How to Gain Weight if You Have Lactose Intolerance
Gaining weight in a healthy manner does not require eating or drinking any products that contain lactose. In fact, using dairy products to gain weight is generally sub-optimal, as they are high in fat, and over-consuming them can lead to severe constipation. Lactose intolerant people have many nutritious weight gain options open to them.
Instructions
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Eat nuts, fruit and use lots of olive oil when cooking. Look for foods that contain large amounts of healthy, unsaturated fats. These are high in calories and are less likely to harm cardiovascular health or develop into unhealthy fat deposits. Look for milk or milk products in everything that you eat, or you may have trouble gaining weight, as lactose intolerance often causes digestive difficulties even when only small amounts of dairy are present, derailing weight gain efforts.
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Focus on building muscle mass rather than building up fat. Increasing caloric intake will sometimes temporarily increase the body's fat levels. So long as you are consuming enough protein--again, from healthy sources like fish, lean meat, chicken, eggs, nuts and protein powder supplements--muscle growth will occur so long as you are exercising.
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Avoid eating too much junk food of any kinds like chips, sugary food and sweetened baked goods. Junk food can temporarily increase body weight, but in underweight people, it's mass that generally does not stick with the body for a long period of time. It gives you a jiggly gut that disappears just as quickly as it came on.
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Maintain increased caloric intake balanced with regular exercise. Exercise will not harm weight gain efforts so long as the individual consumes more calories than they burn when they work out. One fantastic food type for lactose intolerant people looking to gain weight are those derived from soy. Soy milk, in particular, is rich in protein and high in calories, and contains no lactose.
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Take calcium supplements to make up for the fact that you aren't taking in any dairy. Calcium enriched orange juice is a good alternative to nutritional supplements, or nutritionally enriched cereal with soy milk. To add calories without turning to lactose containing sauces or condiments, try fatty--but healthy--items like peanut butter or avocado.
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Resources
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