• Before you do anything, it is important to determine your ideal weight. Note of caution. BMI is not an absolute accurate representation of health. Muscle weights more than fat, so bigger and stronger individuals could possibly be considered overweight or obese. You want use your BMI and Percent Body Fat as a starting guide..

To do this, you need to determine your body mass index, or BMI.TeensHealth: What's the Right Weight for My Height? A person's BMI is determined by taking their weight in kilograms divided by their height in meters squared. If you're not that good at math, there are quite a few BMI calculators available online:

• • National Institutes of Health: Calculate your BMI-- Standard and Metric BMI Calculators
  • TeensHealth: The KidHealth BMI Calculator
  • National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: Calculate your BMI

• If your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9 then you are considered at a normal weight. If your weight is below 18.5, then you are underweight.eMedicineHealth: Body Mass Index Definition

• MonkeySee: What Is Considered Underweight? (Time: 0:32)

• If you are not eating a well-balanced diet, it is almost impossible to gain weight. While it might be tempting to eat junk food, this is not a healthy strategy.About.com: How to Gain Weight

1. Your diet should be high in whole grains, vegetables and fruits, low-fat dairy products and lean sources of protein.MayoClinic.com: Too Skinny? How to Add Pounds Safely
2. According to WebMD, 60 to 70 percent of your diet should be carbohydrates.WebMD: Healthy Ways to Gain Weight, p. 3 Good sources of carbohydrates include whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans.Harvard School of Public Health: The Nutrition Source - Carbohydrates
3. WebMD also advises that 10 to 15 percent of your diet should be protein.WebMD: Healthy Ways to Gain Weight, p. 3 Good lean sources of protein include fish, poultry, beans and legumes.MayoClinic.com: Too Skinny? How to Add Pounds Safely
4. Fats should be limited to the small remaining portion of your diet.WebMD: Healthy Ways to Gain Weight, p. 3 Healthy fats include foods high in omega-3 essential fatty acids like tuna, salmon, flax, and walnuts.About.com: How to Gain Weight Unsaturated fats, such as those found in olive oil, canola oil, avocado, olives and nuts are also a good dietary choice.MayoClinic.com: Too Skinny? How to Add Pounds Safely

• • For more information, check out Mahalo's How to Eat Healthy Foods and How to Make Healthy Ingredient Substitutions.

• MonkeySee: Why Do I Need a High Carbohydrate, High Calorie Diet to Gain Weight? (0:39)

• In order to gain weight, you will need to increase your calorie intake. It takes approximately 3500 calories to gain one pound. So, to increase your weight by one to two pounds per week, you will need to increase your daily caloric intake by 500 to 1000 calories.Student Nutrition & Body Image Action Committee: Eating Strategies to Gain Weight

• Before you do that, however, you need to figure out how many daily calories you need. The amount of calories a person need varies depending on their sex, age, height and activity level. Therefore, you will want to use one of the following calculators to determine your need:
  1. Mayo Clinic: Tool: Calorie Calculator
  2. St. Vincent's Health System: Daily Calorie Calculator
  3. Ask the Dietitian: Healthy Body Calculator
  4. About.com: Calorie Need - Nutrition Guide for Men | Calorie Need - Nutrition Guide for Women

• Once you have a target caloric amount, you should do everything you can to increase the calories you eat daily. It may help you to keep a food diary to keep track of your daily calorie intake.About.com: How to Gain Weight
  1. Focus on eating foods higher in calories, not fat and sugar.WebMD: Healthy Ways to Gain Weight, p. 3
  2. Eat slices of foods if you cannot consume the entire amount.WebMD: Healthy Ways to Gain Weight, p. 3
  3. Add extras to your food such as peanut butter, wheat germ, nonfat dried milk powder, soy protein powder, honey, jam and dried fruit.Student Nutrition & Body Image Action Committee: Eating Strategies to Gain Weight
• YouTube: A Healthy Diet : What to Eat to Gain Weight (Time: 1:24)

• Eating healthy snacks in between balanced meals are another great way to increase your calorie intake and gain weight. Try to have at least two to three snacks per day.Student Nutrition & Body Image Action Committee: Eating Strategies to Gain Weight Some examples of good snacks to choose include:

• • For more information, check out Mahalo's How to Eat Healthy Snacks.
• YouTube: Nutrition & Vitamins : What Do I Need to Do to Gain Weight? (Time: 2:06)

• Watching what you eat is not the only way you can gain weight. What you drink can be just as important. Here are a few tips on how to improve your drinking habits:

1. Choose calorie dense drinks, such as shakes, fruit juice or milk, whenever possible.The Fitness Jumpsite: Gaining Weight: A Healthy Plan for Adding Pounds Student Nutrition & Body Image Action Committee: Eating Strategies to Gain Weight
2. Drink mixed juices because they have a higher calorie count than single juices.WebMD: Healthy Ways to Gain Weight, p. 3
3. Don't drink sugary sodas. They may add calories, but they lack nutrition.About.com: How to Gain Weight
4. According to WebMD, drinking a small quantity of alcohol before you eat can stimulate your appetite.WebMD: Healthy Ways to Gain Weight, p. 3 Drink about 4 ounces of wine, 6 ounces of beer or 1/2 ounce of liquor.
5. Drink nutritional supplement drinks such as Ensure as part of in-between meal snacks or make your own protein drinks.About.com: How to Gain Weight

• Proper exercise should be part of any routine, but is even more important if you are trying to gain weight. Proper exercise will help you gain muscle, which will add weight. For the best results, develop a routine of strength or resistance exercises that work the major muscle groups in your body.MayoClinic.com: Too Skinny? How to Add Pounds Safely Resistance exercises are any that cause the muscle to contract against external resistance and help increase the strength, tone, mass and endurance in your muscles.eMedicineHealth: Resistance Training These exercises are better than aerobic exercise and stationary bicycling.About.com: How to Gain Weight

• • For more information, check out Mahalo's How to Build Muscle and How to Get Into Shape.
• YouTube: Gaining & Losing Weight : How to Gain Weight With Exercise (Time: 1:55)

• Learning how to maintain a health weight is an important part of staying healthy. While it might be a lot of work, you will be rewarded with a healthier body and appearance.