For some people, gaining weight or adding muscle can be just as difficult as losing weight for others.
However, simply adding certain foods to your diet can make your weight gain efforts both healthy and more effective.
Here are 18 of the best foods to help you gain weight or add muscle, the healthy way.
Drinking homemade protein smoothies can be a highly nutritious and quick way to gain weight.
Making your own smoothies is the best way since commercial versions are often full of sugar and lack nutrients. It also gives you full control over the flavor and nutrient content.
Here are just a few tasty variations you can try. You can combine each with 2 cups (470 ml) of milk or an alternative like almond milk.
- Chocolate banana nut shake:
- Vanilla berry shake:
- Chocolate hazelnut shake:
- Caramel apple shake:
- Vanilla blueberry shake:
- Super green shake:
All of these smoothies provide around 400–600 calories, along with a high amount of protein and other important vitamins and minerals.
Summary
Milk has been used as a weight gainer or muscle builder for decades ( 1 ).
It provides a good balance of proteins, carbs and fats and is a good source of calcium, as well as other vitamins and minerals (2).
For those trying to add more muscle, milk is an excellent protein source that provides both casein and whey proteins. Research has even shown it can help you add muscle when combined with weight lifting ( 3 , 4 ).
Additionally, studies have found that milk, or whey and casein combined, can lead to greater mass gain than other protein sources ( 4 , 5 ).
Try drinking around one or two glasses as a snack, with a meal, or before and after a workout if you are training.
Summary