Healthy Weight Gain

Question
Hi, My husband is trying to gain some weight/muscle.  He is 32 years old, about 5'6-5'7 and weighs 157lbs.  I'm not sure about his body fat percentage.  He read online to gain the weight healthy eat things like tuna fish sandwiches,chicken salad, salmon every 2-3 hours.  He stated doing this routine along with taking Creatine (in pill form) 5 days.  About 3 days ago he started getting an upset stomach, not painful..just upset.  He stopped taking the Creatine incase that had something to do with it, but he still gets the upset stomach.  It don't last all day thought.  What I want to know is if he's eating something like a tuna fish sandwich or chicken salad sandwich every 2-3 hours could that be why he is getting the upset stomach?  If you are not used to eating like that, should you work your way up instead of starting out with the sandwich every 2-3 hours?
Thank You for any thoughts you have on this.
Sincerely,
Katrina

Answer
Hello Katrina!

Thank you for your nutrition question.Theoretically, you have to eat 500 to 1,000 calories per day to gain one to two pounds per week. Without question some people do gain weight more easily than others. Controlled weight gain studies have shown 20 lbs differences in subjects who were overfed the same amount of calories for the same time period. Why the difference? Maybe its fidgeting and perhaps its genetics. Keeping those factors in mind, here are five important rules to help with your quest for bulk.

1. Eat Consistently- Every day , have three hearty meals plus one to three additional snacks. Do NOT skip meals. You miss out on important calories that you need to accomplish your goals.

2. Eat larger then normal portions. Instead of having one sandwich for lunch, have two. Eat three potatoes at dinner, instead of only two. Have a taller glass of milk, bigger bowl of cereal, larger piece of fruit.

3. Select higher calories foods. Read food labels to determine which foods have more calories than an equally enjoyable counterpart. For example, cran-apple juice has more calories than does orange juice (170 vs. 110/8 ounces); granola has more calories than Cheerios (700 vs 100/cup); corn more than green beans (140 vs 40/cup).

4. Drink lots of juice and milk. Beverages are a simple way to increase your caloric intake. Instead of drinking water, quench your thirst with calorie containing fluids. One athlete gained 13 pounds in 3 months simply by adding six glasses of cranberry juice(1,000 calories) to his standard diet.

5. Do strengthening exercises (weight lifting, push-ups etc.) to stimulate muscular development so that you bulk up instead of fatten up. Some underweight people are afraid exercise will result in weight loss rather than weight gain. Remember, exercise tends to stimulate the appetite; you抣l want to eat more. Exercise also increases thirst; you抣l easily be able to drink extra juices.

For more answers to your nutrition questions check out www.planetyorgos.com

=George Rapitis, MS
www.juiceblend.com  

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