About: Gaining Weight

Consume more calories than you expend to gain weight

The Harris-Benedict formula [1] provides an empirical method to estimate the Basal Metabolic Rate for a normal population. Basal Metabolic Rate means the amount of calories you use up while at rest (such as sitting down reading the newspaper). Basal Metabolic Rate does not mean the daily total energy requirements of an individual.


Metric BMR Formula

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kilos ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 13.7 x weight in kilos ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )

To determine your total daily calorie needs, you need to multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

(little or no exercise) :

• Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2

(light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) :

• Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375

(moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) :

• Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55

(hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) :

• Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725

(very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) :

• Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

For the individual who wishes to gain weight, he will need to estimate his total daily caloric requirements. Then determine the caloric content of the foods he normally eats in a day. This can be found in this link to the Health Promotion Board, Singapore.

All eating and no exercise makes Jack a fat boy. You'll gain weight, yes, but it all goes to fat if you do not exercise. What you are looking for is resistance exercise to build up the size of your muscles. The weight accumulation should be in your lean muscle mass, not fat mass.

The frequency of meals, the type of meals and the quantity of meals has been discussed in the earlier article : Losing Weight 3. For example:

1. Increase caloric intake by 200kcal to 1000kcal a day, by increasing meal size or frequency of meals. To avoid insulin spikes, it is better to have more small meals than few large meals.
2. Increase the number of healthy snacks, such as wholemeal bread, fruit, granola and other nutritional snacks. NTUC supermarket has a limited variety to choose from. A better supermarket is Cold Storage. These should be complex carbohydrates.
3. Add resistance training to the daily routine to increase lean body mass.

References:
[1] Harris J, Benedict F. A biometric study of basal metabolism in man. Washington D.C. Carnegie Institute of Washington. 1919