats are those which contain omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 helps to boost your brain function, improves your moods and strengthens your immune system. Omega 6 fatty acids are important for keeping your skin and eyes in healthy condition.

Good sources of Omega 3 are found in fish like herring and salmon and in walnuts, flax seed and tofu. A good source of Omega 6 is in corn and safflower oil along with corn fed chicken and beef. Your goal should be to eat more Omega 3 sources of fat and only small amounts of Omega 6, as too much of this can lead to heart disease.

The Bad Fats

Saturated fats are commonly known as the bad fats. Consuming too many of these types of fat can lead to high cholesterol levels and heart disease. You may be eating far to much saturated fats and that is why you need fat to lose weight with only unsaturated fats

It is easy to see saturated fats as they are seen in hard sources. For instance in chicken skin and on bacon, your best bet to limit your intake of saturated fat is to simply remove as much as possible before cooking or eating. Other sources of saturated fat are cream, 2% milk, coconuts and palm oil.

Trans Fats are probably the worst culprit on the list when it comes to bad fats. Trans Fats are pretty much man made. These are the fats that manufacturers add to foods to prolong their shelf life. Trans fats raise bad cholesterol levels (LDL) and lower good levels (HDL). These fats are totally responsible for causing heart disease!

You will find Trans Fats in shortening, margarine, crackers, cookies, chips and all processed foods.

Now you understand what fat is and the difference between good and bad fats. We can move on to why your body needs fat and why it helps and why you need fat to lose weight when it comes to losing weight.

Why You Need Fat to Lose Weight

Fat is a wonderful source of energy. Each gram of fat provides your body with 9 calories of energy. Protein and carbohydrates only provide your body with 4 calories.

Fat is responsible for keeping your cells healthy. Each cell is surrounded by a fatty membrane, without this your cells would not work properly. Your nerve fibers are also surrounded by fat. The fat acts as insulation and protection and actually allows messages to be transmitted throughout your body faster.

Certain vitamins require fat to be absorbed by your body effectively. This includes vitamins A, D, E and K which your intestines require daily.

Your body uses fat to regulate its sex hormones and other bodily functions. You will notice this in girls who are so thin that they do not menstruate.

Fat acts as a protection for your body. It helps to keep you warm in the winter. Leaner people often feel the cold more than those who are heavier. Fat is also responsible for keeping your skin smooth and glowing. Dry, flaky skin is often a sign of a fatty acid deficiency.

Your heart, kidneys and liver need to be protected and insulated and this is done by fat. This layer of fat helps to protect your organs from injury and keeps them in place.

Fat and Weight Loss

When you combine protein with fat you have the makings of a fast weight loss formula. Of course you must be careful of how much and which type of fat you eat.

The combination of protein and fat makes you feel fuller longer. You will experience less hunger pangs. The other benefit is that your blood sugar will be more stable. You won’t be bothered by sweet cravings, feeling light headed or shaky or suddenly feeling as though you are starving.

A good protein and fat meal would be a meal that consists of scrambled egg with ham. When cooking the eggs add peppers, mushrooms and onions. This is a great breakfast or brunch on the weekends. You will feel more energized all morning and be able to go about your daily tasks with gusto.

So remember that fat provides your body with more energy than protein and works to keep you feeling full. The foods to avoid when losing weight or just for living a healthy lifestyle are:

  • Refined foods
  • Refined sugar
  • Foods high in carbohydrates like bread and white flours
  • Processed oils like margarine
  • Hard fats

Smoking, stress and lack of exercise are all causes of heart disease, diabetes and other ailments. Take steps to include more exercise and reduce your stress levels.

Conclusion – Why You Need Fat to Lose Weight

While certain fats can be detrimental to your health the good fats are required to keep your body in good shape and health. By limiting your fat intake and watching which type of fat you are consuming, you will start to lose weight and feel healthy again. A lot comes down to why you need fat to lose weight

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Weight Loss Exercise

What is the Paleo Diet?

I keep getting asked by people, “What is the Paleo Diet?”. The basis of the Paleo diet is that if follows what humans used to eat before the agricultural revolution came about. The Paleo diet encourages dieters to eat natural ingredients including tons of fruits and vegetables. Foods your ancestors used to grow for themselves.

The foods which are recommended for the Paleo Diet are

  • Fruits
  • Vegetables
  • Lean meats
  • Seafood

All of the above foods are high in soluble fibre, antioxidants, phytochemicals, omega 3, monounsaturated fats and foods which have a low glycemic level when it comes to carbohydrate levels.

You can eat these lean protein sources along with unlimited amount of fresh fruits and vegetables.

The Paleo diet recommends that you avoid the following foods as much as possible

  • Refined sugars
  • Refined grains
  • Saturated fats
  • Trans fats
  • Salt
  • Processed foods
  • High glycemic carbohydrate foods

What is the Paleo Diet?

What is the Paleo Diet?

All of these foods are known to cause obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular problems. They have also been linked to many other health related diseases.

If we dig back into our history books a little to find out what is the Paleo Diet you will discover that when our ancestor’s reached 60 they suffered from very few diseases. Yes many people did not even make it to 60 but that was due to the high instances of people being killed while out hunting.

Our ancestors ate off the land, they grew their own fruits and vegetables and raised livestock for slaughter. They did not eat breads and processed foods and it was uncommon to see many overweight individuals. Plus of course their lifestyle kept them busy all the time. They were active and very healthy people and this was only 500 generations ago. In our history that is not very long at all!

One concern that many people have when first learning what is the Paleo Diet is the lack of calcium. Everyone thinks that they need to consume tons of dairy each day to promote healthy bones and prevent osteoporosis.

You will still be consuming calcium while on the Paleo diet, you will just be getting your daily amount from different sources. Instead of drinking milk and eating cheese you will be getting calcium from your fruits and vegetables.

Our body needs to balance the amount of calcium it receives daily. All foods are processed through our kidneys and this is where bone demineralization takes place. When you eat foods which produce high amounts of acid in your body, the kidneys force out excess calcium and other alkaline’s.

The acid producing foods which we consume too much of are hard grains, cereals, cheese and salty foods. Acid must balance with alkaline which is found in fruits and vegetables. So when you increase the amount of these good alkaline foods your body will balance its calcium level. What all of this means is that you won’t become calcium deficient.

If you follow the guidelines to the Paleo Diet you will start to lose weight, sleep better and have more energy. So What is the Paleo Diet, lots of good food and none of the empty calories we are used to.

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