What is a calorie deficit? How to calculate and create a calorie deficit for weight loss. How many calories do you need to consume daily to gain muscle mass or weight? What does calorie surplus mean?

Good afternoon, dear girls! We continue to talk about rapid weight loss, which is so desirable for the fair sex. You can read the first two articles on this topic here “” and here “”. Today I will finally tell you about How can you lose weight guaranteed in a month, but without harm to your health? and all the ensuing consequences after low-calorie diets and hunger strikes. Why lose weight in a month? Yes, because this particular period of time will be able to show you at least some real and tangible results. One week is not enough to achieve visual changes if we are talking about proper and competent weight loss. Therefore, today get ready to perceive and assimilate information if your goal is weight loss without harm to health.

So, from the previous two articles, where we looked at the step-by-step mechanism of losing weight (due to what we lose weight in the first place, and what goes last); found out what negative consequences await all lovers fast weight loss and much more, you learned a lot of useful information, which, I hope, you analyzed and made the right conclusions about the desire to lose 5-10 kg in a week.

Now let's move on to considering the basic and most important tips that will help you without stressing your body. I warn you right away that there will be no talk of any 10 kg per month here!

1. Create a calorie deficit

Before you start losing weight, you should understand at least a little about what it is deficit And surplus calories, and how does it affect our weight?

 For reference:

 Calorie deficit– this is when you spend more calories (energy) than you consume in food. With a calorie deficit, the body loses weight.

 Calorie surplus- this is when the number of calories coming from food is greater than their expenditure. When there is a calorie surplus, the body gains weight.

Based on this, it turns out that in order to start burning fat and losing weight, we must create a calorie deficit, that is, start spending more energy than we get from food. But this deficit should not be too large. The optimal figure is 10-20%, no more.

How you can achieve this, read the following advice.

1. Get fit

If you have set a goal lose weight in a month without harm to health, and in such a way that the result pleasantly pleases you after this period, then, of course, you cannot do without additional physical activity. It’s fitness, no matter what: it will be either group classes Pilates, or classes in gym, either training at home with help or self-training via videos on the Internet, will give you the necessary calorie deficit that I mentioned above. But the benefits of fitness don't end there.

For example, power training in the gym combined with cardio can greatly affect your metabolism, increasing it several times , and trigger a hormonal response in your body , launching the processes of anabolism (muscle growth) and fat burning at the same time.

About some positive aspects strength and aerobic training, you can see in the infographic below.

So, I advise you to include fitness classes in your weight loss plan, since proper nutrition in combination with regular training will give you 100% good result, and at the end of the month you will definitely see the long-awaited minus on your scales.

1. Eat smaller meals and don't skip meals

If you want to lose weight not through your muscles, but through fat, then you need to stick to it and not skip meals. Fractional meals implies the presence 5-6 meals (3 main and 2 snacks). If before this you ate 2 times a day, now you need to completely rebuild your body to new mode nutrition. If it’s difficult for you to do this right away, then start with 4 techniques and gradually increase to 6. But you must understand that if you eat 6 times a day, then the portions should be small (on average, each is 250-300 kcl). Your entire daily calorie intake should be divided equally among all meals throughout the day. Snacks may contain a little less calories, and main meals a little more.

You can download an example of a fractional diet for a week.

1. Calculate your daily requirement of BZHU

Answering the question, how to lose weight without harm to your health, here, of course, we cannot miss the fact that the diet of a HEALTHY person should contain ALL the basic nutrients that our body needs, these are PROTEINS, FATS and CARBOHYDRATES.

In fact, proper weight loss, which does not lead to metabolic disorders and does not adversely affect our health in any way, is not so easy to achieve. Of course, you get more pleasure mentally when you lose in a week 7 kg weight sitting on low calorie diet(totally unbalanced) than you lose only 1 kg per week, eating balanced and fractional meals, taking into account the daily norm of BZHU. Yes, it is morally and psychologically difficult, no one argues with that.

But in the first case, you will return these 7 kg very quickly, as soon as you return to your previous diet, which was before the diet, and in the second case, you will continue to lose weight next week, and in the third, and in the fourth, while losing kilograms will no longer bother you. Therefore, if we consider losing weight in the long term, then there is definitely a victory for balanced diet, where the diet contains sufficient quantities of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.

