If you have been that extremely skinny guy in your high school days, never getting picked for the soccer team, then it is time to fix that stubborn weight issue. Worry not, it s fairly easy, all you have to do is make changes in your diet. Diet is the primary component that can help gain weight.

Some tips you can follow and design your diet plan accordingly are mentioned below: 

Increase your appetite by eating more to gain weight. But do it step-by-step and not by stuffing yourself too much at one go. Add one extra chapatti or more rice than you normally consume, or you even start with fruits by eating an extra one every day. Ghee, oil or butter can not only help increase your weight, but it may increase weight by increasing your fat percentage in your body. Rather you can eat a proper well-nourished diet and increase your muscle mass and not only the fat accumulation in the body.

Carbohydrates are needed to gain weight but include healthier options like banana, potato, mango, whole grain, rice, etc. Instead of sugar-rich food items like chocolates and other junk food items. Carbohydrates are classified into simple and complex carbs. Reduce on your simple carbs like sugar and sweets which later on converts to fats. Complex carbs like whole grains, beans or fibre-rich vegetables and fruits can be consumed for a healthy weight gain.

Consume protein-rich food items after your workout to increase your muscle mass. And eat good fats like nuts and seeds in your diet. Eating a handful of pumpkin or flaxseeds is a good way to give your body the fat intake it needs. Though junk food items like vada pav or burgers are loaded with calories, they only increase body fat and not muscle mass. This is not the right way to go around. Every meal should comprise of carbs and protein. Post-workout nutrients and a well-balanced diet with the proper combination of carbohydrates and protein is the most important to maintain your muscle mass and weight gain process.
Sample Meal Plan -

To give you more opportunities to get the calories to gain weight, aim to eat 3 meals and 2-3 snacks a day. For breakfast, enjoy generous servings of whole grains like whole-wheat bread with beans or egg whites, paneer or Cereals and a glass of milk with nuts will be a good combination.

Mid-morning can be fruit juices, fruit milkshakes, 1-2 serving of fruit or granola bars. Lunch and dinner can be incorporated with 3-4 wholegrain chapattis with a serving of pulses, paneer, chicken or fish and a serving of vegetables with a portion of rice OR 1 bowl of khichdi which serves you with good cereal pulse combination. In between meals if you feel hungry you can have sprouts or roasted channa. Evening you can either grab a whole wheat sandwich, a whole wheat roll or a whole wheat sub.

Bedtime you can either have a glass of milk or either banana /mango/strawberry milkshake.

Right Ways To Gain Weight!

Struggling with extra weight and flab? Well, we are here to help! Remember to take it slow and easy with your weight loss journey so that the effects are more lasting. Reducing weight in a month is a matter of making the best use of dietary tweaks and a work out regimen. 

Here are a few tips to lose weight in a month. Set a realistic goal of about 5 to 6 kgs in a month and get set go!

1. Food Diary: What you eat is the first thing that affects how smooth and effective your weight loss journey is. Remember to take stock of what you are eating in a day. Maintain a food diary for at least a week and take a look at it at the end of the week to realise where you may be going wrong. Remember to report even a bite of a snack or that piece of chocolate you took! You will be surprised with your findings. 

2. Diet Alterations: Get your diet under control by dividing it up into five or six small meals. Include vegetables, fruit, grains, water and some amount of dairy. Try to eliminate meat and sugar from your diet for a month. Also, you can substitute white rice with brown rice or other grains like quinoa. Have oats for fibre and remember to drink plenty of green tea and water. 

3. Dietary Additives: Adding ingredients like almonds, prunes, blue berries, and even chia seeds will do wonders for your overall diet plan. When you are in the mood for a snack, reach out for these fat burning substances that will get your metabolism to work overtime. 

4. Mental Hunger: Do a quick check every time you get hungry out of turn. If it is not your meal time, there may be chances that you are suffering from emotional or mental hunger, which usually passes in a few minutes once you down a glass of water and distract yourself with an enjoyable activity and deep breaths. 

5. Exercise: This is one aspect that many people ignore. Work out everyday to support your diet and weight loss journey. Have coffee an hour before your workout session for quick fat burning. 

