Strategies To Gain Weight While On A Keto Diet

The keto diet is often associated with weight loss, but it can also be used to gain weight healthily. The key to gaining weight on keto is to eat more calories than you burn. This can be achieved by consuming more calorie-dense, nutrient-rich foods, such as fatty fish, avocados, nuts, seeds, and full-fat dairy products. It's important to maintain a balanced macro ratio, with moderate protein intake and minimal carbohydrates. Strength training and resistance exercises can also support weight gain by building muscle mass. Additionally, lifestyle factors like sleep, stress management, and gut health play a crucial role in healthy weight gain.

Eat more calories than you burn

To gain weight on a keto diet, you need to eat more calories than you burn. This is the same principle as for weight gain on any other type of diet. The keto diet is typically used for weight loss, but it can also be used to gain weight in a healthy way.

The key to gaining weight on keto is to eat a caloric surplus of around 200-300 additional calories per day. This will enable you to gain weight steadily and safely. You can achieve this surplus by eating more foods with few carbs, such as meats, and by adding more protein and healthy fats to your diet.

• Consume more calorie-dense, low-carb foods, such as meats, fatty fish, avocados, and healthy oils.
• Increase your protein intake to around 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Include proteins like poultry, pork, beef, eggs, and fish in your diet.
• Keep your net carbohydrate intake under 50 grams per day. Choose low-carb vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and avocado, and avoid grains and starchy fruits and vegetables.
• Increase your fat intake by consuming fatty fish like salmon or sardines, olives, avocados, coconut oil, eggs, and full-fat dairy products.
• Eat more frequently throughout the day if you struggle to eat large amounts in one sitting. Include small, fatty snacks and liquid calories in your diet.
• Use a food-tracking app or journal to monitor your calorie intake and ensure you are consuming more than you burn.

Eat more protein

Eating more protein is a great way to gain weight on a keto diet. The keto diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet, so it's important to get your protein from sources that fit within these parameters. Aim for around 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.

Good sources of protein that are also keto-friendly include:

• Poultry
• Pork
• Beef
• Eggs
• Fish

In addition to eating more protein, you may also want to incorporate more healthy fats into your diet. Avocados, olive oils, dairy products, fatty meats, and oily fish are all good sources of healthy fats.

It's also important to note that simply eating more protein may not be enough to help you gain weight. To gain weight, you need to consume more calories than you burn. Consider using a calorie calculator to determine how many calories you need to consume to gain weight, and make sure to track your calorie intake to ensure you're meeting your goals.

Eat more healthy fats

Eating more healthy fats is a great way to gain weight on a keto diet. Here are some tips to help you do this:

• Increase your fat intake: Determine how many extra calories you need to consume to gain weight. Then, increase your fat intake to meet those extra calories. Focus on high-quality fats like those found in fatty fish (e.g., salmon, sardines), olives, avocados, coconut oil, and eggs.
• Choose fatty foods: When selecting your meals, opt for fatty cuts of meat, such as chicken thighs and fatty beef. Include full-fat dairy products like Greek yogurt, cheese, and butter.
• Snack on healthy fats: Nuts and seeds are excellent choices for healthy, calorie-dense snacks. Try macadamia nuts, almonds, walnuts, chia seeds, and flaxseeds. Avocados also make a great snack and provide healthy fats and calories for weight gain.
• Cook with healthy oils: Use healthy oils like olive oil and avocado oil for cooking. Adding an extra drizzle of these oils to your meals can help increase your fat and calorie intake.
• Include full-fat dairy: Dairy products like cream, full-fat milk, and cheese are excellent sources of fat and calories. They can help you meet your daily calorie goals while also providing essential nutrients like calcium.
• Be mindful of portion sizes: To ensure you're consuming enough calories, pay attention to your portion sizes. You may need to eat beyond the point of feeling full to meet your calorie goals, especially if you're very active.

Eat more often

To gain weight on a keto diet, it is recommended that you eat more often. This strategy is particularly effective when combined with eating high-fat, nutrient-dense foods.

