Can You Gain Weight Healthily?

To gain weight healthily, you need to increase your caloric and protein intake and design an adequate exercise plan.
Can You Gain Weight Healthily?

Last update: 03 January, 2021

Yes, you can gain weight healthily, as long as that gain corresponds to muscle mass. What you need to avoid is building up fatty tissue, since this can negatively affect your health. However, increasing lean body mass may help your body function better.

It’s evident that to generate hypertrophy, you need to exercise. You have to subject your muscles to certain stimuli for them to be able to produce an adaptive response. However, diet also plays an essential role, as you’ll need to provide your body with the necessary nutrients.

To gain weight healthily, you need to eat protein

Proteins are the most important nutrients when it comes to building muscle tissue. These substances are linked to good health and lean tissue functionality.

According to a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, ingesting at least 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of muscle weight helps build lean tissue, combined with resistance training on lean tissue mass and muscle strength.

Nevertheless, you must make sure that at least 50 percent of the proteins come from foods of animal origin to guarantee good muscle building. These are considered of high biological value. This is because they contain all the essential amino acids and good digestibility levels.

Food sources of protein.
Protein is essential to gain weight healthily.

Your diet must be slightly hypercaloric

To build muscle, you need to eat more calories than you expend. This is the only way your body will create lean tissue. However, the difference between the energy you ingest and expend shouldn’t be excessive. Otherwise, you could accumulate fatty tissue. It’s best to establish a caloric surplus of about 300 calories a day.

With this in mind, you’ll need to make sure you include foods with quality proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in your diet. We recommend ultra-processed foods and industrial foods, as they contain trans fats that can cause inflammation and limit muscle gains. The best option is always fresh products.

Supplements for healthy weight gain

You can find certain products capable of improving endogenous protein synthesis and muscle mass gains on the market. These ergogenic aids can help you can gain weight healthily.

Perhaps the best known of all of them is creatine. In fact, it’s also the one with the most scientific evidence. According to a study published in the journal Nutrition and Health, regular consumption of 0.3 grams of creatine per kilogram of weight induces muscle mass gains. In addition, it can boost sports performance and increase muscle strength, which is positive for those who practice competitive sports.

A woman building muscle mass.

Another effective option is HMB, a leucine metabolite that can help increase muscle strength as well as strength to muscle cross-sectional area (CSA). Although it has less scientific evidence than creatine, many people use this ergogenic aid for this purpose, since it usually yields good results.

You can gain weight healthily

You can gain weight without this having negative health effects. For this purpose, you need to make sure that this weight gain corresponds to an increase in muscle mass to make your body work better. In fact, this is also associated with a lower risk of illness in the medium term.

To gain weight healthily, you need to make certain diet adjustments. You need to increase your protein intake, as well as enjoy a hypercaloric diet. In addition, you can also resort to certain sports supplements capable of influencing muscular strength and body composition.

In addition, don’t forget to exercise frequently. If you don’t stimulate your muscles, you won’t build muscle mass.

It’s important to follow a specific workout routine to achieve this goal. This is the only way to improve body composition in an effective way. Finally, remember to avoid eating unhealthy foods to prevent inflammation.


All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.


  • Morton RW., Murphy KT., McKellar SR., Schoenfeld BJ., et al., A systematic review, meta analysis and meta regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. Br J Sport Med, 2018. 52 (6): 376-384.
  • Nunes JP., Ribeiro AS., Schoenfeld BJ., Tomeleri CM., et al., Creatine supplementation elicits greater muscle hypertrophy in upper than lower limbs and trunk in resistance trained men. Nutr Healht, 2017. 23 (4): 223-229.

This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.