How can you gain weight in a healthy way?

Someone with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of less than 18.5 is underweight. You weigh less than considering your height is good for you.

To be clear, someone with a BMI between 18.5 and 25 is a healthy weight and someone with a BMI over 25 is overweight. The latter problem is huge in the Netherlands, but many people are also underweight.

Whipped cream cure
How can you still try to gain weight in a healthy way if you are underweight? If a physical or psychological illness is the cause of your underweight, it is advisable to first visit your doctor.

But you can also be underweight without physical or psychological illness. For example, some people have a fast metabolism. They can eat whatever they want, but they don’t seem to be able to get any fatter.

It is very important in such a case that you have patience. Because arriving is easier said than done. In fact, losing weight is often easier than gaining weight.

Kilo per month
One kilo a month is already fine. Do not try to achieve this through a so-called whipped cream cure, but simply by eating more and more often. Examples of what you can eat in between:

• Sandwiches with cheese, ham, tomato and pineapple slices.
• Crackers with strawberries.
• Slices of gingerbread with margarine.
• Milk, buttermilk, yogurt drink, chocolate milk or a milkshake.
• Custard with yogurt, yogurt with fruits, an ice cream.
• Yogurt with muesli.
• Nuts, like a handful of peanuts.
• Sultana, liga or other in-between biscuits.
• Soup with chicken or soup balls, vegetables, vermicelli and baguette.

Not so hungry? Here’s what you can do to boost your appetite:

• Do not eat too much fat. Eating too much fat inhibits the appetite, while the intention is to eat something more often.
• Drink something fresh, such as a glass of fruit juice or tomato juice, or eat a few wedges of fruit. This can stimulate the appetite. A cup of broth half an hour before the hot meal can also trigger the appetite.

Healthy and varied
It is very important in all of this to continue to eat a healthy and varied diet. It may be tempting to stuff yourself with foods with a lot of fat (a so-called whipped cream cure), but that’s how you get wet from the rain.

Such a diet contains a lot of saturated fat. This only increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. So keep eating healthy, so you get all the vitamins and minerals you need.

In short, arriving is difficult. But if you eat more and more healthy things – in between regular meals – it should work. Especially if you remain patient. Are you still not able to do it alone? Then enlist the help of a dietician.