1. Avoid consuming sugar in any form

Let me remind you that your goal is lose weight in a month without harm to your health, and when we talk about health, then one mention of sugar here would be inappropriate, not to mention its use internally. The picture below shows all the harm that comes from the abuse of sugar and sugar-containing products: everyone’s favorites (bars, candies, cakes, pies), baked goods, fitness cereals, glazed curd cheeses, etc.

Therefore, the consumption of sugar in ANY FORM should be completely EXCLUDED!

1. Give preference to protein foods and vegetables

Secondly, proteins require more calories to digest than the same fats and carbohydrates combined. This means that after eating protein foods, our body is forced to spend more calories on the absorption of proteins than on the absorption of carbohydrates and fats, while at this time we can simply lie on the couch and read a book.

Thirdly, for exercising people, the need for protein is much higher than for people leading a sedentary lifestyle, due to increased physical activity. And it has to do with our muscles. The more muscle mass a person has, the more protein he needs to maintain it. And the greater the muscle mass, the faster the process of losing weight happens, that’s how everything is connected. Therefore, an active person who is losing weight must eat protein.

Well, in order for the process of protein digestion to proceed successfully and without any difficulties, it is necessary to add a portion of vegetables to the portion of proteins. The fiber contained in vegetables will help the food bolus pass through the gastrointestinal tract without difficulty, without causing digestive difficulties.

1. Sleep at least 7-8 hours a day

In order for the weight loss process to take place in the most comfortable conditions for you and with zero losses to your health, you must allow your body to fully recover and rest. A full-fledged and healthy sleep lasting 7-8 hours.

You need to go to bed no later than 12 o'clock at night, since it is from 12 to 2 o'clock that the growth hormone somatotropin is produced, which is the main fat-burning hormone in our body. Its peak occurs precisely during these night hours, so if we are in the deep phase of sleep at the indicated time, then, paradoxically as it sounds, we we sleep and lose weight in our sleep(Fig. 3) .

1. Drink plenty of clean raw water

Water is your best assistant in losing weight. If you have set a goal lose weight in a month without harm to your health, then water will help you with this along with physical exercise And proper nutrition. The role of water in this difficult task should not be underestimated. Norma clean drinking water for an ordinary person it is 1.5-2.5 liters per day, and for an exerciser this norm increases by another 1 liter. I even made a video about how to drink properly to lose weight, if you are interested you can watch it:

1. Eat 3-4 hours before bed

This is due to our growth hormone, which I talked about in item No. 7. Somatotropic hormone is a very specific hormone that is not always active from 12 to 3 am, but only if your blood sugar level is very low, this happens precisely when a sufficient amount of time has passed after eating , namely from 2 hours or more (Fig. 4). During this time, insulin manages to perform its main function: transporting glucose into the cells of our body (Fig. 5), after which the blood sugar level drops significantly, and these are ideal conditions for the release of our growth hormone.

It is for this reason that eating dinner 3-4 hours before bedtime will give you the opportunity to unhindered activation of fat-burning processes in your body at night.

And the second point that I would like to say as part of this advice is that for dinner and late dinner you should give preference protein food with a portion of low-starch vegetables . The answer to this question will be given to you by the picture below:

The fact is that insulin is produced for all food that enters our body, but for proteins (fats in evening time we exclude by default) insulin is produced to a lesser extent. It is for this reason that your late meals should not contain carbohydrates, but consist exclusively of protein foods (cottage cheese, egg whites, chicken breast, protein shake) and vegetables (mostly green vegetables and herbs).

1. Don't focus on losing weight

And the last advice that I would like to give you, dear girls, is DON'T FOCUS ON YOUR WEIGHT LOSS and don’t make this event the main goal of your whole life! If you think obsessively about your weight, nutrition, exercise every day, step on the scale several times a day and measure yourself with a measuring tape, then, I assure you, very soon you will “burn out” and you will simply get tired of this image life.

You don't need to do all this! It is enough just to follow the recommendations that you found in this article and not to make your weight loss an obsession that does not allow you to relax and keeps you in psycho-emotional tension all the time.

Mental exhaustion is worse than any overtraining, remember this!

