Struggling to gain weight and doomed with the condition of being skinny for the whole of your life? You also have considered eating a lot to gain weight but that also put you with the tale of disappointments. So what has gone wrong with you even applying the concept of eating more to gain weight? If you feel, weight gain is the most cumbersome task. Then, allow us to make the weight gain simple and healthy for you.  In this article, we will be sharing with you an ultimate guide on the natural foods to gain weight fast.

We understand that your active lifestyle and fast metabolism is giving you hard time in gaining weight. Our guide is dedicated to help such individuals to gain weight. Eating the below mentioned natural foods to gain weight will provide you right nutrients to support your goal. You can also refer to our ideal weight chart to know how much weight you need to gain?

Height (in feet and inches) Ideal Weight Range for Women (in Kg) Ideal Weight Range for Men (in Kg)
5’ 43-55 47-58
5’1” 45-57 48-60
5’2” 46-59 50-62
5’3” 48-61 51-64
5’4” 49-63 53-66
5’5” 51-65 55-68
5’6” 53-67 56-70
5’7” 54-69 58-72
5’8” 56-71 60-74
5’9” 57-73 62-76
5’10” 59-75 64-79
5’11” 61-77 65-81
6’ 63-80 67-83

                                   An Ideal Body Weight Table  (Source: Brianmac)



Let us now share our list on all the natural foods to gain weight. Adding these foods to your diet will help you gain weight. Eating these foods will help you make better food choices promoting an overall health. You should also keep in mind that eating junk food might serve you with lots of calories but the calories from the junk food have zero nutrition value. You have to look for foods that contain the array of macros including good amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, healthy fats, fibres and various minerals and vitamins.

Healthy Cereals to gain weight

Healthy Cereals is a great way to add up healthy calories to your daily eating. The cereals packs good amount of nutrition to keep you healthy and fit. The healthy choice among cereals includes Oats, Muesli, and Granola.

healthy cereal foods to gain weight

Including these healthy cereals in the breakfast are the best foods to gain weight and are perfect to kick your mornings with the right amount calories and nutrition. A right bowl of cereal is great in delivering good amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and dietary fiber.

Type of cereals Carbohydrates Proteins Dietary Fiber Calories
Oats (1 serving or 233.33 grams) 28 grams 5.93 grams 4 grams 166
Muesli (1 serving or 55 grams) 42 grams 7 grams 6 grams 188
Granola (1 serving or 60 gram) 26 grams 6 grams 4 grams 280

{Source: USDA Food Composition Database}

The above data has been shown for unenriched cereals cooked in water. We have mentioned the nutrient split of all the above listed healthy cereals to make you understand your food better and help you achieve a healthy weight gain with utmost efficacy.

Nuts and Dried Fruits to gain weight

A daily dose of nuts and dry fruits is one of the best foods to gain weight. These help in adding those much-needed calories required for a healthy weight gain. According to the report of USDA, consuming one-fourth cup of different nuts and dry fruits is good enough to pack you with 200 calories.




Eating Nuts and Dry Fruits provides you with a good split of all the required nutrients. You can include almonds, walnuts, cashew nuts, peanuts, dry raisins and dried dates. They aim to provide you with healthy fats, proteins, fibre and various different types of minerals.

Types of Nuts Carbohydrates Protein Fats Calories
Almonds (1 serving or 28 grams) 5 grams 6 grams 15 grams 170
Walnuts(1 serving or 28.35 grams) 3.89 grams 4.32 grams 18.49grams 185
Cashew Nuts (1 serving or 28.35 grams) 8.56 grams 5.17 grams 12.43 grams 157
Peanuts (1 serving or 28.35 grams) 4.57 grams 7.31 grams 13.96 grams 161
Dried Raisins (1 serving or 40 grams) 29 grams 1 gram _________ 130
Dried Dates (1 serving or 28 grams) 21 grams 1 grams _________ 78

{Source: USDA Food Composition Database}

In the above table, we have clearly shown the nutritional values of all the healthy nuts and dry fruits. The nuts have an advantage of serving you with good amounts of healthy fats. And including dry fruits in your meals will provide you with good amounts natural sugar which is great for gaining weight.

Yogurt for a healthy weight gain

Add a whole fat yogurt to complete your weight gain program. A full-fat yogurt is a convenient snack among foods to gain weight and provides you with good amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. A yogurt is a great calcium treat and serves you with overall general well being. It packs with lots of probiotics which promotes a good gut health.

gain weight with yogurt

We advise you to include full-fat yogurt instead of the slim versions of the yogurt. A full-fat yogurt is more effective when weight gain is the prime objective as it contains high amounts of protein. According to a study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people who eat full-fat dairy tend to eat fewer carbohydrates and spared them from eating carbohydrates from unhealthy and sugary sources.

Carbohydrates Proteins Fats Calories
Full Fat Yogurt (1 serving or 100 grams) 4.66 grams 3.47 grams 3.25 grams 61

In the above table, we have clearly mentioned the calories in the whole milk yogurt and the nutrition values of various macro nutrients.

