The Top 10 Foods to Eat to Gain Weight

When I hear of another story of a person desperate to gain weight being told to boost their protein intakes and chow down on vegetables while keeping their carbohydrates low, I CRINGE!
You show me a bodybuilder who’s on a high protein, low carb nutrition plan and I’ll show you a skinny person.  Now don’t get me wrong, there are times when I use lower carbs to my advantage but if you want to put on mass (weight and muscle) you will need to fuel your body, add in extra calories and it’s not going to be from lean chicken and broccoli.
Here’s a quick list of foods to eat to gain weight.

If you want to know how many calories a day you need a day there’s formulas for that so you don’t put on excess fat while trying to gain weight and if you want to know how much protein you need a day, there’s easy formulas for that as well.  This quick list is just going to be foods you need to keep in the house that give you the most bang for your buck in terms of calories, density, carbohydrates (fuel) that will speed you quick weight gain.
This list is NOT conclusive but ideas to help you with foods that can be high quality but have more calories per serving.  You will not find many selections in the vegetable groups as most vegetables are low in calories.  Go ahead and indulge but keep in mind that the best thing about vegetables is they have fiber, which will fill you up and make you feel fuller.  Thus, if you are on a weight gain mission, you will mostly likely have trouble hitting your goals if you load up on vegetables without first eating the higher calorie options.  That being said, there’s no reason to avoid them!
Starch Group:

• Muffins (maybe a high protein breakfast muffin by expert Mike Boyle)
• Pumpkin Snack Cake
• Brown Rice
• Oatmeal (old fashioned oats)
• Waffles (I don’t mean Eggo)
• Potato (sweet, yam, white)
• Pasta (whole grain)
• Bread (whole wheat)
• Cornbread
• Bagels

Vegetable Group:

• Potato (baked with skin)
• Cabbage
• Corn (whole or drained to reduce sodium)

Meat, Poultry, Fish, Beans, Eggs, Nuts Group:

• Lean Beef
• Ground Beef (extra lean)
• Pork Chop
• Chicken Breast
• Turkey Breast
• Lamb
• Whitefish
• Lentils

Dairy Group:

• Yogurt
• Milk 2% or 1%
• Cottage Cheese
• Cheese (various selections)

Fruit Group:

• Honey Dew Melon
• Avacado
• Rasins
• Banana
• Pear

Fats:

• Peanuts
• Cashews
• Peanut Butter
• Udo’s Essential Oil

There’s literally hundreds of other foods in every category that might make the cut but the purpose of this list is to keep it general.  To get you to think in terms of what types of items to look for and then make your selection based on preferences.
I’m happy to expand this list with additional foods items that I may have overlooked.  Drop a comment below.  I’d appreciate it.
Marc David – CPT
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
Author of NoBull Bodybuilding
PS – In my own situation, I need 3500 calories a day to gain weight.  This means that plain chicken, low carbs and vegetables all day won’t cut it.  I need to eat a lot, eat frequently and I need foods that spur me to my daily goal quickly.