Tips to Reduce Weight in a Month

5 Proven ways to burn 2 inches of belly fat in 8 weeks flat!

The fat that builds up in your tummy takes a longer time to burn in comparison to fats that are stored in the other parts of the body. 
Here are 5 effective ways to lose 2 inches of belly fat in just 8 weeks:

1. Go for a brisk walk - Brisk walking for 20 minutes every day can help you to lose 1 inch of belly fat in 4 weeks. Research reveals that going for a walk between 8am and noon is highly beneficial as working out in the morning light gives a boost to your metabolic processes, which enable your body to burn more fat.

2. Cook with coconut oil - Cooking with 2 tablespoons of coconut oil on a daily basis can help you to touch the 2 inches' mark as well. It contains medium chain triglycerides (a type of fatty acids), which are absorbed directly into the bloodstream and do not require bile for breaking them down, leading to faster digestion of fats. Plus, coconut oil doesn't increase your cholesterol levels since its fat content is burned as energy rather than getting stored in your body and causing fat accumulation.

3. Eat 3 hours before sleep - Several studies highlight that having dinner very close to your sleeping hours can hamper your sleep quality and its fat-burning ability. It not only increases your body temperature but also blood sugar and insulin levels while reducing the production of melatonin ( a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycle) and growth hormone. For this reason, it's best to have the last meal of your day 3 hours before your bedtime so as to allow the stomach acids and enzymes to convert the food into energy.

4. Have more proteins - Several studies show that having a protein-rich diet can be highly effective in reducing belly fat. Consumption of protein can cut down food cravings by 60%, enhance metabolic rate by about 80-100 calories a day, and reduce daily calorie intake by about 441 fewer calories/ day. Both animal protein and plant protein have been found to be effective against belly fat. Try including low-fat dairy products, fish, chicken, soybeans etc in your diet to shed extra inches from your tummy.

5. Include choline-rich foods in your diet - Choline is a water-soluble nutrient that acts on those genes that are responsible for fat storage. It breaks down fat in the body and uses it as energy instead. This nutrient is found in abundance in eggs, seafood collard green, and lean meats.

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5 Proven Ways to Burn 2 Inches of Belly Fat in 8 Weeks Flat!

Milk is nutritious, but sometimes, avid dieters shrink away from consuming milk. It is generally believed that the fat content in milk hinders weight loss. On the contrary, milk has a lot of benefits.

Here are some facts you need to remember before you say no to milk:

Nutrients and milk: Particularly, milk is an excellent source of zinc, vitamin B, protein and most importantly, calcium. So when you ditch milk in your crusade of weight loss, you skip out on calcium, the mineral primarily responsible for good bone health. Some studies suggest that calcium can actually add to weight loss, but this needs more research to back it up. 
Health and milk: Previously milk did get a bad reputation when it was linked as a supposed cause of stroke and heart attack. But a recent study produced a result which proved the complete opposite, milk can actually prevent stroke and heart attack! According to research, milk can actually lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. 
Muscles and milk: Milk contains whey and casein protein, both of which are high-quality proteins if you are looking to build muscles. Whey is a fast protein (gets digested faster) while casein is a slow protein (gets digested slowly). Your body gets a good and healthy supply of proteins when you consume milk, so don t write it off just yet. 
Fat and milk: As mentioned before, calcium can cause your body to burn fat. There is research pending on it, but the preliminary results suggest that dieters shouldn t skip out on milk. You might argue that you can just consume calcium supplements in that case. However, it has been discovered that other milk proteins to add to fat burning, which you cannot get from supplements. Milk is good for you, but it isn t a miracle weight loss food. So yes, you will need to follow a healthy diet as drinking a glass of milk with a couple of doughnuts will not help you at all.
So, milk is not all evil as people think it to be. It could be good for your weight loss plan. And the best way to incorporate milk into your weight-loss diet is to consume the low-fat skimmed milk variant than the whole fat milk as you get 90 calories from one cup of skimmed milk as compared to 150 calories from whole milk with nearly the same protein and calcium content. This way you get the best of milk without worrying about the fat in it plus an extra fat loss of 1 kg (9000 calories) from 150 cups over the time with a saving of 60 calories in each cup.

