Are you underweight, and have you tried many methods without success in improving your weight? So, what is a scientific and effective way to gain weight for skinny people with poor absorption? How can you help your body absorb nutrients better and achieve your desired weight?
How to Gain Weight for Skinny People with Poor Absorption
For skinny people with poor absorption, safe and effective weight gain isn’t simply about eating a lot. First, you should consult a nutritionist for a diet plan tailored to your body type. Additionally, you can refer to the following weight gain methods, especially for those with a constitution that makes absorption difficult:
Consume More Calories Than You Burn Daily
The first goal is to create a positive energy balance, meaning that your calorie intake is higher than your calorie expenditure. For skinny people with poor absorption, the weight gain strategy needs to maintain a surplus of 300 to 500 kcal per day. An effective way to do this is to increase the calorie content of each meal with energy-dense foods such as avocados, olive oil, brown rice, oats, weight gain milk, or whole grain cereal powder.
Effective Weight Gain with Nutrient-Rich Beverages
One effective way to gain weight is to incorporate a variety of nutrient-rich beverages into your daily diet. Drinks like milk, fruit juices, fruit smoothies, vegetable smoothies, or whey protein not only provide abundant energy but also essential vitamins and nutrients. These components help boost metabolism, thereby enabling optimal nutrient absorption and maximizing the effectiveness of the weight gain process.
Supplement Protein-Rich Foods
Protein is a combination of 23 types of amino acids, playing a fundamental role in cell building and muscle development. According to nutrition experts, supplementing with protein-rich foods is key for skinny individuals to gain weight quickly, while also promoting comprehensive body structure development. For optimal weight gain and muscle building, you should prioritize good protein-rich foods such as fish, meat, eggs, milk, and dairy products. These choices not only help improve weight effectively but also enhance overall health sustainably.
Increase Carbohydrate Intake
One effective way for skinny individuals to gain weight is to increase their carbohydrate intake. Carbohydrates serve as the primary fuel source for bodily functions, providing and maintaining abundant energy. By increasing the consumption of this nutrient group, the body will build energy reserves, thereby effectively supporting weight improvement and overcoming prolonged weight deficits.
To incorporate carbohydrate-rich foods into their diet, skinny individuals should prioritize foods like tubers, white rice or brown rice, oats, whole-grain bread, etc. These foods are both easy to absorb and contribute to promoting healthy and sustainable weight gain.
Prioritize Healthy Fats
For skinny individuals with poor absorption, weight gain requires a smart nutritional strategy, in which good fats – specifically unsaturated fats – play a crucial role. These are an important source of stored energy, helping to maintain stable daily bodily functions. Furthermore, fats are also building blocks for cell membranes, supporting the strengthening of the immune system.
To improve weight safely and sustainably, you should actively add foods rich in healthy fats such as nuts, whole grains, olive oil, etc., to your daily diet. This not only helps with natural weight gain but also enhances overall health.
Eat Multiple Meals Per Day
For skinny individuals with poor absorption, one effective way to gain weight quickly is to divide meals into smaller portions combined with increased nutrition in each serving. Instead of just eating 3 main meals, eat more meals throughout the day so that energy intake is spread evenly, helping to maintain stable blood sugar levels and supporting a smooth metabolism.
When energy is continuously supplied, nutrient absorption becomes optimally efficient, thereby leading to significant weight improvement and supporting sustainable weight gain for skinny individuals. Ideally, daily food intake should be divided into 6 meals: 3 main meals and 3 snacks, with just enough food to avoid overloading the digestive system.
Do Not Skip Meals, Especially Breakfast
Skinny individuals aiming to improve their weight must absolutely not skip meals, especially breakfast. When hungry, the body utilizes energy reserves from muscles, liver, and other vital tissues. This makes it even harder for skinny people to gain weight due to the loss of necessary lean mass.
Meanwhile, breakfast plays a crucial role in kickstarting metabolism, providing energy, boosting health, and preparing the body for all daily activities. Therefore, ensure you don’t skip any meals throughout the day, especially breakfast, to build a strong physical foundation and achieve optimal weight gain results.
Exercise and Sports
Physical training not only helps improve health but is also an effective weight gain method by stimulating the body’s energy demands. When exercising at the right frequency and intensity, the body expends energy, thereby significantly improving appetite. As a result, skinny individuals will consume more nutrients, supporting muscle gain and optimal weight improvement. Sports suitable for weight gain such as swimming, cycling, and gym workouts should be maintained regularly to achieve the best results.
Get Enough Sleep Daily
Getting enough sleep not only helps restore energy but also improves sleep quality, supporting optimal metabolic processes. When the body rests deeply and on time, its ability to absorb nutrients and eliminate toxins significantly improves. As a result, skinny individuals can easily maintain a refreshed mind, good appetite, and sustainable weight gain.
Reasonable Work and Rest Regimen
Prolonged fatigue causes the body to reduce activity to conserve energy, while also decreasing appetite. When working or studying intensely without adequate rest, eating and digestive efficiency are severely affected. Therefore, establishing a reasonable work schedule combined with scientific rest is an effective way to gain weight, helping to stimulate appetite and increase nutrient absorption.
Improve Digestive System
A weakened digestive system is the main reason for reduced absorption efficiency. Even if you increase your nutrient intake, if your digestion is poor, your body will still struggle to gain weight. Therefore, skinny individuals need to focus on improving their digestive system by consulting the Gastroenterology department at reputable hospitals. There, doctors will provide detailed advice on appropriate and safe weight gain support methods.
