How to Gain Weight With a Fast
Metabolism 🚀
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Understand Your Metabolism
- Eat More Calories
- Choose Nutrient-Rich Foods
- Lift Weights and Build Muscle
- Make Lifestyle Changes
- Conclusion
- FAQs
Introduction
Having a fast metabolism can make
it challenging to gain weight. While many see a fast metabolism as a good
thing, it can be frustrating if your goal is to put on pounds. The key is
learning how to work with your body's high calorie-burning engine to give it
the fuel it needs to build muscle and increase body mass. With a strategic
approach, it is possible to gain weight even with a lightning-fast metabolism.
This article will provide tips on how to pack on pounds by eating more
calories, choosing nutritious foods, strength training, and making lifestyle
changes. Follow these suggestions and be on your way to reaching your weight
gain goals.
The main obstacle those with fast
metabolisms face for gaining weight is that their bodies burn through calories
rapidly. This means any excess calories get used up for energy rather than
stored as fat or muscle. So the primary goal is to increase daily calorie
intake through diet and supplements. But just adding calories alone won’t
necessarily result in meaningful weight gain. It’s crucial to focus on
nutrient-dense whole foods that provide the vitamins, minerals, protein,
healthy fats and carbs needed to properly build muscle, tissue, and energy
stores.
In addition to diet, starting a
regular strength training regimen is highly important for gaining weight when
you have a fast metabolism. Lifting weights and doing resistance exercises like
squats, deadlifts, and bench presses will build larger, denser muscles. Bigger
muscles mean more body mass and weight. Building lean muscle will also boost
your resting metabolism so your body burns even more calories throughout the
day. This then allows you to eat more without gaining excess fat. Beyond diet
and exercise, certain lifestyle changes like getting more sleep, limiting cardio,
and reducing stress can optimize your efforts.
Gaining weight with a
lightning-fast metabolism requires commitment, consistency, and patience over
months and years, not days and weeks. But by methodically eating more calories
focused on whole foods, prioritizing muscle-building resistance training, and
supporting your efforts with key lifestyle changes, you can overcome your
metabolic challenges and achieve your body composition goals. This
comprehensive guide will explore proven strategies for how to gain weight with
a fast metabolism. Let's break it down step-by-step!
Understand Your Metabolism
To gain weight effectively with a
fast metabolism, it helps to first understand what that really means and how
your metabolism works.
Metabolism refers to all the
chemical processes continuously happening inside your body that keep you alive
and functioning. These include:
- Breaking down food and drink
into smaller compounds like amino acids, fatty acids, and glucose to obtain
energy and nutrients
- Building up complex molecules
like proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids from smaller compounds
- Getting rid of toxic compounds
and waste products
- Maintaining body
temperature
- Facilitating all the hormones,
neurotransmitters, and other signaling molecules
Your metabolic rate is
essentially how quickly or slowly these metabolic processes occur, particularly
breaking down nutrients into energy. A fast metabolism just means your
metabolic rate is higher than typical - you break down and burn calories from
food rapidly to keep up with your body's energy demands.
What impacts metabolic rate?
The main factors include:
- **Genetics** - Your genes
provide the blueprint for your metabolism's maximum capacity. Some people
inherit genes for faster metabolisms.
- **Muscle Mass** - The more lean
muscle you have, the more calories your body burns just to maintain that
muscle, even at rest.
- **Physical Activity Levels** -
Regular exercise, especially strength training, boosts metabolic rate. Inactive
lifestyles slow it down.
- **Age** - Metabolism naturally
slows as we get older, by up to 5% per decade after age 40.
- **Environmental Temperature** -
Colder environments cause your body to burn more calories to stay warm.
- **Thyroid Hormones** - Your
thyroid regulates metabolic rate via hormones like T3 and T4. An overactive
thyroid speeds it up.
- **Stress Hormones** - High
cortisol and catecholamines from stress increase metabolic rate short-term.
- **Nutrition Status** - Being
deficient in key nutrients like iron or B vitamins may slightly reduce
metabolic rate.