Fill your life with joyful moments for you: listen to your favorite music, spend time with friends and family, play with your pet - and then the process of losing weight will become an even more enjoyable and easy process for you!

Sincerely yours, Janelia Skripnik!

One of the main conditions for growth (synthesis) muscle tissue in the human body there are anabolic metabolic processes. As we know, metabolic processes are anabolic and catabolic. Their essence is to ensure the vital activity of cells: anabolism is the process of filling cells with new substances, catabolism is the process of recycling used substances. A feature of normal metabolic processes is a stable balance between catabolism and anabolism. This is the feature that is most beneficial for the body. A shift in balance to the right/left is perceived by the body as a problem that needs to be dealt with. By struggling, the body interferes with your plans to build muscle. After all, in order to increase them, it is necessary to shift the metabolic balance towards anabolic processes as dominant. Under such conditions, more substances will flow into muscle cells than leave them. As a result, the muscle fibers will begin to increase, and the muscles will grow in volume. True, not everyone manages to overcome the body, forcing it to shift this metabolic balance. And one of the reasons is banal: the athlete simply fails to create conditions for an anabolic background.

How to create an anabolic background

There are two points here. The first one is up to you. The second is from your body. Let's start with the second one. The metabolic processes described above are controlled by hormones. Thus, there are hormones responsible for catabolic processes, and hormones regulating anabolism. Under normal conditions, there is also a certain stable balance between them. Regular training helps shift this balance towards the predominance of anabolic hormones. As a result, anabolic processes last longer and more often. This allows muscle fibers to grow. If your hormonal levels are not normal, then creating conditions adequate for muscle synthesis will be complicated. Even with full provision of other conditions.

The second point is training and nutrition. Training is, on the one hand, a growth stimulator muscle fibers, on the other hand, a condition that creates an anabolic background under which this growth becomes possible. All training process must comply with this rule. Let's take a closer look at the issue of nutrition.

Nutrition and anabolic background

In the set muscle mass The issue of nutrition consists of two components. The first is proteins (in the Latin version - proteins). The main function of proteins is construction. In particular, proteins build muscle tissue. Actually, muscle tissue itself is protein. Protein obtained from food is broken down into amino acids in the stomach. And from these amino acids a protein corresponding to the tissue of the human body is synthesized. An anabolic background is unthinkable without a sufficient amount of amino acids. Accordingly, the diet of athletes, compared to the diet of people who do not engage in sports, is characterized by an increased amount of protein. On the other hand, this topic is speculative, because it is recommended to increase protein to anyone as they please (or rather, to anyone’s benefit). The question of the number of meals during the day is also speculative, since it is directly related to the intake and presence of amino acids in the body. But these are separate topics that we have raised more than once.

The second component is calories. Calories are thermal energy, a kind of fuel for ensuring metabolic processes, including anabolic ones. From a nutritional point of view, anabolism is achieved by 1) sufficient amino acids and 2) excess calories. If these conditions are achieved, then metabolic processes begin to proceed according to an anabolic pattern.

There is a third component here - fats. They are also important for creating an anabolic background. For the reason that fat is a condition for the formation of hormones that regulate anabolic reactions. But here the role of fats is more indirect than direct.

Actually about calorie surplus

A calorie surplus is a positive balance of energy obtained from the daily diet. In other words, this is a condition in which the number of calories received from food exceeds the amount consumed by the body per day. What nutrients should you use to increase your caloric intake? For ectomorphs - definitely carbohydrates. The fact is that the main function of carbohydrates is to provide energy. Carbohydrates for the body are the main energy-producing product. A calorie is a unit of measurement of thermal energy. On the other hand, there is no reason to deny proteins and fats in creating a calorie surplus.

Various online sources indicate that supposedly for muscle growth it is necessary to create a calorie surplus of +500 kcal - that is, the calorie content of your diet should be increased by 500 kcal. The figure, to put it mildly, was taken from the air. Moreover, it contradicts common sense, since people who set the goal of increasing lean body mass have different weights. What is +500 kcal for a 100-kilogram guy? And what is +500 kcal for a 60-kilogram guy? These are incommensurable numbers.

