Foods to Gain Weight: the Right Choices to Put On Kilos

If you want to gain weight, food choice makes the difference between getting there with three normal meals or having to force down huge plates. The key criterion is calorie density: many calories in little volume. Here is the list of the right foods to gain weight healthily, and the ones better limited even when the goal is putting on kilos.

The criterion: calorie density

People who struggle to gain weight usually fill up fast. The solution is not eating more volume, but choosing foods that pack many calories into few grams: a spoon of oil has the same calories as a whole plate of zucchini. Build your meals around these foods and the surplus arrives without force-feeding.

The list of foods to gain weight well

• Nuts and nut butters: almonds, walnuts, peanut butter, around 550 to 650 kcal per 100 g
• Oils and good fats: olive oil, avocado, olives
• Whole dairy: whole milk, full-fat Greek yogurt, aged cheeses
• Grains and starches: pasta, rice, bread, oats, potatoes
• Calorie-rich proteins: salmon, mackerel, lean red meat, eggs
• Dense fruit: bananas, grapes, figs, dried fruit like dates and dried apricots
• Legumes with grains: pasta with beans, rice with lentils, complete and calorie-rich dishes
• Homemade shakes: milk, banana, oats and peanut butter, up to 500 to 700 kcal per glass

The foods that make you gain weight the wrong way

Packaged snacks, chips, fried food and sugary drinks do make you gain weight, but the wrong way: lots of empty calories, blood sugar spikes, poor-quality satiety and fat that tends to settle around the waist. The occasional treat is fine, but building your surplus on junk food means gaining weight while losing health.

How to use this list every day

Add a fat source to every meal (oil, nuts, avocado), always choose whole dairy over low-fat and fit one or two dense snacks between main meals. If calories are missing at the end of the day, a calorie-rich shake is the easiest way to close the gap without feeling stuffed.