Useful Weight Gain Diet Tips for Vegetarians

According to statistics and researches, a majority portion of people who are scouring the web and other resources for weight gain tips are usually vegetarians. This is because the diets of vegetarians are usually made of fruits and vegetables, grains, seeds, legumes, and few dairy products.

Various types of animal products which are rich in calories such as meat, chicken, poultry, fish, beef, and even certain dairy products such as eggs are completely avoided.

Needless to be mentioned, but vegetarian individuals do not get enough calories, proteins and nutrients through their strict vegetarian diet, and hence their body and muscle development is sluggish. As a result, their body weight is low, and they look for tips for weight gain.

Few individuals tend to believe that there are hardly any useful weight gain tips associated with vegetarian diet. In fact, many people bet that vegetarian diet is usually employed for weight loss. However, this is absolutely wrong. Seeing significant results by adoption of weight gain tips with a strict vegetarian diet may be challenging but not impossible. You will be pleased to know that there are umpteen numbers of tips for weight gain, especially for vegetarians.

However, before we know more about these weight gain tips, we should first try and recognize the cause behind the problem.

Causes of Vegetarians Featuring Low Weight

It goes without mentioning that the most obvious cause behind low weight of vegetarians is their vegetarian diet characterized by low calories and fat. However, there are many other causes than calorie deprived food, which may be promoting the problems.

The causes may be :

Infestation of worms in the body.
Certain intestinal ailments such as fructose malabsorption or celiac disease.
Irregular eating habits coupled with poor lifestyle.
Bloating of the body due to intake of excess water or any other soluble fiber, which results in avoidance of food.
Avoiding meals due to attractive food.

Possible reasons behind refusal of food

Refusal of food is a common symptom among vegetarian people, and there are several reasons, which may be causing it.

Here is a list of few common causes, which may be the culprit.

Food Related Causes –

Having the same kind of food for every meal.
Plant food items are usually not very tasty, and thus too much inclusion of these may make the meal dull and boring.
Intake of excess alcohol is also known to curb the appetite.
Few medications such as narcotic, anti-diabetes medicines and chemotherapy.

Health Related Causes –

Infectious diseases such as kidney infection, HIV, influenza, hepatitis, pneumonia.
Serious ailments such as pancreatitis, hypothyroidism, kidney disease, liver disease, and cancer.
Anemia due to deficiency of vitamin B12 and iron. It must be mentioned that vitamin B12 is found in animal food items only.
Psychiatric or psychological diseases such as depression or anorexia nervosa.

Besides the above mentioned specific causes, poor lifestyle characterized with hectic work schedule, anxiety, stress, and depression may also promote low weight.

Useful Weight Gains Tips

Increasing weight with a vegetarian diet is not difficult as it seems to be. Here is a list of useful weight gain tips to help you out –

The most effective and efficient tip for weight gain is to include rich sources of protein in the diet. You will be pleased to know that there are abundant vegetarian food items that are rich in protein and promote mass building.These include various nuts such as almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, cashew nuts, pea buts, Brazil nuts, legume plant items such as peas, Bengal grams, lentils, beans, soya beans, seeds such as pumpkin and sunflower, cereals, drumsticks, soya beans, tofu, paneer, etc.
Besides protein, careful consideration must be paid to inclusion of carbohydrates and fats in the diet.Good sources of carbohydrates include various cereals such as barley, oats, millet, corn, wheat, rice, potato, pasta, dried nuts such as apricots, figs, raisins, prunes, dates, and rooted vegetables like beetroot.Good sources of fats, on the other hand, include margarine, oil, olives, avocado, various types of seeds and all types of nuts.
Including iron rich food items in the diet is also considered to be rewarding tips for weight gain. Walnuts, sesame seeds, dry fruits such as raisins and figs, leafy members of the cabbage family such as broccoli, cauliflower, green turnips, collards, kale, lentils and beans, baked potatoes with the skin, enriched pasta and enriched cereals.
Another weight gain tip is to add a spoonful of flaxseed oil to protein salads and shakes. Flaxseed oil is characterized with unsaturated fat and calories and thus assists in significant weight gain.
It is also advised that vegetarians who wish to increase their weight should try and have at least six to seven meals every day.