As you can see, several factors
impact how fast or slow your metabolic processes run. But in general, a major
component is simply your genetic tendencies that you inherit. For those with
genes favoring a faster metabolism, this makes it harder to gain weight since
calories get burned up rapidly.
In addition to overall metabolic
rate, there’s another aspect called nutrient absorption rate that affects
weight changes. Not only do people with fast metabolisms break down and burn
calories quicker, they also absorb nutrients from food rapidly. Faster
absorption provides a quick influx of calories into the bloodstream. But this
leaves less time for calories to be stored away as fat or muscle for later use.
So those with speedy metabolisms
face the double challenge of burning calories faster while also absorbing
calories faster. This is why it can be so hard to gain and maintain weight. Yet
with the right strategies, it is possible to overcome your metabolic obstacles
and achieve your body composition goals. The key is working *with* your
metabolism, not against it.
Eat More Calories
The most straightforward yet
essential strategy for gaining weight with a fast metabolism is to consistently
increase your daily calorie intake.
To accumulate mass in the form of
muscle or fat tissue, you need to regularly consume more calories than your
body uses and burns off. A caloric surplus is required for weight gain. How
large that surplus needs to be depends on just how fast your metabolism is.
For most hardgainers, aiming for
a surplus of 500-1000 calories per day over your maintenance level is a good
starting point. If using an online TDEE calculator, input your stats and target
“moderate exercise” or “very active” to account for your fast metabolism even
if you currently aren’t that active.
Be sure to track your calorie
intake along with your weight changes over weeks and months to gauge your
metabolism and adjust your calorie goals as needed. If you aren’t gaining 1-2
pounds per week consistently, increase your surplus.
Note that the extra calories
should come from whole, nutritious foods as covered later, not junk foods.
Getting adequate protein is especially crucial. And your calorie goals may need
to increase over time as you build more muscle and your metabolism speeds up
even more. Expect gaining weight to be an ongoing process requiring periodic
adjustments.
-
How to Eat More Calories
Okay, simple enough – you need to
eat more to gain weight with a fast metabolism. But *how* do you consistently
eat way more calories without it taking over your entire life? Here are some
proven tips:
**Eat Larger Portions**
An easy place to start is simply
making your current meals bigger by increasing portion sizes. For any
calorie-dense foods you already eat regularly like grains, meats, dairy, nuts,
etc., have more.
For example:
- Add an extra chicken breast or
steak to dinner
- Have a bigger scoops of rice,
potatoes, or quinoa
- Include more slices of whole
grain bread with meals
- Use more olive oil and butter
when cooking
- Load up salads and veggies with
extras like avocado, nuts, and seeds
- Go for bigger smoothies made
with protein powder, nut butter, and full-fat milk
- Have two sandwiches instead of
one
Gradually bump up the portions of
calorie-rich foods you enjoy across breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
You’ll easily receive several hundred extra calories per meal.
**Eat More Frequently**
Rather than eating giant meals,
you can also increase calories by adding in more frequent smaller meals and
snacks throughout the day.
Aim to eat every 3-4 waking
hours. Turn your usual 3 bigger meals into 5-6 smaller meals. This creates more
opportunities to take in calories.
Don’t let more than a few
hours go by without eating. Set reminders on your phone if needed. Useful
snacking times include:
- Mid-morning, such as after your
workout or around 10 AM
- Early afternoon, say around 2
PM
- Evening, like while cooking
dinner or before bed
Choose energy-dense snacks that
provide a quick 100-300 calories like trail mix, peanut butter toast, Greek
yogurt, shakes, dried fruit, crackers and cheese, etc. The calories add up
quickly.
**Focus on Calorie-Dense Foods**
To get in more calories without
having to eat enormous portions or constant snacks, prioritize calories from
foods that provide a lot of energy relative to their size and volume. These
calorie-dense foods make it easier to meet higher calorie goals.