In this matter, it is necessary to be guided not by bare numbers, but by specific arguments. Let's say your current weight is 75 kg. WITH today you have decided to study a new program, the duration of which is 3 months. Now you need to formulate the goals that should be achieved through the new training program. Let's say the goal is to gain new increased weight due to an increase in muscle mass. And now let's move on to the numbers. Biochemical studies indicate that human body cannot synthesize muscle tissue faster than 200 to 400 g per week. Most likely, 200 g is the most likely figure for ectomorphs, and closer to 400 g is for mesomorphs. Let's consider the first option, in which the rate of muscle growth is 200 g per week. Under this condition, in 3 months the increase in muscle mass should be 2.4 kg. If everything goes according to plan, then in reality your body weight will increase more, since the synthesis of muscle proteins also implies an increase in other cellular components in muscle tissue. In addition, an increase in muscle mass is always accompanied by an increase in adipose tissue. However, there will be little fat if you increase calories correctly - exactly as much as needed.

And this is how much you need. We add the planned +2.4 kg to today’s 75 kg, and as a result we get 77.4 kg. Let’s say you are a 75-kilogram ectomorph, and at your metabolic rate, 3300 kcal are required per day (calculated using, the conditional metabolic rate is 44). To add 2.4 kg of muscle, you need to switch to a diet consisting of the number of calories corresponding to a body weight of 77.4 kg. For 77.4 kg (at the same metabolic rate) 3400 kcal is required. As you can see, in our conditions the calorie surplus is only 100 kcal, or 3%. If you convert it into carbohydrates, that's about one medium-sized banana. So, our growth arithmetic is as follows: the current diet should be increased by 1 banana - this will be enough to reach a weight of 77.4 kg. If the diet is increased not by the calculated 100 kcal, but, say, by 500 kcal taken from the ceiling, then there is a high probability that the remaining 400 kcal will go into fat. Under other conditions, such calculations naturally yield different figures.

Calorie surplus and increased anabolic background

There is another nutrition strategy that involves a calorie surplus and is based on scientific research.

For example, one of the works describes the following experiment: volunteers were first prescribed a diet whose calorie content was aimed at maintaining their current body weight. Next, a sharp transition to a high-calorie diet was proposed. The calorie surplus averaged +1200-1600 kcal (that is, the caloric content of the diet was increased exactly by this amount). A blood test of the experiment participants showed a progressive increase in three anabolic hormones: testosterone, insulin-like growth factor and insulin. This hormonal surge was also accompanied by a corresponding increase in muscle mass.

According to scientists, this reaction can last on average 2-3 weeks, after which the body gets used to the calorie surplus, and the hormonal system “levels out”, stopping secreting anabolic hormones at elevated levels. If you continue to eat high-calorie foods, the likelihood of increasing body weight increases due to the growth of adipose tissue while muscle growth stops.

Thus, scientists conclude that in nutrition it is necessary to periodize the caloric content of diets, that is, alternate periods of normal calorie intake (optimal for the current body weight) with periods of calorie surplus (it is desirable that the surplus be significant - at least +1000 kcal). This nutrition strategy is a surefire way to progress in gaining muscle without gaining excess fat.

Upd. We applied this nutrition strategy in the XXXL program (2015). Read what came of it.

Forbes G.B., Brown M.R., Welle S.L., Underwood L.E. Hormonal response to overfeeding // The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: 1989, 49(4), 608-611.

Gaining muscle mass is easy. But you don't need to build muscle quickly. I will explain why later in this article.

So, the correct set of muscle mass. What we do:

1. Calorie surplus
2. 2 grams of protein per 1 kg of body weight
3. Workouts with constant progression

Is it really that simple?

Let's look at everything in more detail.

Calorie surplus and nutritional supplements for muscle gain

Nutrition for gaining muscle mass is not at all a mysterious thing, as is commonly believed.

The human body is subject to the same laws of physics as other objects. You cannot increase mass without increasing the amount of energy. For you and me, this means that muscles grow ONLY with a calorie surplus.

To grow muscles you need to eat more than you consume. Of course side effect there will be an increase in percentage subcutaneous fat. But we will talk about how to minimize this effect.

A calorie surplus alone is not enough. Muscles are protein structures. To synthesize new protein tissues, we need protein. Or more precisely, amino acids.

