When trying to gain weight, it's important to not only eat high calorie foods, but ones that are nutrient-rich too. Don't just concentrate on foods high in fat, sugar and often empty calories. Gaining weight should be done in the same way as losing it - sensibly and gradually.

Eating extra calories can seem daunting if you are used to small portions or your appetite isn't great. So here are some tips

• Begin by adding in some extra snacks, and then gradually increase the total amount of food you eat over the course of the day.
• Start with a healthy and nutritious base, and then wherever you can, enrich the foods with additional ingredients such as yogurt, fruit, nuts and healthy fats.
• Continue eating a wide range of foods from all the food groups, increasing portion sizes realistically wherever possible.
• Increase the frequency of meal occasions - it's a good way to increase calorie and nutrient intake.
• Try to eat 6 times per day (3-4 small meals and at least 2 snacks throughout the day).
• Make sure that at least 3 meal occasions during the day include protein, complex carbohydrates, vegetables or salad and a source of fat.
• If you're looking to gain muscle mass rather than just gain weight, calorie and protein levels will need to be increased in the diet, but muscle mass will only grow with strength training. High protein foods such as protein bars, protein shakes or low fat milk should be included as a post-training snack to ensure maximum recovery .
• Good food choices when you're looking to gain weight: Lean meat, poultry, eggs, nuts, pulses, oily fish, olive oil, avocado, nuts, full fat dairy foods e.g. milk, yogurt, cheese.