Some great options include:
- Nuts and nut butters
- Dried fruit like raisins,
dates, prunes
- Trail mix combining nuts and
dried fruit
- Granola and granola bars
- Seeds like pumpkin, flax, and
chia
- Full-fat dairy products like
milk, yogurt, and cheese
- Protein powders and mass
gainers
- Avocado and oils like olive,
coconut, and avocado
- Fatty fish like salmon and
mackerel
Work these calorically
concentrated foods into your diet wherever possible. Add them to meals,
smoothies, snacks, etc. They provide calories that matter when gaining weight
with a fast metabolism.
-
Sample High Calorie Meal
Plan
To give you an idea of how to
structure a high calorie diet using larger portions, more frequent meals, and
calorie-dense foods, here is a sample meal plan:
**Breakfast - 800+ calories**
- 3 whole eggs + 3 egg whites
scrambled with cheese, peppers, onion
- 2 slices whole grain toast with
peanut butter
- 1 cup milk
- 1 orange
- 1 cup Greek yogurt with granola
and berries
**Snack - 250 calories**
- Protein shake made with milk,
banana, peanut butter, protein powder
**Lunch - 800+ calories**
- Large chicken breast sandwich on
whole grain bread with lettuce, tomato, avocado
- Side salad with dressing and
sunflower seeds
- 1 cup vegetables like carrots
or broccoli
- Trail mix - 1⁄4 cup nuts,
seeds, dried fruit
- 1 apple with nut butter
**Snack - 300 calories**
- Cottage cheese with flaxseed
and chopped nuts
- Protein bar
**Dinner - 1000+ calories**
- 8oz sirloin steak
- Baked potato loaded with
cheddar cheese, bacon, sour cream
- 2 cups roasted Brussels sprouts
with oil
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups milk
**Evening Snack - 250 calories**
- Whole grain toast with almond
butter
- Greek yogurt protein smoothie
This provides well over 4000
calories focused on bigger portions, more frequency, and calorie-dense choices.
Adjust the meals based on your food preferences to make it sustainable.
Choose Nutrient-Rich Foods
While eating more calories is the
main hurdle for gaining weight with a speedy metabolism, you want those extra
calories to come from nutritious whole foods.
You need sufficient protein,
healthy fats, complex carbs, vitamins, and minerals to properly build muscle,
store energy, and accumulate weight in a healthy balanced way. Below are key
macros and foods to emphasize:
-
Protein to Build Muscle
Consuming enough high-quality
protein is crucial when looking to gain weight, especially lean muscle mass.
Among its many vital roles, protein provides the amino acids that serve as the
building blocks for preserving and growing new muscle.
Without adequate protein intake,
your body won’t be able to fully utilize those extra calories towards
constructing muscle tissue. But with sufficient protein consumption combined
with strength training, the calories you eat can go towards adding functional
lean mass rather than just fat.
How much protein? General
protein intake recommendations for muscle gain are:
- 0.7-1 gram per pound of body
weight per day
- Up to 1.5 grams per pound for
very active people and hardcore athletes
So for example, if you weigh 150
pounds, aim for 105-150 grams of protein daily. Spread this evenly across your
meals and snacks.
Tracking your protein intake for
a while can help you learn how much you need for optimal results. Ensure at
least 20-40 grams per meal depending on your size and caloric needs.
**Best protein sources:** Meat,
poultry, fish/seafood, eggs, dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese), legumes (beans,
lentils, peas), nuts and seeds, protein powders. Leaner cuts of beef, chicken,
and pork are ideal, along with fatty fish like salmon and tuna. Whey and casein
powders make supplementing protein easy.
-
Healthy Fats for Energy and
Hormones
Don’t be afraid to eat plenty of
foods containing beneficial unsaturated fats. Fat provides 9 calories per gram,
making it the most energy-dense macronutrient. The right types of fats also
supply fat-soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids.
Healthy fats improve hormone
production, brain function, heart health, and much more. For gaining weight,
they deliver loads of easy-to-consume calories. Including more may be one
dietary change that can positively influence hormonal balance to make weight
gain easier.