Nutrition Consultation
If you have tried many effective weight gain methods and your underweight condition has not improved, seek consultation at the Nutrition department of reputable hospitals. Doctors will conduct clinical examinations and perform paraclinical tests as indicated to find the root cause of difficulty gaining weight. Based on the diagnostic results, they will provide appropriate treatment plans to help improve body weight safely and effectively.
Why Do Skinny People Have Difficulty Absorbing Nutrients?
In reality, many factors, from body physiology to lifestyle, directly impact the ability to convert food into nutrients. Understanding the causes will help you identify the right effective and sustainable weight gain methods:
Poorly Functioning Digestive System Leads to Poor Nutrient Absorption
People with a weak digestive system often struggle to break down and absorb nutrients. Even if food is consumed sufficiently, it may not be converted into energy. This condition occurs in individuals with chronic digestive disorders, enzyme deficiencies, or poorly functioning small intestines. Additionally, if you frequently experience bloating, constipation, or diarrhea after eating, it is likely that your digestive system is experiencing problems.
High Metabolism Causes the Body to Burn Energy Continuously
Some chronically skinny individuals have a naturally high metabolic rate. This causes their bodies to burn more calories than average, even at rest. No matter how much they eat, it’s not enough to compensate for the calories expended. If you belong to this group, gaining weight will require double the effort compared to others.
Irregular and Unscientific Eating Habits
Irregular eating times, skipping breakfast, or eating too little are common reasons why skinny individuals cannot improve their weight. Some people eat a lot in one meal and then fast for subsequent meals or snack instead of having main meals. This causes the body to lack stability in receiving essential calories and nutrients.
Sedentary Lifestyle and Poor Quality Sleep
Skinny individuals who are sedentary often have sluggish circulatory and digestive systems. Prolonged sitting, late nights, and chronic stress also affect nutrient absorption. Sleep plays a significant role in body recovery and promoting growth hormones; without enough sleep, the weight gain process will be interrupted.
Psychological Factors and Underlying Medical Conditions
Prolonged stress, depression, or excessive anxiety can cause eating disorders. Skinny individuals often do not feel hungry or lose their appetite. Additionally, certain conditions related to the thyroid, liver, intestines, or parasitic infections can also reduce nutrient absorption.
Sample Weight Gain Meal Plan for People with Poor Absorption
A weight gain meal plan is not simply about eating a lot. Chronically skinny individuals need to adhere to a scientific eating schedule, where protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates must be present in every main meal and snack.
- Divide into 5–6 meals/day: helps prevent stomach overload and supports stable digestive enzyme activity.
- Prioritize calorie-dense and high-energy foods: such as avocado, bananas, cheese, cereals, oats, eggs, fatty fish.
- Combine beverages that aid digestion and increase absorption: smoothies, weight gain milk, protein-fortified soy milk, bone broth.
- Gradually increase portion sizes each week: to allow the body to adapt to higher calorie levels.
Breakfast (6:30 AM – 7:00 AM)
- 1 bowl of oatmeal cooked with unsweetened fresh milk, topped with peanut butter
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 glass (200ml) of weight gain milk
Mid-morning Snack (9:30 AM)
- 1 glass of avocado smoothie (ripe avocado + condensed milk + fresh milk)
- 5 – 7 walnuts
Lunch (12:00 PM)
- 1 bowl of white rice (or soft brown rice)
- 1 portion of pan-seared chicken breast
- Boiled green vegetables (broccoli, carrots)
- 1 bowl of yam and minced pork soup
- 1 glass of fresh apple juice
Afternoon Snack (3:00 PM)
- 1 slice of whole-grain bread with fried egg
- 1 glass of nut milk (almond or walnut milk)
Dinner (6:30 PM)
- 1 bowl of rice + pan-seared salmon with honey sauce
- Vegetable salad with olive oil dressing
- 1 bowl of seaweed soup with lean pork
- 1 fresh avocado eaten directly
Before-bed Snack (9:00 PM)
- 1 glass of hot milk mixed with cereal powder
- 2 rice cakes
Important Notes and Mistakes When Gaining Weight for Poor Absorbers
Below are important notes and common mistakes that skinny individuals with poor absorption should avoid to improve weight, increase nutrient absorption, and maintain overall health:
Not building a scientific weight gain diet is the most common mistake. Many people think that just eating a lot will lead to weight gain. However, if the diet lacks sufficient protein, healthy fats, or B vitamins, the body will not be able to absorb and convert them into muscle or energy.
Skipping breakfast or eating at irregular times also disrupts metabolic processes. This imbalances a scientific eating schedule, reducing calorie absorption efficiency, especially for individuals with weak digestive systems.
Eating too many fried foods and sugary items only increases visceral fat without helping build muscle or achieve healthy weight gain. Energy-dense foods must be carefully selected, prioritizing protein-rich snacks, various cereal powders, whey protein, and weight gain milk instead of fast food.
Not combining muscle-building exercises is a major oversight. Skinny individuals with poor absorption often neglect physical activity, leading to a sedentary lifestyle that negatively impacts energy metabolism and appetite. Gentle exercises help stimulate digestion and improve the metabolic system.
Gaining weight too quickly with uncontrolled supplements can cause digestive disorders, increasing fat but not muscle. Some cases may experience protein absorption allergies or issues like reverse absorption in the small intestine, which are not detected in time.
Lack of sleep and prolonged stress disrupt hormones, affecting hunger and absorption capabilities. Individuals aiming to gain weight need to get 7-8 hours of sleep daily and manage stress with appropriate relaxation methods.