Protein (i.e. exactly sports nutrition ) is not necessary for gaining muscle mass. If you get enough protein from other sources.

Conclusion: A diet for gaining muscle mass is a calorie surplus and 1.5-2 grams of protein per 1 kg of your body weight. And there is no need to demonize food. There is no bad or good food, only the wrong set of macronutrients.

Speed ​​of muscle gain

Gain weight quickly Can, but not need to. Because this is only possible under one condition - a BIG calorie surplus. For example, approximately 4000-6000 Kk per day.

At the same time, muscles will grow - of course!

But as a side effect, you will get a large amount of subcutaneous fat.

But the gain of subcutaneous fat will be minimal.

Muscle mass and subcutaneous fat.

Gaining lean muscle mass is a spherical horse in a vacuum. It is physiologically impossible to increase body weight without increasing the percentage of subcutaneous fat.

Therefore, “dry typing” is a very dangerous idea. It leads to the fact that you are trying to gain muscle without gaining subcutaneous fat.

As a result, you eat too little to gain muscle at all. And you don't gain anything.

Alan Aragon and Lyle MacDonald about the speed of muscle gain

There are two very famous dudes in the USA. Alan and Lyle. Both have serious specialized education and are well versed in nutrition (including for athletes, and not for office plankton), regularly publish in scientific journals and write smart books.

Alan Aragon:

Lyle MacDonald:

Conclusion? Even in the best case (at the very beginning of training), you will not be able to gain more than 700-800 grams of muscle per month. And to gain this, you also need to add subcutaneous fat.

We get that kilogram per month that I wrote about above. If you gain more, you will have the same amount of muscle, but there will be much more subcutaneous fat.

Workouts to gain muscle mass

Don't make the common mistake. Choosing specific exercises is the LAST thing you should do. The most important thing in training is the possibility of progression.

Because even if you eat properly, your muscles won't grow if you don't give them enough stimulation.

Our body adapts to almost any environmental changes. If you always work out with the same weights, the same number of approaches and repetitions, then over time the body will adapt to this.

Therefore, the MAIN thing in training program is an opportunity for progression. And not at all a specific program for gaining muscles. Progression is possible in two directions:

1. Increase intensity workout. Ultimately, this is the growth of the weights on the barbell. It was 50, it became 70 - the intensity increased.
2. Increase training volume. This is an increase in the number of sets and repetitions you perform. There were 5 repetitions per set, now there are 6 - the training volume has increased.

Since you cannot constantly increase weights, the program must take into account the possibility of progression in sets and repetitions.

The exercises themselves are not that important for gaining muscle. Do you think it will make a difference for a beginner what to use: barbell curls, dumbbells for biceps or block rows for biceps? Yes, no difference.

For a seasoned PRO bodybuilder, it’s possible. The average person does not.

A simple training scheme for beginners.

1. The first month - 10-12 repetitions.
2. Second month - 8-10 repetitions
3. Third month - 6-8 repetitions
4. Fourth month - 4-6 repetitions

After this, all weights increase by 2.5-5 kilograms and the cycle begins again.

Within microcycles (every month), do not increase weight (at least every week), but work on b O more approaches and repetitions.

Example. You've started your third month of training. This is 6-8 repetitions. If you started with 6, try to increase it to 8 repetitions per set. If you started with 8 - up to 10 repetitions per set.

Simple, right? But it doesn’t need to be complicated.

Gaining muscle mass for skinny people

Yesterday I watched a video about the training of a drisch. They ask him: why are you such a jerk? Answers: I don’t know, I eat a lot, but nothing is delayed.

They ask again: how much have you eaten today? Answer: twice.

Choose the options yourself.

Gaining muscle mass is a simple sum of parts

If your body weight doesn't increase, it means you don't have enough calories.. That's why I don't like diets based on visual partitioning (determining portion sizes by eye). What is too much for one person is not enough for another.

Two years ago, when I first started, 50 grams of dry pasta was a large serving of carbs for me. Now 120 grams is not enough.

If your weight is increasing, but you are getting fat, it means you have little protein or you are eating too much. Yet again. If you're counting calories, this is a very easy fix.

If your weight is growing, there are enough calories, protein is normal, but you still don’t see muscles, it means your workouts aren’t challenging enough. You need more intensity for the stimulus.