**Where to get healthy fats:**
- Oils - Olive oil, avocado oil,
coconut oil
- Nuts - Almonds, walnuts,
macadamias
- Nut butters - Peanut, almond,
cashew
- Seeds - Flax, chia, hemp,
pumpkin, sunflower
- Avocados
- Fatty fish - Salmon, mackerel,
sardines
- Full-fat dairy - Whole milk,
cheese, yogurt
Use oils generously in cooking,
baking, dressings, and sauces. Snack on nuts and seeds. Make smoothies with nut
butters. Top foods with olive oil, avocado slices, pumpkin seeds, etc. Healthy
fats create a powerful calorie boost.
-
Carbs for Energy
Complex carbohydrates should
provide the remainder of your calories for gaining weight. Carbs replenish
muscle glycogen, fuel workouts, and supply glucose for energy.
Focus on whole, minimally
processed sources like:
- Whole grains - Brown rice,
oats, quinoa, barley, whole grain bread
- Starchy vegetables - Potatoes,
sweet potatoes, winter squash
- Legumes - Beans, lentils,
chickpeas
- Fruit - Bananas, apples,
berries, citrus
- Starchy fruits - Plantains,
mango, durian
For faster weight gain, emphasize
starchy veggies and fruits along with whole grains at each meal while limiting
sugar. Time carb intake around exercise for optimal energy.
Lift Weights and Build Muscle
Beyond your diet, starting a
proper resistance training program is arguably just as important for
successfully gaining weight with a fast metabolism. Here’s why strength
training is essential:
-
Building More Muscle
Increases Metabolic Rate
Muscle tissue has a higher
metabolic rate than fat, requiring more calories to sustain itself. The more
muscle you build, the higher your resting metabolic rate becomes because your
body has to burn through more calories just to maintain that muscle mass 24/7.
So rather than slowing down your
naturally fast metabolism, increasing your muscle actually helps speed it up
even more. This allows you to eat more calories than before without gaining
excess fat.
-
Muscle Weighs More than Fat
A pound of muscle occupies less
space than a pound of fat. Muscle is denser with more actual contractile
tissue. Building bigger, thicker muscles leads to greater overall body mass,
size, and weight.
Even if the number on the scale
doesn’t seem to go up much at first, pay more attention to changes in the
mirror as muscle increases. The scale may be slower to respond due to
simultaneous fat loss, increased hydration, muscle inflammation, and other factors.
But enhanced musculature equals a heavier physique.
-
Compound Lifts Maximize
Muscle Growth
The style of lifting matters just
as much as the work you put in. To maximize muscle growth efficiently, focus
predominantly on heavy compound exercises that train multiple large muscle
groups together in a functional manner.
Great compound lifts include:
- **Squats** - Quads, glutes,
hamstrings
- **Deadlifts** - Posterior
chain, lower back
- **Bench Press** - Chest,
shoulders, triceps
- **Overhead Press** - Shoulders,
triceps
- **Pull-ups/Lat Pulldowns** -
Lats, biceps
- **Rows** - Lats, traps,
rhomboids
These compound movements should
form the foundation of your routine. Isolating smaller muscles directly with
curls, leg extensions, lateral raises, etc. has a place too but comes second.
Mastering the skill of the big
basic lifts creates maximal muscle stimulation and metabolic boost. Follow a
well-designed beginner strength program focusing on progressive overload in the
5-15 rep range for each exercise.
-
Allow Plenty of Recovery
Time
Gaining weight and muscle
requires more than just intense lifting sessions – it also depends heavily on
adequate rest and recovery in between workouts. Muscle protein synthesis is
elevated for 24-48 hours after lifting. But muscles need time fully repair,
rebuild, and grow stronger.
Make sure to take at least 1-2
full rest days between training the same major muscle groups to prevent
overtraining. Don’t work chest two days in a row for example – alternate chest
day with legs or back day. Getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night also
optimizes recovery. Fuel up with sufficient protein and calories.
With sufficient training stimulus
from heavy compound lifts plus ample rest periods, your muscles will gradually
enlarge over the coming weeks and months as you gain weight.
