First Think Then Eat - #BecomeHealthy

My #BecomeHealthy series is becoming more and more successful on Steemit. I have gotten tons of questions on how to build muscles, how to lose / gain weight and I haven´t studied this topic in college but I think the best way to learn something is to actually do it. I would like to spare you years of searching for the best strategy and introduce you to what works best for me!

I need to separate the posts and cut them into three parts. Build muscles - Lose weight - Gain weight

Everyone has different goals which means they need to do different exercises and eat divergent nutrition as well. Today I want to start with gaining weight since this topic was asked below my very first post of #BecomeHealthy.

G A I N    W E I G H T 

Some people are easily gaining weight and some just don´t. It can be as difficult as losing weight even if it sounds weird. Every person has a different metabolism which means that not everyone can easily gain weight. I have gone through this all. Most time of my life I was skinny because of the sports I did. Gymnastics, swimming, soccer, cheerleading and dancing. Those were the main forms of sports that kept me in shape. I even had times where I wanted to become a little bit more curvy but it was so hard to get this mass that I literally tried everything from shakes to fast food and so on... 

Going through all of this made me realize that no matter what your goals are, eating healthy is the first priority when it comes to a great physical state! 

I will do a separate post about the mindset later on because you can not start a new lifestyle with the old mindset. But first let me list a few things that will help you gain weight for sure! 

Homemade Protein Smoothies 

Eating to gain weight does not only require upping your calorie intake. In order for you to gain more mass, you should increase your protein intake as well.  While the average sedentary person needs just 0.36 gram of protein per pound of body weight, people who strength-train -- which includes those trying to gain lean weight -- should eat 0.73 to 0.82 gram per pound. It is important to meet your protein needs so that part of your weight gain comes from muscles but eating extra protein than needed can be stored as fat! Homemade smoothies are one of my favorite choices because they can be a highly nutritious and are actually a quick way to gain weight!

Please be aware of not buying smoothies from the grocery store because they are made out of added sugar and lack of nutritions. 

-These are some of my favorite recipes for weight gain -

( You can also choose vegan based protein which is my favorite but most people use the whey protein )

• Chocolate banana nut shake: Combine 1 banana, 1 scoop chocolate whey protein and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) peanut or other nut butter
• Vanilla berry shake: Combine 1 cup (237 ml) of fresh or frozen mixed berries, ice, 1 cup (237 ml) high-protein natural yogurt and 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein
• Chocolate hazelnut shake: Combine 15 ounces (444 ml) of chocolate milk with 1 scoop of chocolate whey protein, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of hazelnut butter and 1 avocado
• Vanilla blueberry shake: Combine 1 cup (237 ml) fresh or frozen blueberries, 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein, 1 cup (237 ml) vanilla yogurt and sweetener if needed

Nuts And Nut Butters

Nuts have a huge amount of protein by still being very healthy without any artificial ingredients. Just one small handful of almonds contains over 7 grams of protein and 18 grams of healthy fats. They are very calorie-dense which means two handfuls per day with a meal or as a snack can quickly add hundreds of calories! But it is very important to look if the nut butters haven´t any added oils or sugar inside!

Don't Let More Than Four Hours Go By Without Eating

Your body needs a continuous supply of energy since it's like an engine that's always turned on! When you skip meals, you deny your body the fuel that it needs to keep going. The best way to prevent your body from losing mass is to eat regular meals that are spaced about three to five hours apart. It is very important to stay consistent in order to achieve your goals!

Do A Mental Check

Many people are losing weight during times of stress or depression. There are several tips that I can give you but it will only work if you are living a well balanced life. Make sure that you do not feel stressed all the time or find ways to deal with depressions. It is a serious topic but nothing is impossible and there is a way out! I will do a separate post about the mindset as I mentioned earlier but the mental check is important before you start to change your nutrition!

_______________________________

Above I mentioned my favorite tips and tricks on how to gain weight. There are a bunch of other examples but this is what worked best for me. Currently I do not only want to gain weight, my main focus is on building muscles and strength. I am looking forward to the next episodes of #BecomeHealthy and let me know if some of these listed tips helped you out! 

Thanks for reading

Stay focused

Love, Soldier