People with a BMI of less than 18.5 are considered underweight as the normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9. Though there are many supplements in the market that help increase your calorie intake, they are of no use when compared to eating the right foods.

Eat more than you burn

The main thing to remember for weight gain is to consume more than calories than you spend. So with the daily calorie requirement for a man is 2,200 and a woman, 1,900 you have to eat about 1,000 more calories a day to gain at least half a kilo in a week. So to do this, you have to eat larger portions at five meals in the day.

In a bid to increase your calorie intake, it is not necessary to binge on sweets, cakes and ice creams. It is important that you eat the right food lest you fill your body with unwanted calories that have no nutritional value to you.

Carbohydrates, and not proteins give more weight gain

Eat more of dairy products, meat and fish instead of bread and more of eggs, instead of vegetables. Food with high protein content is better like peas, pulses and beans and so are foods with high starch content like rice, tapioca and potatoes.

Though proteins help build muscle, don’t replace carbohydrates and fats with them as carbohydrates and fats are essential for weight gain.

When snacking, eat more of healthy high calorie foods like milk shakes, muffins, yoghurt, dried fruits and cheese sticks. Drink more fluids with nutrients and calories like milk and fresh fruit juices.

Consult your doctor before making drastic changes

While you gain weight, you have to develop your body muscle mass with exercise. Use weights to stress your muscles and do free weight exercises like squats, bench presses and pull ups to build your body along with some aerobics. If your BMR is high, it is better to have short, intense workouts instead of doing long, low stress activities.

Don’t miss on meals, consult a doctor and be consistent in your exercise and diet. All this will help you increase your weight within a short period of time.