Nut Butter to gain weight fast

Nut Butters are the healthiest way to gain weight fast and is among the most convenient foods to gain weight. They are great in serving you with required amounts of healthy fats and proteins. One serving of nut butter is effective enough to pack you with hundred of calories. The nut butter are high in magnesium, calcium, and vitamin E. Nut Butters can be a great option for those who are on a quest to fill up good amounts of calories on the go.

nut butter foods to gain weight

Add any nut butter to a whole wheat bread and you are good to go for the next two hours. The most considered option among nut butter are Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, and Coconut Butter. We advise you to refer to the ingredient labels before buying these butters. Go for 100 % natural nut butter containing maximum two or three ingredients and without having any added oil or sugar.

Type of Butter Carbohydrates Proteins Fats Calories
Peanut Butter(1 Tbsp or 16 gram) 2.72 grams 3.92 grams 8.67 grams 97
Almond Butter (1 Tbsp or 16 gram) 3.76 grams 2.82 grams 7.06 grams 85
Coconut Butter (1 serving or 33.7 gram) 8 grams 2 grams 21 grams 221

{Source: USDA Food Composition Database}

The above clearly shows the advantage of adding nut butter to your meals. A little serving is good enough to give you healthy calories and will help you gain weight fast.

Healthy Starch to put on weight fast

The healthy starch can serve you with an excellent amount of good carbohydrates. Choosing the right starch foods can definitely serve as the best foods to gain weight. Healthy starch includes adding up whole wheat bread, quinoa, sweet potato, brown rice and wheat pasta in your diet to gain weight fast.

healthy starch foods to gain weight

Healthy starch also helps replenish your depleted glycogen stores. If you are working out a lot or into an active lifestyle, consider adding starch to your diet. Starches play the role of a perfect saviour when your body is in the demand of high calories. They also aim to keep your gut healthy by nourishing the gut bacteria and supplying you with enough required dietary fiber.

Starch Foods Carbohydrates Protein Fats Calories
Whole Wheat Bread (1 slice or 32 grams) 13.67 grams 3.98 grams 1.12 grams 81
Quinoa (1 bowl cooked or 119 grams) 31 grams 6 grams 2.50 grams 170
Sweet Potato (1 cup or 328 grams) 58.12 grams 4.49 grams 0.46 grams 249
Brown Rice (1 cup or 202 gram, Long grain cooked) 51.67 grams 5.53 grams 1.96 grams 248
Wheat Pasta (1 cup or 97 grams cooked penne) 29.17 grams 5.81 grams 1.66 grams 145

{Source: USDA Food Composition Database}

The above table clearly shows the healthy starches nutritional profile and adding them to your diet can yield you gain weight effectively.

Banana for healthy weight gain

Love eating bananas, you certainly can fuel your weight gain journey with this amazing food for weight gain. Bananas can provide you the right nutrition requires for a healthy weight gain. A single large banana is good enough to provide you 120 calories which are great considering your calorie requirement. You can think of adding Banana Smoothie to your diet plan to have a quick load of calories.

bananas foods to gain weight

The Banana is a lot healthier option among the foods to gain weight. It has a low glycemic index which helps not to raise your blood sugar levels considering other fast acting carbohydrates. Furthermore, it can satisfy your sweet tooth and spare you from eating unhealthy sugary carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates Proteins Fats Calories
Banana(Large 8’ or 136 grams) 31 grams 1.5 grams 0.4 grams 121

(Source: Wikipedia)

In the above table, you can clearly understand, a large banana can serve you with lots of healthy carbohydrates to fuel your weight gain journey.

Beans promotes healthy weight gain

The Beans are the super foods to gain weight. They serve you with every required nutrient to achieve a healthy weight gain. They are packed with enough calories to serve your goal fast. Contained a healthy dose of carbohydrates, proteins and fibres, they can also be used in post recovery meals after a great workout. It a low saturated fat and rich in protein treat for your muscles which promote a healthy weight gain.

beans best protein rich food

A healthy carbohydrate to protein ratio in beans can help you pack on lean mass which promotes to a healthy weight gain. You can choose from a variety of beans including Black Beans, Kidney Beans, Chick peas, lentils and navy beans to attain most micro nutrients to support your weight gain journey.

Types of Beans Carbohydrates Proteins Dietary Fibre Calories
Black Beans (1 cup cooked or 172 grams) 40.78 grams 15.24 grams 15 grams 227
Kidney Beans (1 cup cooked or 172 grams) 39.22 grams 14.91 grams 12.7 grams 218
Chickpeas (1 cup cooked or 172 grams) 47.16 grams 15.24 grams 13.1 grams 282
Lentils (1 cup cooked or 172 grams) 34.62 grams 15.51 grams 13.6 grams 200
Navy Beans (1 cup cooked or 172 grams) 44.81 grams 14.16 grams 18.1 grams 241

{Source: USDA Food Composition Database}

The above data has been shown for 1 cup or 172 grams of boiled beans without added salt. The beans aim to gain weight and provide you with good amounts of magnesium, phosphorous and folate.

The conclusion on our guide on foods to gain weight

For those struggling to gain weight, weight gain seems difficult on the first look. But if you plan your calories and meal frequency optimally, you can certainly achieve a healthy weight gain with our guide on natural foods to gain weight. A healthy weight gain can be greatly achieved by adopting the healthier choices of food which packs a lot of nutrition and staying away from the prey of sugary and junk foods.




A notable thing here is to plan and divide your meals at proper intervals. The even spaced small meals with dense nutrition are great way to gain good weight in the least possible time. A simple tip here is to increase your daily calorie intake to gain weight. A healthy weight gain can be achieved by consistently eating more calories than your body burns to perform its functions.