What to eat for weight gain?

allierat84
allierat84 Posts: 73 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Not me, but my hubby wants to put on a bit over a stone and start going to the gym (not loads, but he's very tall and slim frame and would like to try and build a small amount of muscle as well as putting on a little weight). He is very active in his job, his Fitbit (it's a HR one) is connected to the profile he has made on here and to gain 1lbs a week it's got him on around 4000 calories a day.
I'm supposed to be calorie restricted and low fat/not too many carbs for health reasons, I also eat a lot of veggie/vegan meals. I've lost weight well in the past, so what I need to be doing is so far off what hubby needs to do I'm stuck!
I'm responsible for meal planning/prep/cooking and shopping. Can anyone give me some suggestions for breakfasts, snacks and lunches that are high calorie without being unhealthy (evening meals he will just have to have whatever I'm making still as we eat together and I can't be cooking different for everyone, but he always has a larger portion anyway).
Also, is he likely to need even more calories if he's wanting to start lifting weights?

Replies

  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    First you'll need to let go of what you have as your definition of healthy/unhealthy. What is "unhealthy" for you in weight loss is not necessarily unhealthy for him in weight gain. 4000 calories is a heavy lift, but certainly not impossible. You'll want to get him fattier cuts of meats. Steaks, ground beef, etc. Sausage, pork, etc. Veggies like avocados. Plantains are good. Farm raised Salmon. Peanut butter, nuts, etc. Mashed potatoes. Olive oil and butter for cooking and dressing. As long as he is getting his nutrition, he can incorporate some food like fast food, pizza.

    He will definitely want to do weight lifting so he can add some of his gains in muscle. It will burn calories, but it doesn't burn a ton. He is likely to need only a couple hundred more calories from lifting weights.
  • allierat84
    allierat84 Posts: 73 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    First you'll need to let go of what you have as your definition of healthy/unhealthy. What is "unhealthy" for you in weight loss is not necessarily unhealthy for him in weight gain. 4000 calories is a heavy lift, but certainly not impossible. You'll want to get him fattier cuts of meats. Steaks, ground beef, etc. Sausage, pork, etc. Veggies like avocados. Plantains are good. Farm raised Salmon. Peanut butter, nuts, etc. Mashed potatoes. Olive oil and butter for cooking and dressing. As long as he is getting his nutrition, he can incorporate some food like fast food, pizza.

    He will definitely want to do weight lifting so he can add some of his gains in muscle. It will burn calories, but it doesn't burn a ton. He is likely to need only a couple hundred more calories from lifting weights.

    A couple of hundred calories more isn't too bad, so that's good to know.
    Regards unhealthy, he currently eats whatever I make for dinner, but the rest of his diet is crisps, cake, sweets, takeaways. So I guess I mean just how do we keep his calories high without him overdoing those things, as obviously those should be more in moderation. Thanks for some ideas 🙂

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