How to Maintain/Gain Weight While on Whole 30

[Megan M.]

I have a question on behalf on my husband...we're on day 16 of our first Whole 30 & he has dropped 9 pounds. We didn't do the Whole 30 to lose weight, but rather for our health. He golfs frequently & also lifts weights. He isn't hungry in between meals, but he has been eating cashews & almonds in between meals to try to get more calories. He's always had an extremely fast metabolism & losing weight has always been a problem of his. It just seems that with this diet, our foods are extremely nutrient-rich, but relatively low in calories when compared to foods he used to eat (like pasta, bread, etc).

Any suggestions or advice as to which foods he should eat to maintain/gain weight?

[Meg Hamilton]

I'd use give him a larger serving of protein & cook his portion of your meals with more fat. Buy or make some ghee & slather it on his cooked veggies. Make homemade mayo & make dips & ranch dressing out of it, pour that on salads & fresh veggies!

[Renee Lee]

Guacamole, coconut, bacon. Put it on everything he eats. starchy sweet potatoes

[Luke91]

I lost approx 10 pounds in the first 2 weeks, I put it down to trial and error adjusting portion sizes. I did panic slightly as I was already lean and concerned I'd lost muscle mass.

I bumped up portion sizes in the 2nd half, eg 5 eggs with a whole avocado, sweet potato and veg for breakfast, 15oz fatty cuts of steak and sweet potato for lunch/dinner and making sure coconut oil is involved in everything thing. If I was hungry in between meals I hadn't eaten enough at the last meal. Post workout meal of lean protein and starchy veg is important.

Dallas has a great article on clean mass gain (if gaining weight is the priority) elsewhere on the site.