Hello and welcome to Healthcare Magic. Thanks for your query.

Now, the first step in a weight gain program is planning. Remember, putting on weight doesnt mean simply "overeating" - because that can be unhealthy and increase your cholesterol levels. Also, sudden increase in weight is also not good for health. Therefore, first make a reasonable plan as to how much weight you want to gain every month. I would recommend that gaining 2-3 kilos every month is a healthy and practical option.

The main goal is to increase your calorie intake, but in a healthy way. For this you need to make a list of foods which high in calorie content but are also healthy, and then plan your diet accordingly. Also, if you want to build muscle mass by working out, then you have to sufficient proportions of protein.

Your current diet plan seems healthy, but you can increase the proportion and content of protein. So, I would recommend the following modifications.

- Include at least two to 3 glasses of milk a day - maybe mid-morning, evening and before bedtime. Go in for whole milk (not the toned packet milk) or soya milk. Soya milk is a XXXXXXX and healthy source of protein.

- Early morning, you can take a small cup of sprouts. You can soak it the previous night and take it the next morning. Sprouts are XXXXXXX is both vitamins and proteins.

- For breakfast, if possible, get the bread toasted with butter or ghee or take it with cheese slices or cheese spread or peanut butter.

- For a mid-morning snack, you can drink a glass of milk with biscuits - rather than ordinary biscuits, you can buy Threptin protein biscuits, which are XXXXXXX in protein and calories.

- For lunch, substitute butter milk with curd (as it has much more calories). Take plenty of dal or sabji along with the main course. If you are having home food, then you can prepare thick dal and take it with ghee. If you are a non vegetarian, you can take a portion of meat twice a week.

- For an evening snack, you can include a cup of boiled channa (chick peas) or XXXXXXX gram or fried moong dal. All these are protei-rich as well as healthy. You can also have a glass of milk mixed with a protein powder like proteinex, etc.

- For dinner, if possible, include an egg or thick vegetable, corn or chicken soup

- Before bedtime, take a glass of milk again.

Also, when selecting vegetables, fruits or pulses, you can make a few modifications:

Vegetables — Choose more of high carbohydrate vegetables (potatoes, peas, corns, carrots, beetroot, etc). Avoid vegetables that are mostly water or fibre (cauliflower, cabbage, beans, greens, pumpkin, cucumber).

Fruit — Choose dense fruit (bananas, pears, apples, pineapple, dried fruit) over watery fruit (oranges, sweetlime, watermelon).

Breads — Hearty and dense breads, such as multigrain / whole wheat are more nutritious than regular white bread.

Added oils — When cooking, you add a generous amount of oil to your food. You can also substitute oil with butter whenever possible.

Dried fruits and nuts - Raisins, dates, groundnuts, almonds, pista nuts, etc are all very XXXXXXX in calories. You can have one cup of nuts as a snack whenever you feel hungry inbetween.

You can also take a few spoons of honey in the morning and night - honey is a good source of carbohydrate and can strengthen your digestive system also.

You can try protein supplements like protein powders, protein shakes or nutritional supplements like Spirulina capsules.

If you are not able to eat more at a time, then split you meals - you can follow:3 meals and 3 snack pattern, spread out at even intervals.

Now, as you increase your calories, it is also important to build your muscle mass. Its good that you are working our regularly. Please continue to do that. Now, there are two kinds of exercises - aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic exercises like walking, running, cycling, treadmill, swimming, etc. are all to lose weight. So avoid aerobic exercises. Anaerobic exercises are weight-training exercises and will build up muscle mass. So, I would advise you to do more of anaerobic or weight training exercises.

Keep monitoring your weight every week. This way you will know how much weight you are gaining and this will give you motivation to continue your efforts.

Wish you all the best.

Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar

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Hello again,

Some persons can have a tendency to develop gastric irritation and hyperacidity due to certain foods like ghee, etc. This may be the reason why your stomach feels bloated after taking ghee or potato. If these foods are causing you problems, then it is better to avoid them.

Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar

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