4 ways to control thinness through diet

In a society that regards being slender as desirable it’s hard to understand being unhealthily thin. If you’re underweight, these easy diet steps will help you achieve your optimum level.

There's no such thing as a perfect weight; however, for every height and build there is a desirable range. In these ranges poor health and even death are lowest. You doctor can advise you what weight you should be but these pointers may help:

• Underweight is defined as 15 percent or more under the low end of the range.
• Mild underweight is not associated with serious health hazards, but people who are very thin lack energy reserves, are vulnerable to infections, and often feel the cold because they lack insulating fat.
• Patients weighing less than 80 percent of their desirable weight on admission to a hospital are at high risk for complications.
• Severely underweight people who are confined to bed rest easily develop pressure sores over bony areas.

To gain weight you need to set targets and stick to them.  Gaining 450 grams or one pound a week can require 500 to 750 extra calories a day. Check out these tips:

• The aim should be to build up muscle tissue and increase the level of energy to sustain the weight gain.
• Unless you are extremely weak, you should exercise regularly to help build lean tissue as well as store some fat.
• It is important to increase dietary calories from fat. A plan for increasing weight focuses first on increasing food intake, and second, on consuming foods that provide lots of calories in a compact volume.
• Raw vegetables, for example, are nutritious but satisfy hunger long before they've provided significant calories.
• Increasing dietary fat can rapidly make a difference, because fat contains more than twice as many calories as protein and carbohydrates do.
• Help yourself to larger portions and high-calorie choices.
• Have nutritious between-meal snacks.

Nutrition experts advise adhering to your food guide recommendations, but gradually increasing portions and choosing the more nutrient and calorie-dense foods within each group.

For example go for peanut butter or cheese instead of lean meat, avocados instead of cucumbers, pancakes instead of toast, a milk shake instead of skim milk.

Because caffeine suppresses the urge to eat, replace tea or coffee with juices and milk.

At first, you may feel uncomfortably full when you begin eating larger, more frequent portions to gain weight.

This feeling eventually passes. People trying to gain weight, like those trying to lose it, occasionally reach a plateau. Increasing calorie intake is necessary to restart the process.

Gaining weight can be as tough as losing it but with discipline, you will succeed in reaching your ideal weight. These ways of putting on a few pounds will help you reach your goal.