In reality, some underweight people often face as many health risks as overweight people, and it’s often just as difficult for them to reach a healthy weight.

9 Tips for Gaining Weight

How to Add More Calories for Health, Recovery and Energy

In a society obsessed with losing weight, it can be difficult to find a healthy guide to gaining weight. After all, those who need to pack on the pounds are in the minority, and with a plethora of calories at their doorstep, it can seem like the solution is clear and easy.

In reality, underweight people often face as many health risks as overweight people, and it’s often just as difficult for them to reach a healthy weight.

Chronic disease is a primary obstacle to weight gain, while some people struggle to regain lost weight after major surgery or illness. For others, skinny is their (unwanted) norm. Regardless of the cause, staying underweight for too long can lead to health problems and injury.

While gaining weight in a healthy manner can be difficult, it’s certainly not impossible. The first steps are to separate healthy and unhealthy approaches, then find the techniques that mesh with your goals and personality.

Tune in to Healthy Calories

Many foods are high in calories. Many foods are healthy. Your challenge is to find the ones that check both boxes.

If you load up on empty calories, there’s a very good chance you’ll gain weight — but you’ll also gain a higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other health problems.

To gain weight in a healthy fashion, you’ll have to take in about 500 more calories than you burn each day, and those calories should come with a balance of fat, carbohydrates and proteins, plus an array of nutrients.