-
Consider a Weight Gainer
Supplement
Adding a weight gainer protein
shake or supplement provides an easy way to further ramp up your daily
calories, protein, and nutrients. Many popular gainers provide 600+ extra
workout calories along with 20-50g of protein per serving.
Weight gainers can be helpful for
hardgainers who struggle to consume enough through whole foods alone. They
provide liquid calories that typically include a blend of proteins,
high-glycemic carbs, and often some healthy fats too. Common sources are whey,
milk protein, casein, egg protein, maltodextrin, oats, and MCT oil.
While you can make your own
homemade mass gainer shake, many people appreciate the convenience and calorie
density of commercial supplements specifically formulated for weight gain.
Some well-reviewed, top-rated
pre-made weight gainers include:
- Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass
- Dymatize Super Mass Gainer
- Isopure Weight Gainer
- EVLUTION Nutrition ENGN
Gainer
Take your gainer at times when
you need a big calorie boost like after workouts or before bed. Be aware they
often contain multiple servings per container so pay attention to labels. And
start with half servings if dairy-based gainers cause any indigestion.
Overall, weight gainers can
provide helpful extra calories and protein within the context of an already
high-calorie, nutritious diet and intense lifting routine. But they aren’t
magic. You still have to put in the nutrition and training work.
Make Lifestyle Changes
Certain lifestyle habits and
behaviors beyond your diet and exercise regimen can significantly impact your
ability to gain weight and build muscle. Small changes in these areas help
create an overall environment in your body that’s primed for weight gain.
-
Reduce Stress
Chronic stress causes your body
to produce more cortisol and catecholamines – fight or flight hormones that
raise your metabolic rate. This tends to encourage the loss of weight,
especially lean tissue.
While sporadic high-stress periods
are normal, regular unrelenting stress keeps hormone levels elevated in a way
that hinders weight gain. Finding healthy ways to manage stress long-term can
help improve your results. Useful stress-reducing strategies include:
- Daily meditation or breathwork
practice, even just 5-10 minutes
- Yoga, Tai Chi, Qigong, or
gentle stretching routines
- Massage, float tanks, saunas,
or hot baths
- Nature time like walking or
hiking
- Enjoyable hobbies and
socializing
- Therapy or support groups
- Maintaining proper sleep,
nutrition, and exercise habits
Experiment to find which relaxing
practices work best for you. The goal is to spend time each day consciously
calming your body and nervous system through mindfulness. This reduces
catabolic hormones that impede muscle growth and weight gain.
-
Get Plenty of Quality Sleep
Adequate good sleep is crucial
for optimal muscle repair and growth. During deep sleep levels like slow wave
sleep, your body secretes more growth hormone, testosterone, insulin-like growth
factor 1 (IGF-1) and other anabolic hormones that facilitate weight gain.
Sleep deprivation or poor sleep,
on the flipside, causes hormone disruption that hinders your ability to add
mass. Shoot for getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night consistently.
Having a consistent pre-bedtime routine helps signal your body it’s time for
rest. Make your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet. Avoid digital screens before
bed. Manage stress and anxiety. Consider supplements like zinc, magnesium, or
melatonin if needed.
-
Limit Excessive Cardio
While regular cardio exercise
provides excellent health benefits, too much can become counterproductive when
your main goal is gaining weight. Excessive aerobic training like jogging for
long durations burns through calories and creates a catabolic hormonal
environment.
Stick to only 2-3 moderate cardio
sessions per week lasting 20-45 minutes. Low intensity cardio like walking is
preferable. Focus most of your active lifestyle on lifting weights and
muscle-building activity instead. Allow sufficient rest days for recovery
rather than constant activity.
-
Hydrate Properly
Drinking enough water is vital
for health, muscle recovery, and digestion of the extra food required for
weight gain. But some people incorrectly chug excessive amounts thinking it
aids weight gain, which can backfire.
Too much water dilutes digesting
food in the gut, potentially interfering with optimal nutrient absorption.
Stick to roughly 0.6 to 1 ounce (20-30 ml) per pound body weight daily,
increasing with sweat loss. Obtain additional fluids from milk, juices, and
smoothies rather than just pure water.
