Q & A: How can exercise help me gain weight?

Q. How can exercise help me gain weight?

A. If you’re a person who finds it hard to gain weight and even harder to keep it, then weight training is a must for you. When you add lean muscle tissue to your body, your overall weight will increase.

Don’t try to gain weight by eating foods that are high in fat. Don’t let your slim body fool you-thin doesn’t always mean healthy. Many slim individuals are surprised to learn that they have high cholesterol. Since they don’t tend to put on weight, they are less likely to eat foods that are low in fat.

Your first step will be to join a gym or higher a personal trainer who can design a weight training program specifically for your needs. Your next step will be to look at your eating habits to see if you’re taking in enough calories to support your everyday activities and exercise. If you’re already eating three well-balanced meals per day, try eating a healthy snack in between your regular meals. In other words, you should have two to three mini meals per day, in addition, to your regular ones.