But this least likely option! Always look at nutrition first.

The best thing you can do to gain muscle is to follow this plan.

Write in the comments: is everything clear?

Let's continue to look at the topic of nutrition. Today I’ll tell you how I learned to count calories and why it’s all needed.

And this is necessary in order not to be afraid of food... Or, conversely, not to overeat.

You have noticed that I am in no hurry to clearly show my workouts or give recommendations for working out in the gym. There are two reasons.

First. I am convinced that to get the maximum quick results, which will help not only to come to the sport, but also to stay in it, you still need to start with nutrition. Because our appearance depends most on it. And if you don’t tune this tool, then the sport won’t make progress. This means that you will most likely give up in the third or fourth week.

Second. Now I am at the so-called mass-gaining stage, in order to increase muscle mass, then delicately lose weight and achieve a beautiful, chiseled figure for spring, summer and autumn. Mass gain is always accompanied by gained kege, which I don’t really want to “shine”.

I already told you, and... Today I’ll tell you about the total calorie content of the daily diet and how to calculate it.

To achieve your weight goal (lose weight or gain weight), you need to create either a deficit or surplus of calories every day. If there are not enough calories, the body takes them from its reserves and loses weight. If there are excess calories, he gets better.

Something tells me that everyone is interested in losing weight...

So, first you need start food diary . Where will we put everything, without exception, the products that we eat in a day. Milk in cappuccino and candy after lunch also count. And, of course. Because it is precisely because of such “ghosts” that we most often make mistakes and move away from our cherished goal. We may feel like we are not eating enough. Just think, three chocolates a day with tea. A mere trifle... And by the way, he can easily add 20-25% of the average daily calorie intake for a normal female body :)

I don't use moleskine or notebook paper. A child of the 21st century prefers to use a smartphone application. There are several good calorie counting apps out there, but my favorite is FatSecret- it is the simplest and most intuitive, in my opinion. And there is the widest selection of products, including Belarusian ones.

Important addition. It is impossible to keep a food diary without a kitchen scale. Here it is important to determine the amount of food not by eye, but with an accuracy of the gram. For untrained people, the eye usually works in the direction of decrease. It seems to us that there is only 100 g of chicken on the plate. And there are 250 of them! Or: how much of that pear is there - 150 grams... But in reality it is worth 400! Until I started weighing food, I didn’t understand what 100, 200, 300 grams LOOK LIKE. Therefore, buy a scale for your kitchen.

So, FatSecret. This is what its main mobile page looks like

We go to the menu and begin to customize for ourselves in the “RSK” line: height, weight, goal, everything. Based on this data, the program will calculate the recommended daily calorie intake. Most likely you will see it, get scared and go to reduce it - we want to lose weight...

Just don’t set this figure below 1400 kcal/day.

Why not 1200 or 1000? Because no healthy organism can feel normal with a low-calorie diet. No, he will, of course, adapt, but by slowing down his metabolism. And we don’t set a goal to kill metabolism. In addition, do not forget about training - they “heavien” the indicator because they require additional energy expenditure.

And in general, all manipulations are needed for now in order to learn to understand and see products from the point of view of their nutritional value. And also teach yourself to eat consciously. Roughly speaking, we first start processes in our heads and teach ourselves to think.

The most difficult thing here will be self-discipline. I entered data into the application regularly for two months. Then this option disappeared as unnecessary. I can calculate the final daily figure in my head with an error of a maximum of 100 kcal.

In the application, you can control your weight, caloric intake, enter all physical exercises and see how many calories you “eat”. But I don't go into the weeds. And I only use a food diary.

To see your food in calories and BJU, let's start filling it out.

Click "Add product" on the main page. We get here:

For example, my breakfast today is oatmeal with flaxseeds in milk, with nuts, pear and agave syrup. Two pieces of chocolate without sugar. Coffee with milk.

I click “+” next to breakfast and get to the product search page. I begin to enter all the products one by one in the “Search for food” line. Below this line are my latest search queries.

Oatmeal --> select the most appropriate line --> select cereal (click on the circle on the right) --> then click on the line itself. A field will open for entering the quantity of the product (and without scales, as we remember, it is almost impossible to determine it). In my case it is 50 g.

