How to Gain Weight Without Sugar
“How to Gain Weight Without Sugar” was written by Grace Guthrie, MS & edited/reviewed by Aly Bouzek, MS, RDN. Grace is a dietetic intern at Kansas State University.
So, you want to gain weight but are worried about increasing your sugar intake?
That’s an understandable concern since it seems like sugar is in everything! Well, let’s start by learning a little more about weight gain and some best practices. Then, we can get into how you can limit your sugar intake while still reaching your goals.
Who needs to gain weight?
There are a lot of different reasons why someone might want to gain weight or just prevent weight loss. It seems that so much of the nutrition advice on the internet is surrounding weight loss, but what about the people who need to put on the pounds?
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Let’s look at three groups of people who might want to gain some weight.
Older adults
As we age, it’s not uncommon to experience unintended weight loss. This could be due to a number of factors, including decreased appetite, decreased movement, and side effects of medication.
While some weight loss is fine, losing more than 5% of your body weight in a 12-month period (without trying to) is concerning. This kind of unintentional weight loss in older adults is actually associated with increased morbidity and mortality.
Athletes
Athletes are another group of people who are sometimes looking to gain weight. Since athletes train regularly and burn more calories than the average person, they need more calories to fuel their muscles.
In some sports, such as body building or football, smaller athletes may want to bulk up to be more competitive. Since they’re already burning so many calories doing their workouts, this is easier said than done.
Underweight
The last category we want to highlight is those that are underweight. The most common way we classify people as underweight is using BMI. BMI stands for Body Mass Index and uses a person’s height and weight to calculate their “weight category.”
A BMI of less than 18.5 qualifies as underweight.
Now, BMI is a widely used but imperfect metric. There are other ways dietitians can determine someone’s weight status, such as with a Nutrition Focused Physical Exam.
People of all ages can become underweight, from teens to older adults. Sometimes it is the result of illness or injury, or other serious conditions such as eating disorders.
Learn more about BMI in the Elderly here.
How to Gain Weight – The Basics
Okay, so now we know who might want to gain weight, but how do you do it? Anecdotally, you’ve probably heard that just eating an extra donut or slice of cake will make your number on the scale go up immediately.
Well, like most things, it’s not that simple.
There are 3,500 calories in 1 pound of body weight. To give you an idea of what 3,500 calories looks like in food terms, here are some common foods and their calorie count:
- 1 medium apple = 78 calories
- 1 Snickers bar (regular size) = 280 calories
- 1 McDonald’s Big Mac = 563 calories
As you can see, you’re not going to get to that 3,500 calorie increase with just a single donut.
Slow and Steady
When you’re gaining weight, you don’t want to just start eating as much as you can. Weight gain is much more manageable when you are strategic about when and where you’re adding in those extra calories.
The general recommendation for weight gain is to gain ½ – 1 pound per week. Your weekly weight gain goal should be determined by how much weight you want to gain.
Weight gain is not a race, and it’s best to go slowly and steadily. Start by adding 200–300 calories to your diet every day. At the end of the week, that will be an additional 1400–2100 calories, which is about half of a pound.
That level of caloric increase might be enough to reach your goals. But, for those who want to gain around 1 pound every week, increasing your extra calories to 500 extra per day will get you to 3,500 extra calories in a week.
Nutrient-dense Foods
Besides just increasing your calorie intake, you also want to be choosing the right foods for your goals.
The three macronutrients found in all foods are protein, carbohydrates, and fat. These three macronutrients are thought of as the building blocks of nutrition. We need ALL of them to keep our bodies healthy.
Finding the right balance between these three macronutrients can be tricky. While they’re all important, they all serve slightly different purposes.
When you’re looking to gain weight, prioritizing protein and fat will get you there quicker. There is no need to limit carbs, but try to make your extra 200–500 calories per day heavy in protein and fat (don’t worry, we’ll give you some ideas later in the article!).
One note about fat: it’s not all created equal.
There are two main types of fat: saturated fat and unsaturated fat. We want to prioritize unsaturated fat because it is associated with decreased LDL cholesterol levels (“bad” cholesterol) and improved blood pressure.
Unsaturated fats include:
- Nuts and seeds
- Avocado
- Olive oil
- Fish
Saturated fat on the other hand can increase your risk of heart disease. You don’t need to cut out all saturated fats from your diet, but when you’re adding calories to gain weight, we recommend prioritizing unsaturated fat sources.
Saturated fats include:
- Cheese
- Red meat
- Cookies
- Sweets/desserts
- Whole fat and reduced fat dairy products
All About Sugar
Sugar is a hot topic right now, and it seems the dangers of sugar are on everyone’s mind. But sugar is more than just the stuff you sprinkle on plain corn flakes to make them a little more palatable.
Sugar is a type of carbohydrate that is naturally occurring in many foods. The type of sugar used to sweeten cakes, candies, and beverages is called sucrose. However, there are many other types of sugar in our food.
A few other types of sugar are:
- Fructose – found in fruits, honey, and certain vegetables
- Lactose – found in milk and dairy products
- Glucose – found in breads, fruits, and honey
- Galactose – found in dairy products, some fruits, and some vegetables
- Maltose – found in grains such as wheat and rye
As you can see, not all sugar is the same.
