Being underweight is a challenge both physically and psychologically. With an underweight body, you're 2x more likely to have a weaker immune system and possibly lack vitamin deficiencies. It can damage your self-esteem, deteriorate confidence, low energy levels and so on.
Although most people believe gaining weight is a piece of cake, it has proven to be a challenge for people having a fast metabolism rate or even generally skinny ones. Our search for ideal tips to gain weight led us to Umair Orakzai.
In one of his YouTube videos, he explains the problems that arise from being underweight and most importantly tips on how to gain weight from his own experience. The infamous author of Get Shredded and Get Bulked, and also one of our favorite fitness influencers, talks about how easily you can get in shape with his four easy steps.
Eat every 2 hours
In order to gain weight, you need to consume more calories than you burn. The problem however underweight people face is that they consume fewer calories than required. However, the intake of calories can vary from person to person. A 25-year-old 6-feet person needs an average of 2,200 calories while a 40-year-old 5 feet person might only need 1,700 calories.
What's important to note is for skinny guys, increasing eating habits is a difficult task. So Umair Orakzai suggests to eat small meals after every 2-3 hours and make sure to eat at least 3-4 full meals a day, making a total of 5-6 meals a day minimum.
Get enough rest
Machines overheat when not given enough time to rest, similarly, your body needs its rest. Ideally, you need a minimum of 8 hours of sleep a day to stay energized. When you sleep any less than that your body requires 20-30% more calories than usual. You would also have low energy levels than average.
Even if you could eat more to fill the calorie gap, you wouldn't be able to do much exercise due to low levels of energy.
A study by USA today explain how getting enough sleep helps your body make the most of your diet and help you fight a predisposition to gain unnecessary weight.
Go to the gym
Most people workout at home because they believe going to the gym is too much effort. People going to gym have shown 2.3x faster fitness results as opposed to those doing workout at home. Whether its 30 minutes, an hour or two, make sure you go to the gym.
Don't over-work yourself
Give your body time to recover during workout and after it. If you feel exhausted rather than energized, chances are you're over-training your body. Not only will this affect your muscles but you may also experience increased levels of anxiety, disturbed sleeping patterns, and weight loss. So remember to train at your own pace rather than going all out in a single workout.
In the end, fitness is all about consistency. To gain weight you must remain consistent in your efforts no matter how small they may be.