• Eat three to six meals a day with snacks in between: Eating more frequently will help you increase your overall calorie intake and promote weight gain. This approach is especially beneficial when combined with high-fat, nutrient-dense foods.
• Don't overeat during meals: If you tend to feel too full after eating a lot at once, spread your food intake out throughout the day. Try eating smaller meals and fatty snacks to increase your overall calorie consumption.
• Include liquid calories: Consider including some liquid calories in your diet, such as full-fat coconut milk in smoothies or bulletproof coffee with butter and MCT oil. This can help you boost your calorie intake without feeling too full.
• Choose healthy, calorie-dense snacks: Opt for snacks like nut butter with flaxseed crackers, cheese and olive plates, avocado chocolate mousse, coconut cream with nuts, and full-fat Greek yogurt with peanut butter. These options provide both calories and nutrients to support weight gain.
• Increase your portion sizes: Consider increasing the portion sizes of fatty cuts of meat, healthy oils, and other high-calorie, low-carb foods. This will help you consume more calories without feeling overly full.
• Add more oils and fats to your meals: Be creative and add extra fats to your meals. For example, use an extra pat of butter for cooking, drizzle olive oil on your salad, or add a dollop of coconut oil to your spinach. These simple additions can boost your calorie intake and promote weight gain.

Do strength training

To build muscle on a keto diet, strength training is essential. While nutrition is important, resistance training is key to gaining muscle.

An intense training session two or three times a week is enough to stimulate muscle growth. If you have access to a gym or home exercise equipment, consider exercises such as bench presses, deadlifts, and squats, which are compound exercises that stimulate more muscle fibres than isolated exercises.

If you're new to the gym, consider hiring a personal trainer to show you the proper techniques and ensure you're maximising your efforts and reducing the risk of injury.

Targeted keto diet

The targeted keto diet is a great way to increase your strength during ketosis. This involves a rigorous schedule of when and how you can consume carbohydrates. By consuming carbs around your workouts, you can aid in exercise performance. This strategy is known as a targeted keto diet, where you consume your daily allowed carbs before and after your workouts.

For muscle-building goals, calculate your macronutrients the same way you would for a regular keto diet and factor in the extra calories from carbs, adjusting your fat intake as needed. The best time to eat carbs is 30-60 minutes before strength training, focusing on quick-absorbing high-GI carbs like hard candies, sports drinks, and natural sugars like dried fruits and maple syrup.

Cyclical keto diet

If you're looking to gain mass and aren't seeing results with targeted keto, try a cyclical keto diet. This involves scheduling two or three days off keto during the week. It can be challenging to master, but it's an effective way to make significant gains while sticking to keto.

Here's how it works:

• Day 1: Spend the day carbo-loading, ensuring 70% of your total calorie intake is carbohydrates, with 15% protein and 15% fats. Stick to healthy carbs.
• Day 2: The next 24 hours should be 60% carbs, 25% protein, and 15% fats.
• Day 3: To re-enter ketosis, fast completely after 6 pm.
• Day 4: Wake up and perform an intense strength training workout on an empty stomach to burn excess sugars. Stick to a strict keto diet of less than 2% carbohydrate intake.
• Day 5: Start your day with a medium-intensity workout before breakfast and return to normal keto at 3-5% carbs.

Resistance training

Resistance training and lifting heavy weights stimulate muscular growth and offer various benefits for overall health. While a healthy, optimised diet provides the nutritional building blocks for weight gain, resistance training is necessary for building muscle and increasing lean mass.

You don't need to spend hours at the gym every day to gain muscle. Two to three 30-60 minute weight training sessions per week are sufficient. To maximise these sessions, focus on compound lifts that work multiple muscle groups, such as bench presses, pushups, squats, and deadlifts.

Weight training

To gain weight and add muscle, you don't need lengthy gym sessions. Two to three 30-60 minute weight training sessions per week will suffice. To maximise these sessions, focus on compound lifts that work multiple muscle groups, such as bench presses and pushups.

To build size, opt for low-rep and high-weight protocols, such as 5x5 (five sets of five reps each). Always make injury prevention your top priority by warming up adequately, resting between sets, and maintaining proper form.

If heavy lifting doesn't suit your body, you can also build muscle with bodyweight exercises, though it may take a little longer.

Frequently asked questions