Nothing is more frustrating than the person who says, “It doesn’t matter what I do, I just can’t gain weight.” They are frustrated by their own struggles and annoy other people who struggle with losing weight.

Some people claim that they can eat whatever they want because they have a fast metabolism, and that there is nothing they can do to fix it.

But there are some ways to gain weight in a healthy way. These simple life changes can make a big difference in the long run.

Track calories

If you’re trying to gain weight, just like if you’re trying to lose weight, you need to track the calories you’re consuming. Often times people who can’t gain any weight are overestimating how much they are eating. Track how much you are eating so you can know how many extra calories you’re consuming every day.

Often times people think they are eating enough calories but they may not actually be. To seriously gain weight you should eat around 3,500 calories a day.

Get stronger

Skinny isn’t fun, but being chunky is worse. Eating extra calories help add weight to your frame, but you need to increase your workouts to go from skinny to strong. Strength training is an excellent way to build more muscle, and therefore gain more weight. Free weights are an excellent place to start, building on that and moving onto other exercises. Doing exercises that work your entire body will help balance your muscle gain.

Increasing your workouts is necessary, but resting is equally as important. Muscles grow when you are resting, so it is important to take days off in between training. Don’t work the same muscles two days in a row so that you don’t overwork your body.

Eat More

Eat good food, not just lots of food. Eating Chipotle burritos and extra large pizzas doesn’t help build the healthy, stronger body you desire. Eating foods that are higher in calories will help with weight gain, such as pastas, nuts and milk. Simply adding peanut butter to sandwiches is an excellent way to add healthy fats and protein to your diet.

Drinking water is also important. Increasing workouts and eating more needs to be accompanied with more water.

Eat often

Eat every 3 hours to help gain weight. Eating breakfast and munching on healthy snacks throughout the day will help add pounds to your body.

Breakfast is key to kicking off your day in a healthy way. Hit up the omelet bar and fill it with healthy options like spinach and peppers. Throw in some bacon and add cheese on top if you want to add some calories to your breakfast. A smoothie with whey protein is another option for a healthy, protein filled breakfast.

Additionally, after-workout meals are necessary to keep up calorie intake. Grilled chicken and mixed vegetables, salmon and tuna are great things to eat after your workouts.

Track your progress

Weigh yourself weekly. Keeping track of your progress by weighing in weekly is very important. Weighing in on a weekly basis can show how much weight you have been gaining. It can also serve as a guide to know whether or not you need to eat more calories.

Track your gains. Be sure to watch how much weight you are lifting. When you go up in weight, odds are you have also gained in mass.

Take pictures

Taking photographs is an excellent way to track progress. Comparing photos over time can not only be motivational, but show muscle gain. Just don’t do it at Dedman because then you’ll be one of “those guys” and nobody likes those guys.