How To Gain Weight Without Sugar? Tips & Foods For Weight Gain 2024

Gaining weight without sugar isn’t difficult. If you need to gain weight, we encourage you to eat foods that nourish your body without leaving you feeling tired, bloated, and dissatisfied after every single meal.

Fatty fish, whole grains, lean protein, and other wholesome choices contain plenty of calories. They’re all perfect for gaining weight without junk food, fried food, and other options with tons of unhealthy empty calories.

Here’s our take on how to gain weight without sugar—you will look and feel amazing.

Weight loss is more than a measure of your calorie intake compared to your daily caloric expenditure—that is, the calories you burn through exercise, daily activities, your lifestyle, and bodily maintenance, such as the number of calories your heart requires to pump blood every day. In short: “calories in, calories out^[1].”

Most people associate weight gain with too many extra calories, often in the form of unnecessary snacks, convenience food, and additional calories in things like restaurant meals. All of these options are, indeed, calorie-dense. These associations may be due to the fact that, in many cases, the weight gain is not purposeful, sometimes the result of a lack of time, a lack of cash for healthier, more nutrient-dense options, or even simply a lack of awareness.

Of course, there are many scenarios where building muscle mass or gaining body weight might be necessary—pregnant women^[2], for example, need to gain pregnancy weight to support their unborn child. Athletes may need to bulk up in order to facilitate a more robust athletic performance, and so on. Sometimes, a person is simply too thin for their body’s needs. In any of these situations, the need to gain weight safely through a healthy diet will be more than obvious.

Fortunately, a diet full of plenty of complex carbohydrates, high-quality protein sources, and healthy fats can assist anybody trying to gain weight for health reasons. 

5 Ways To Gain Weight Without Eating Sugar

What are some of the best ways to gain weight without refined sugar? The following strategies for gaining weight without sugar will all ensure that you’re getting the additional calories you need in order to find success.

Eat Often

The more meals you eat, the more opportunities you’ll have to add calories to your daily meal plan. Extra calories on a more frequent basis may be able to help you retain muscle mass and avoid losing weight in the long term. 

If you’re not a big eater, this may be one effective way to keep the extra calories coming—sometimes, a smaller meal eaten more frequently is much more manageable than three giant meals a day.

Calorie Counting

Calorie-counting apps like Chronometer and MyFitnessPal aren’t just for those trying to lose weight. Athletes trying to gain weight may use them to track their gains and balance their workout routines to be in tune with what they’re eating daily.

If you feel like you’re eating plenty, but you’re still not seeing any results, you should try keeping a daily food and calorie journal, either on paper or using either of the above. You might be surprised—the numbers will never lead you astray, and if you’re landing in an objective caloric deficit each evening, you’re simply not going to gain any weight, no matter how much you eat.

Weight Training

Resistance training is a fine art, and you might be able to bulk up by employing the right techniques and habits^[3]. Most will agree that gaining tons of body weight in the form of pure fat gain isn’t exactly ideal for most people. 

Building muscle means you’re stronger, leaner, and meaner for your effort, not just heavier and bigger. With weight gain inevitably comes the need to support what you’ve earned. 

Protein Shakes

Sugar-free protein shakes are an excellent way to supplement your favorite fruit or superfood smoothie. If you find yourself balking at the inordinate price tag many of the most popular protein powders boast, however, you can easily substitute this addition with things like nut butter, avocados, and other high-fat, high-protein options.

Dietary protein^[4] is extremely important in synthesizing new muscle tissue and other vital structures throughout the body. Sometimes, a rich, nourishing smoothie is one of the most efficient ways to deliver plenty of protein to your system right when it needs it most.

Choose Calorie-Dense Snacks

If you’re going to a munch, you may as well make each snack worth your while. Nuts, full-fat yogurt, grass-fed cheddar cheese, fruit with lots of nut butter, and a humble avocado toast are all perfectly calorie-dense foods, all without refined sugar and other junk you don’t need.

Foods With No Sugar for Your Diet

Still, trying to figure out how to gain weight without sugar and carbohydrates (carbs) from poor dietary choices like fast food? We’ve got plenty of advice on nourishing, wholesome options packed with calories, all without the nasty filler. 

What are some of the best things to eat when figuring out how to gain weight without sugar? Whole grains like brown rice are a given—what else should be on your plate?

Avocados

Avocados are some of the most calorically-dense whole foods under the sun—the average avocado boasts more than 300 calories, and they can be used in a myriad of ways.

Moreover, avocados offer your diet plenty of fuel, all without the downsides of many other options that offer you the same number of calories per gram. Including avocados in your diet daily may be able to help you shift your abdominal adiposity distribution^[5], allowing you to gain weight without storing fat reserves in this dangerous and highly risky area.

Nuts and Seeds

Nuts are some of the best healthy foods for gaining weight for many of the same reasons. One cup of walnuts contains more than 500 calories and is full of brain-friendly omega-3 fatty acids. Others like Brazil nuts offer you selenium, one of the rarest nutrients to be found in abundance in natural, whole foods.

Nuts and seeds contain healthy fats and can contribute a lot to each meal and snack. Toss them on top of a smoothie, or simply eat a few out-of-hand when you need a boost. 

Olive Oil

Olive oil is another major heavyweight in the way of healthy fats. Part of the world-famous Mediterranean diet^[6], this versatile ingredient can be used to add a dose of healthy fats to everything from pasta dishes to lean cuts of protein and poultry. 

The monounsaturated fat called oleic acid is largely credited for olive oil’s anti-cancer properties, anti-inflammatory benefits, and even its ability to withstand high heat without degrading and smoking. Add a side of brown rice, and you’re good to go! 

Summary

A whole-food diet full of protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats can all boost weight gain, even if you cut refined sugar out of your diet entirely. When you’re eating right, healthy weight gain can be a pleasure. Try out these suggestions and feel the difference for yourself.

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