Sugar: The Good
Besides tasting good, sugar is actually a really important part of our diets. When we eat carbohydrate-rich foods, our bodies are able to break down those foods into glucose molecules. Glucose is actually our body’s favorite fuel source!
Glucose not only helps our bodies generate energy, but also fuels our brains and muscles.
Another thing about foods containing natural sugars is that they can also provide additional macronutrients and micronutrients.
Fructose is commonly referred to as the fruit sugar, and that’s because many fruits are high in fructose. But fruits also provide important vitamins, minerals, and fiber!
Lactose is another great example. Cow’s milk is high in lactose, but also high in protein.
Sugar: The Not So Good
So why does sugar get a bad rap?
Well, besides the different types of sugar found in foods, there is also a difference between natural sugar and added sugar.
Natural sugar is, as it sounds, sugar found naturally in foods. We would call sugar in fruit, white milk, and vegetables natural sugar.
Added sugar on the other hand is usually either sucrose or fructose, and it is purposely added to the food. Sugar is often added to foods to make them sweeter, but can also help enhance the structure and color of foods.
Added sugar has many different names, but a few you have probably seen on labels include:
- Cane syrup
- High-fructose corn syrup
- Dextrose
- Fruit nectars
Diets high in added sugar are associated with increased risk of various chronic conditions including diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. (1)
How to Gain Weight Without Sugar
If you are trying to gain weight, it’s a good idea to be conscious of added sugars.
It’s very hard to completely eliminate added sugar from your diet.
However, taking an active approach to limiting your intake can help you gain weight in a healthy way.
And remember, there is a big difference between added sugars and natural sugars!
Fruits and vegetables DO contain sugar, but we definitely don’t want you to limit those nutrient-dense foods.
Increase Protein Intake
One of the best ways to gain weight without added sugars is to increase your intake of protein. Protein is a macronutrient and is crucial for muscle growth and maintenance.
As we age, it is normal to lose muscle mass. But losing too much muscle mass can be detrimental for your health.
The daily recommended protein intake for older adults is 1.0 – 1.3 grams per kilogram of body weight. (2) It is much easier to meet this goal if you’re conscious of your protein intake, and add protein-rich snacks throughout the day.
Another benefit of protein is that it helps keep you feeling full. (3) Oftentimes, we reach for sweets and treats loaded in added sugars when we’re feeling “snacky.”
Eating more protein will help you focus on your weight gain goals rather than mindlessly reaching for snacks that won’t protect your muscles.
Here are some great articles about protein to get you started:
Eat Frequently
While we don’t want you snacking on just any old snack, eating more frequently can be a powerful technique for healthy weight gain.
As we talked about earlier, weight gain is all about increased caloric intake. But, if you’re only eating 3 meals per day, it can be hard to pack in all those extra calories.
Rather than focusing on 3 large meals per day, try breaking your meals into 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day. This will prevent you from getting too full after one meal and then eating less at the next one.
When planning your meals for the day, start with your total calorie intake goal. Once you have your goal, decide on the number of meals you want to eat during the day and divide the total calories by the number of meals.
For example, if your calorie goal is 2,100 calories, and you want to eat 6 meals you will divide 2,100 by 6 to get 350 calories.
That means you will aim for 6 meals containing 350 calories each throughout the day.
Increase Unsaturated Fat Intake
Besides just increasing protein, it’s also a good idea to increase your intake of unsaturated fat.
Just like protein, unsaturated fat can help keep you full between meals, which prevents you from unintentional snacking.
Unsaturated fat also brings a number of health benefits for your cholesterol and heart. Plus, fat is inherently higher in calories than both protein and carbohydrates.
As a reminder, some foods high in unsaturated fat are nuts, seeds, fish, avocados, and eggs.
Try Weight Training
A lot of people use exercise to lose weight, but resistance training can also be really beneficial for weight gain. Weight training involves consistently stressing your muscles to progressively make them stronger and bigger.
Weight training can help stimulate your appetite, and if you pair it with an increased protein intake, then it can help you develop more muscle mass.
How to Gain Weight Without Sugar: Remember to Treat Yourself!
Our last tip is to remember that no one is perfect all the time. Being conscious of added sugar doesn’t mean that you can never have it again!
Every diet needs some degree of flexibility to make it sustainable, so remember that it’s totally fine to treat yourself on occasion.
Food is more than just fuel for our bodies. It is also an important part of our social lives, like celebrations and holidays.
When you think of your favorite birthday treats, what are they? For many of us, they are treats that contain added sugar. One of our favorite birthday desserts are Magic Cookie Bars that contain graham crackers, chocolate chips, and nuts.
Do your best to keep your added sugar in check, but don’t stress yourself out about every little detail. Ultimately, increasing your weight and muscle mass is what is most important.
How to Gain Weight Without Sugar Conclusion
Gaining weight in a healthy way takes some planning, especially if you want to minimize your sugar intake. The basic idea is to increase your calorie intake over time, however you want to be smart about where those calories come from.
If you need some ideas on foods to add to your diet to promote weight gain, here are some articles that can help you on your journey!