7 Tips for Increasing Weight to Become More Ideal

There are many reasons people want to gain weight, ranging from being too thin to wanting to improve their appearance. However, whatever the reason, increasing body weight needs to be done in the right way so as not to cause health problems.

How to gain weight needs to be adjusted to each person's health condition and the reasons why their weight is low. Therefore, before starting a weight gain program, you should first check your nutritional status by calculating your body mass index.

If the calculation results show that you are underweight, first understand the cause. After that, you can improve your diet and adjust it to the health condition you are experiencing 7 tips for increasing weight to become more ideal.

Several Causes of Low Body Weight

There are many conditions or diseases that can cause a person's body weight to be too low, namely:

• Certain diseases, such as hyperthyroidism and diabetes
• Food malabsorption , eg Celiac disease
• digestive diseases like ulcerative colitis and Crohn's illness
• Cancer, especially those that have entered an advanced stage
• Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa
• Psychological disorders, such as stress and depression
• Malnutrition or malnutrition
• Infections, for example HIV and tuberculosis

Apart from that, weight loss can also be caused by other things, such as extreme diets and side effects of drugs, including chemotherapy and slimming pills. Certain habits, such as using drugs and drinking alcoholic beverages, can also cause weight loss drastically.

How to Gain Weight Healthily

Treating the illness or condition causing weight loss is the greatest strategy to put on weight. If this condition can be overcome, body weight will increase.

Apart from that, there are several tips for gaining weight healthily and safely that you can do, such as:

1. Choose healthy foods that are rich in nutrients

To gain weight within 1 week , you are not required to consume high-calorie foods, fast food, fatty foods , and foods or drinks with high sugar content.

In order to gain weight more healthily, you still need to eat balanced nutritious foods, for example fruit and vegetables, nuts, meat without skin or fat, tofu, tempeh, eggs and fish.

If necessary, you can also take additional nutritional supplements as recommended by your doctor to meet your nutritional needs and gain weight.

2. Eat more often with smaller portions

Someone who is underweight often feels full quickly . Instead of eating large portions 2–3 times a day, it is better to eat smaller portions but often.

3. Consume calorie and nutrient dense drinks

Not only from food, nutritional intake can also be obtained from calorie and nutrient dense drinks, such as milk, yoghurt and fresh juice between meals. Apart from meeting your body's fluid needs, you can also avoid dehydration.

4. Choose healthy snacks

Snacks can be a source of additional calories that can help you gain weight. However, you are advised to choose healthy snacks that are rich in nutrients, such as dark chocolate, fruit, or whole wheat bread.

Steer clear of unhealthy snacks like fried foods because they are heavy in cholesterol and oil. If consumed in excess, these unhealthy foods can increase the risk of disease, such as heart disease, diabetes and even cancer.

Read More : 10 Fast and Effective Ways to Lose Weight

5. Increase your calorie intake

In order to gain weight, you must consume more calories each day.. Choose healthy sources of additional calories, for example by sprinkling grated cheese on bread, butter on stir-fries, or cream and milk on soup.

However, you need to be careful in choosing calorie-increasing foods so as not to cause excess blood sugar, salt and cholesterol, which can harm your body's health.

6. Drink after eating

Drinking lots of water before eating can make the body full faster. In this way, your appetite will decrease and your food portions will become smaller.

7. Exercise regularly

Regular exercise is not only done to lose weight, but also to gain weight. By exercising regularly, the body will form more muscle tissue and trim excess fat.

Frequent exercise, when combined with a nutritious diet, can help you reach your optimal body weight. Apart from that, exercise can also increase appetite so that nutritional and calorie intake can increase.

Gaining Weight During the Recovery Period after Illness

Being sick for a long time can have an impact on decreasing appetite, resulting in weight loss. In fact, at this time the body really needs calorie and nutritional intake, such as protein, carbohydrates, fat, and vitamins and minerals, so that it can quickly return to health.

While recovering from certain illnesses, you can consume a variety of the following healthy foods:

• Smoothies or fresh fruit juice
• Porridge or oatmeal
• Boiled eggs
• Tofu
• Chicken soup or gravy
• Wheat bread
• Milk, yoghurt or cheese
• Fruit and vegetables, such as sweet potatoes or boiled potatoes, bananas, apples, mangoes, kiwi, spinach, and broccoli
• Fish
• Nuts

Increasing your appetite during and after illness is not easy. So that you can recover quickly and maintain a good appetite, there are several ways you can try, for example consuming your favorite foods, managing stress, getting enough sleep, and staying away from cigarettes and cigarette smoke and alcoholic drinks.

On the market, there are many supplement products or herbal medicines circulating that claim to increase weight. However, before you consume it, first look for information regarding its benefits and purpose of use. Also make sure the product is registered with BPOM.

You also need to remember that even though you have used additional supplements, you still need to follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly to gain weight healthily.

If after following the guidelines above your weight does not increase, consult a doctor about this . Later, the doctor can provide medicines and supplements or recommend a certain diet to gain weight according to the condition you are experiencing.