Nutritional planning involves balancing macronutrients, understanding calorie formulas, and identifying the functional properties of whole foods to manage weight and chronic conditions effectively.
Gaining a few pounds when you're underweight benefits your health -- a lower-than-healthy body weight can make it hard to recover from illness, affect fertility and pregnancy. and cause complications if you need to undergo surgery.
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Gaining weight requires eating more calories than your body needs each day, so the extra energy helps you add bulk to your frame. But if you're already very active and trying to gain weight, it can be hard to get all the calories you need from solid food without feeling too full.
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Sorghum grain make up one of the major grain crops in the United States, reports Purdue University, and works well as a food for humans and livestock. Because it's gluten-free, sorghum grains offer a safe alternative to wheat if you follow a gluten-free diet.
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Beans might have a reputation as "the magical fruit" for less-than-savory reasons, but they're actually a nourishing addition to your healthy diet. Beans come loaded with essential minerals like magnesium and potassium, as well as vitamins like folate.
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Bananas contain nothing that will make you gain weight, but eating any food in excess can trigger weight gain if you consume more than your daily calorie needs. If you enjoy bananas, eat them as part of a weight-gain strategy to help you add mass.
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Dietary guidelines released by the USDA recommend that you make grains a part of your diet, and both rice and bread contribute to your daily intake. A cup of cooked rice, or 2 ounces of bread -- the approximate equivalent of 2 slices -- boost your grain intake by 2 ounces.
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With its nutty flavor and firm texture, tempeh -- made from fermented soybeans that have been pressed into blocks -- works well in a variety of dishes.
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Spaghetti is the ultimate comfort food -- it's rich, carb-heavy and easy to prepare. You can get a nostalgia-tinged classic on the table in less than half an hour. Eating spaghetti isn't necessarily the best for weight loss, especially if you cook your noodles until they're very tender.
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Carrying a few extra pounds on your midsection is common -- more than half of Americans have a waist size that's larger than normal, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2014. That doesn't mean you're stuck with side stomach fat forever, though.
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Whether you crave coffee as a mid-afternoon caffeine fix or a morning pick-me-up, you're in good company. Americans drink an average of three cups of joe each day, according to a 2010 survey on coffee trends conducted by the National Coffee Association.
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Although salads and fruit are great for you -- and they're worthwhile to add to a weight loss diet -- they shouldn't make up your entire meal plan. You would likely lose weight eating salads and fruit at every meal, but you may also be depriving your body of essential nutrients you need to feel and look your best.
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A member of the legume family, lupine seeds -- sometimes called lupins or lupini beans -- make a healthful addition to your diet, and you can consume them on their own or use ground, dried lupini beans as a replacement for flour.
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The quality of your diet plays a key role in your health, and setting a goal to gain weight isn't a license to eat anything you want. While eating any extra calories -- even ones from fast food, ice cream and other "junk"
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Don't feel guilty over craving a caffeine buzz. Drinking coffee can benefit your health; it may lower your risk of cardiovascular disease and might offer some protection against Parkinson's disease, according to the Harvard Gazette.
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Grapefruit has a long-standing reputation as a diet food -- it's even the basis of fad diets such as the grapefruit diet.
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Carob powder, from the pod of the carob tree, is often marketed as a chocolate substitute. While it has a similar appearance to cacao powder -- made from the beans of the cacao plant -- it has a milder, sweeter taste and offers a significantly different nutritional profile.
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Eating healthy is key for weight loss, and including porridge in your diet can help you reach your weight-loss goals. Oatmeal -- the most common type of porridge -- is directly linked to weight loss, and other types of porridge offer weight-loss benefits, too.
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While the richest sources of complex carbs -- like potatoes and pasta -- are comforting and satisfying, they're also restricted in low-carb diets. You may be able to enjoy a couple small servings of complex carbs on your low-carb diet, but more restrictive diets might ban these foods entirely.
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While the high-protein diet craze pushed carbohydrates to the sidelines, the truth is that carbs have a place in a healthy diet. Your brain runs on glucose -- a form of sugar -- and carbs also serve as the primary fuel for other tissues, including your muscles.
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Cassava is native to Brazil and Paraguay and is a staple food throughout Indonesia and Thailand, as well as parts of Africa. Its roots serve as an excellent source of starch and, at 330 calories per cup, cassava provides energy you need to fuel your active lifestyle.
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