-
Monitor Alcohol Intake
While moderate alcohol is fine
for most healthy individuals, heavy drinking tends to negatively impact weight
gain and muscle growth. Alcohol suppresses protein synthesis, dehydrates the
body, and reduces testosterone levels after excess intake.
If you regularly drink alcohol,
aim to follow general low-risk guidelines of up to 1 drink per day for women
and 2 drinks per day for men. Avoid binge drinking episodes.
Make changes in these key
lifestyle areas that best support your goals for gaining weight with a fast
metabolism. Small tweaks go a long way.
Conclusion
Gaining weight with a naturally
fast metabolism presents unique challenges but absolutely can be done with the
right strategy. By methodically eating more calories focused on whole foods
like protein, carbs, and healthy fats, you provide your body the raw materials
it needs to construct new muscle and increase body mass.
Follow an intensive, progressive
weight lifting routine with ample recovery time to facilitate muscle growth.
Consider adding a weight gainer shake to boost calories and nutrients. Reduce
excess stress levels, get enough sleep, limit intense cardio, and hydrate
properly.
With consistency and commitment
to the process over months and years along with periodic adjustments as needed,
you will start to see results and become bigger, stronger, and heavier than
ever before. Patience and perseverance are key, so stick with it!
FAQs
Q: About how many extra calories per day should I aim to eat in order to
gain weight?
A: Aim for consuming 500-1000
calories per day over your caloric maintenance level. So if your maintenance is
2500 calories, eat 3000-3500 calories daily to be in a surplus for weight gain.
Track your rate of weight gain and adjust your surplus calories as needed over
time.
Q: What calorie-dense snacks are best for easily getting in more calories?
A: Excellent high-calorie
snack options include trail mix, dried fruit, mixed nuts, peanut or almond
butter on celery sticks or apples, protein bars, Greek yogurt with granola,
cheese slices, milkshakes, and smoothies made with protein powder, nut butter, and
full-fat milk.
Q: How much protein should I aim for each day to maximize muscle growth?
A: Shoot for consuming 0.7-1
gram of protein per pound of body weight daily as a baseline. So if you weigh
150 pounds, get 105-150 grams of protein per day. Spread protein intake evenly
across main meals and snacks.
Q: What are some high-calorie protein sources I can eat more of?
A: Foods like lean red meat,
poultry, fatty fish, eggs, milk, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, protein powders
like whey and casein, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds offer protein along with
various amounts of calories and nutrients for weight gain.
Q: Will drinking a weight gainer supplement help me gain weight with a fast
metabolism?
A: Weight gain shakes can
provide an effective calorie and nutrient boost between whole food meals to
support your weight gain goals. But results depend on your total daily
nutrition and training, not just drinking a shake.
Q: How often should I lift weights per week to build muscle effectively?
A: Aim to resistance train
3-5 days per week, leaving at least 1-2 rest days in between workouts for the
same muscle groups. This allows sufficient recovery time for muscles to repair
and strengthen.
Q: What muscle-building compound lift should I focus on as a beginner?
A: Mastering proper squat
form and progressively overloading with heavier weights is arguably the best
place to start. Back squats, front squats, and leg press all help build leg and
whole body strength to support bigger muscle gains.
Q: Which supplements can aid muscle growth besides protein powder?
A: Creatine monohydrate,
caffeine, beta-alanine, citrulline, and carnitine are evidence-backed
supplements shown to provide additional support for muscle building when
combined with training.
Q: What lifestyle changes can create an optimal environment for weight
gain?
A: Getting enough sleep,
managing stress, limiting extreme cardio, proper hydration, and moderating
alcohol help create the ideal conditions in your body for building muscle and
gaining weight over time.
Q: About how long will it take me to gain a significant amount of weight?
A: Expect gaining weight to
be a gradual process over many months, if not years. Aim to gain 1-2 pounds per
week on average, mostly coming from muscle. Remain consistent with your
high-calorie diet and training regimen. Be patient!