Make sure you don’t go astray in setting the weight... Otherwise, you can get a completely crooked picture :)

By analogy, I introduce bran and flax seeds, nuts, agave syrup, milk, and pear. And this is what I get:

All products did not fit on the screen. But pay attention to the top line. You see the amount of fat, protein and carbohydrates, as well as calories and percentage of daily value.

Lunch, dinner and all snacks are recorded using the same principle (section “Snacks”). At the end of the day you can review.

This app also allows you to manage your diet throughout the day. For example, I see that I don’t get enough protein in a day. So, I'll make up for it at dinner. Carbohydrates and fats too. But it is advisable to compensate for them before or during the second snack - not later.

The application's product database contains many Belarusian brands.

There is also such a useful option as identification by barcode. You need to bring the package barcode to your smartphone, scan it and quickly enter that particular product. This is especially true for imported goods. Barcode - in the lower right corner:

Desperate attempts to gain weight at any cost can turn out to be sad consequences. You may achieve some temporary results, but along the way you will ruin your health so much that it would be better to just remain thin. Let's talk about how to gain weight without compromising your health and in a reasonable time.

What does "too skinny" really mean?

From a scientific point of view, being overly thin means being underweight. This corresponds to a body mass index (BMI) below 18.5.

BMI is equal to a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters. For example, my height is 1.84 meters and my weight is 107 kilograms. My BMI is 31, which means I have first-degree obesity.

As you understand, the BMI indicator is lower, the larger a person’s mass. The formula is extremely primitive and does not take into account the qualitative composition of these same kilograms. If you are not good at sports and weigh a centner and a few kopecks, then everything is sad. If, with the same weight, you press one and a half of your body weight from your chest, that’s a completely different story.

In the case of low weight, BMI is more indicative. It doesn't matter if it's fat or muscle. You have neither one nor the other.

According to American studies, only 1% of men are underweight. Among women there are 2.4%. However, gender does not matter in this case, because health problems due to underweight can occur in anyone.

The impact of underweight on health

The problems of fat people are obvious, everyone knows about them. Thin people, except in cases of frank soreness in appearance, seem healthy, but scientific research shows a different picture.

Different study methods provide different data. Another study found no increase in the risk of premature death due to underweight in women, but clearly did in men. In any case, men do not need excessive thinness.

"Risk of premature death" is a rather abstract term. To be more specific, it is worth mentioning that underweight provokes deterioration of the immune system, fractures, increases the risk of infections in the body, contributes to the development of osteoporosis, age-related muscle atrophy, dementia, and also causes problems with fertility (research, , , ,).

What can cause underweight

Not just genes and heredity. Sometimes this is a very specific disease that a person is not aware of.

• Eating disorders. This includes anorexia nervosa - a person’s deliberate desire to reduce their weight as much as possible.
• Problems with the thyroid gland. Hyperthyroidism, an overactive thyroid gland, can lead to unhealthy weight loss.
• Celiac disease, also known as celiac disease, is an acute form of gluten intolerance.
• Type 1 diabetes.
• Infections.

The problems listed above will not go away on their own, and self-medication will cause even more harm. Therefore, the first and main advice for a person suffering from underweight is to visit a doctor, especially if signs of weight loss have appeared since a certain point in time and have not bothered you before.

The right approach to food

Probably there is more? This is the surest way, but thoughtlessly drinking sugary drinks while devouring kilograms of cakes and pasties is a guaranteed health undermining. Outwardly healthy people, without weight deviations, receive terrible diagnoses, which are usually companions severe forms obesity. All because of bad food.

The thesis “there is more” needs to be specified. "Eat more healthy foods." That's better. However, even eating exclusively healthy food, you need to think about the end result. It's unlikely that you just want to become fat. And the very concept of “healthy fat” is somehow hard to wrap my head around. Gaining weight in one way or another implies building up both fat and muscle tissue, and therefore the problem cannot be solved by eating alone. You will still have to make friends with sports, but more on that later.

Calorie surplus

The fundamental law of weight gain is a calorie surplus. Take in more calories than you burn. If you ignore this foundation, then all other efforts will be in vain.

