Everyone venturing into a healthy lifestyle or getting a fit physique has different goals to meet. It could be associated with gaining muscles or losing fat or both. Some may even wish to gain, lose or maintain their body weight as a result of the journey. Bodyweight, in a broader sense, occupies the center of our attention when it comes to fitness. Not only is it a deciding factor in our BMI calculation, but it also impacts our activity levels and endurance.
However, weight does not stand for a single entity. Our bodyweight encompasses the mass of our muscles, bones, fat tissues, and organs. But what should we aim to gain for increasing our weight? It’s the muscle mass! Planning a diet for gaining muscles goes a long way.
A 4000 Calorie a day plan will be more than the number of calories you burn in a day and this plan should therefore help you gain weight steadily. Below we have provided an example of a 4000-calorie plan to help you gain weight.
4000 calorie Indian Diet Plan for Weight Gain
-
Early Morning Snack
Start your day with a healthy boost! These foods are slightly higher in fat but remember, fat is an essential macronutrient and plays an important role in weight gain. The early morning snack is easy to digest and does not require cooking.
| Food | Quantity | Protein | Calorie |
| Banana | 112 grams | 1.2 g | 100 |
| Milk | 500 ml | 17 g | 250 |
| Almonds | 17.5 grams | 3.6 g | 100 |
| Total | 21.8 g | 450 |
-
Breakfast
Now comes the first major meal of the day! Added to the food items below, you can have a spoon full of pickle or chutney by the side to enjoy. If you don’t wish to have either vegetable paratha or Masala Dosa, worry not, you can replace them with 5-6 slices of brown bread toast and the protein count would come down to 4-5 g with no changes in calorie count.
| Food | Quantity | Protein | Calorie |
| Vegetable stuffed paratha
Or Masala Dosa with Sambar |
2 | 6 g
9 g |
350 |
| Curd | 100 g | 3.4 g | 100 |
| Homemade Paneer curry | 58 g | 11.4 g | 150 |
| Total | 20.8- 23.8 g | 600 |
-
Mid-Morning Snack
Having a snack between two large meals helps in keeping your digestive tract active and gives mental peace as well. Feel free to replace either of the ingredients with oat biscuits (4 pieces= 150 calories) or protein bars (check the brand’s nutrients’ label) if the schedule gets monotonous at times.
| Food | Quantity | Protein | Calorie |
| Groundnut Chikki or Dry fruit Chikki | 4 pieces | 8 g | 150 |
| Apple | 200 g | 1 g | 150 |
| Lassi | 1 medium-sized glass | 8 g | 200 |
| Total | 17 g | 500 |
-
Lunch
The Largest meal of the day is here! It has 900 calories, similar to what you would find in the dinner plan ahead. You can switch the plans for Dinner and Lunch if the schedule feels monotonous. However, with larger flexibility on the choice of dals and vegetables, we hope this need not demand a change soon!
Note: Cooking lunch and dinner is time consuming and can be hectic if you are a busy with work. For working professionals, appliances such as roti makers, OTGs and technologically advanced air fryers make for a quick and rather healthier alternatives to cook with and pinch some time. You may have avoided taking assistance from these up until now, but there’s no plausible reason for you keep missing out. These not only save you time and help you keep control over goes inside your body, but also are quite cost-effective given you do apt research before buying one. NovemberCulture, for instance, is a reliable resource of information that you can refer to, in order to make informed purchases.
| Food | Quantity | Protein | Calorie |
| Chapati with ghee | 2 medium-sized | 3 g | 200 |
| Sprout | 1 cup | 6 g | 100 |
| Dals/ legumes | 2 cups | 10 g | 300 |
| Mixed vegetables | 2 cups | 3 g | 150 |
| Rice | 1 cup | 2 g | 150 |
| Total | 24 g | 900 |
-
Evening Snacks
This time of the day is the most vulnerable period where you may give in to unhealthy cravings. It might be the last quarter of your office hour when pizza, sandwich, or cheeseburgers may take tours inside your mind. Do remind yourself that junk foods are not what your body deserves unless it’s rare or once in a long while.
| Food | Quantity | Protein | Calorie |
| Oats biscuits | 4 pieces | 4 g | 150 |
| Tea/ coffee (with milk) | 1 cup | 1 g | 100 |
| Roasted soybean | A fistful | 4.7 g | 100 |
| Total | 9.7 g | 350 |
-
Dinner – (900 Calories)
This is the last big meal and can be interchanged with the plan for lunch. Remember to take a short walk after your dinner to enhance digestion.
| Food | Quantity | Protein | Calorie |
| Chapati with ghee | 3 medium-sized | 4.5 g | 300 |
| Dals/ legumes | 2 cups | 10 g | 300 |
| Homemade paneer curry | 58 g | 11.4 g | 150 |
| Rice | 1 cup | 2 g | 150 |
| Total | 27.9 g | 900 |
7. Before Sleeping
A small take-care routine for your gut, much like moisturizing skin before a beauty-sleep. You may replace the Banana with 10g of dark chocolate (2 cubes) which has 1 g protein approx.
| Food | Quantity | Protein | Calorie |
| Milk+ 2tbsp skimmed milk powder | 300 ml | 10.4 g | 250 |
| Banana | 56g | 0.6 g | 50 |
| Total | 11 g | 300 |
EndNote
Following the above vegetarian meal plan for weight gain, you will be getting approximately 4000 calories and 132.2- 135.2 g of protein. If you choose to go for the alternatives provided within the description, the protein count may differ accordingly. It is worth noting that the overall calorie count, taken into account for the meal plan, is based on the standard calorie count of the food items.
The fortified foods, cookies and premade mix for any recipe may differ from the standard calorie count. However, the foods included in the plan have been chosen wisely to permit only fewer fluctuations. Go ahead and follow the meal plan for a few months along with your daily physical activity to achieve the maximum results.