Milk - Is It Good or Bad for Your Weight Loss Plan?

Being overweight or obese leads to many health problems and thus, controlling your diet to reduce fat and weight can help you get your life back. However, one the other side of the spectrum, being too skinny can also be unhealthy. You could also be clinically of proper weight but might want to put on some muscle. Diets for both sides will thus vary greatly.

Diet for weight loss:

Include more of dark leafy vegetables in your diet: These vegetables are storehouses of many important nutrients, such as vitamins, proteins, fibres and antioxidants and also contain no fats.
Cereals and grains: It is important that we replace refined flour and fried food items, such as parathas or poori with whole healthy grains. Some examples of these grains are whole wheat bread, brown rice, rotis and oats.
Lean meats: Certain forms of meat, which have been prepared without too much oil and spice are good as weight loss diet ingredients. Chicken, turkey, sweet-water fish among others are good choices.
Fruits: Fruits are also a good option as they have natural sugar within them and can provide a boost of energy without requiring processed sugars. Melons, Oranges, berries, guavas are all good examples as they also help in regulating body functions.
Diets for weight gain:

Peanuts: This ingredient is a good source of protein and unsaturated fats, which will help you build muscle and put on some extra weight. If you are working out at the gym to gain muscles peanuts can provide you with the required calories and protein to put on weight.
Bananas: This fruit is not only a source of potassium, but also a source of good sugar which can easily be converted into energy within the body and can help build muscles and thus enable you to put on weight the healthy way.
Eggs: Eggs, especially egg yolk is known to be rich in protein and fats and can help you gain weight quickly. However, it is advised not to eat multiple eggs and limit its consumption to three or four eggs weekly as it can contribute to bad cholesterol within the body.
Chocolate: Some amount of chocolate in your food also helps you to put on weight although excessive consumption may lead to elevated blood sugar levels. However, chocolates in moderation and regularity will help you put on weight healthily.

Diet For Weight Loss And Weight Gain!

It s frustrating to see that though there is little change in diet, weight gain becomes normal as we get older.  Tyres  around the tummy and heavy hips are often seen as a sign of being middle aged. There are many reasons for this change in the rate of weight gain. Some of them are:


Lower metabolic rate: As children and teenagers, the body is constantly growing and changing and hence has a high metabolic rate. Metabolic rate refers to the speed with which fat is burned to produce energy. After the age of 30, this metabolic rate naturally slows down and fewer calories are burned. This leads to the accumulation of fat. The only way to boost your metabolic rate and burn fat is by exercising. 
Less muscle mass: With age, the muscles in the body also begin to shrink. Thus, instead of forming muscle, fat cells are formed as a result of digestion. When comparing muscles and fat cells, the former burn more calories and hence when they are unavailable, the rate of burning calories is lowered leading to weight gain. 
Weight gain in menopause: When it comes to women, menopause is another trigger for weight gain. This is because, this condition is marked by hormonal imbalances. This leads to a sudden drop in estrogen levels that triggers a response in the body to draw out more estrogen from the fat cells. Ultimately, this leads to the formation of more fat. Men too can suffer from hormonal imbalances as they age. This is seen by a drop in testosterone levels that leads to abdominal weight gain.
Sedentary lifestyle: As we get older, our lifestyle turns more sedentary. A sedentary lifestyle is very unhealthy and leads to not only weight gain, but a number of other problems as well. Without regular exercise, the body s existing metabolic rate further reduces leading to accumulation of fat cells. To combat this, take half an hour out of your schedule every day to go for a walk, cycle or practice any form of exercise. 
Stress: Stress not only affects your psychological health, but your physical well-being as well. Being under pressure or anxious can increase the cortisol levels in the body. This creates hunger pangs that lead to unhealthy snacking. When eating in a stressful condition, little or no attention is paid to the food being eaten or the messages your body is trying to give you. This often results in overeating that causes weight gain.

5 Reasons Why You Gain Weight As You Age

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