Finding the point beyond which you reach a calorie surplus is very easy. At first you won't need anything other than food, scales and patience. Every day you need to eat more than yesterday. Don't speed up too much. After some time, you will notice that the body weight graph has slowly but surely gone up. This means you have achieved a calorie surplus.

Now you need to turn to the calorie calculator and find out the numerical value of the daily calorie requirement at which your body began to gain weight. Just add up the calories of everything you eat in a day. Based on this data, you can freely change your diet, focusing on total calorie content.

If weight growth has not stopped, then there is no point in continuing to greatly increase caloric intake. A surplus of 300–500 kcal is enough for slow, confident weight gain. With an excess of 700–1,000 kcal, you will recover much faster.

At this stage, it is much more important to convince yourself that in the future this approach to nutrition will become the norm for you. Essentially, you will have to change the way you think about food for the rest of your life. Psychologically, it is difficult, but without turning a new approach to food into a habit, all the gains will inevitably be lost.

Protein

Protein is the most important nutrient. Building material for your body and muscles in particular. No matter how you experiment with the menu, it is important to maintain protein levels. Unfortunately, protein is not only the most necessary, but also very filling. Increasing the amount of protein in your diet will make it more difficult to meet your calorie goals, but there is no alternative way to achieve the desired result.

When gaining weight, your daily protein requirement will be the same as that of athletes - from 1.5 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight.

Protein-rich foods are always the most expensive, but delicious. Meat, fish, eggs, milk, legumes, nuts. Here are yours best friends. There is one hack that makes it easier to get your daily protein intake up to the desired level. This is high-quality sports nutrition. It is also expensive, but whey or multi-component protein between meals and casein before bed will give a very good bonus. In any case, you will come to a sports nutrition when you start playing sports, but you can get acquainted with this interesting world a little earlier.

Carbohydrates, fats, number of meals

Don't limit yourself in anything. A pleasant feature of gaining weight is complete freedom in choosing food, as long as it is healthy. Don't listen to crazy people talking about the dangers of animal fat. We are omnivores, we need all fats - both animal and plant. And complex carbohydrates. A lot of complex carbohydrates.

Try to reduce your diet to 4 grams of complex carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight per day.

Difficult, but real. Besides, deliciously prepared porridge is very cool. You should make friends with cereals, pasta, potatoes and bread. And here, too, there is a sports nutrition hack - gainers. Much has been written about them on specialized websites.

With meals, everything is very simple. The more often the better. At least three full meals a day with high-calorie snacks in between.

High-calorie foods and supplements

If you don't have enough appetite, you will start looking for the most high-calorie foods. There is a risk of descending into fast food. In fact, there are alternatives. Much more high in calories and very healthy.

High-calorie food is food with the maximum ratio of energy value and mass/volume. Such food takes up little space in the stomach and is easier to eat.

• Nuts (almonds, walnuts, peanuts).
• Dried fruits.
• Fatty dairy products.
• Vegetable oil (olive and avocado oil).
• Cereals.
• Fat meat.
• Potato.
• Dark chocolate.
• Avocado.
• Peanut butter.

Unfortunately, the desire to maximize the caloric content of your diet will force you to limit yourself to vegetables, but in no case give them up completely.

When choosing fruits, try to pay attention to those that require less chewing.

A little more about food

• Eating more is easier if you eat more often.
• Don't drink before eating, leave room for food.
• Are you thirsty? Try milk instead of water.
• The larger the plate, the less food appears to be on it.
• Coffee tastes better with cream.

Strength sports

Excess calories allow you to gain weight. The only question is where you want to see these kilograms. In the sides or in the muscles? If you like the latter, then welcome to the world of sports for skinny people .

Sport, no matter how you feel about it, is an equally important factor in proper weight gain. Suffice it to say that sport greatly increases your appetite, and you really want to learn how to eat more.

First, we go to the doctor and make sure that there are no serious obstacles to playing sports. Nobody forces you to break records right away. Strength sports- this is measured progress. You'll do fewer sets and reps, but with heavier weights.

Naturally, we must not forget about cardio, but in your case the emphasis will be on strength training. Focusing on cardio burns calories, and you don't want to waste extra energy.

If funds allow, then first it is better to contact a professional trainer. He will explain and show the basics, and over time you will begin to understand everything yourself.