Why You’re Still Underweight Despite Eating More: 5 Ayurvedic Fixes

Are you tired and fed up with always eating yet still not gaining the weight you need? Achieving a healthy weight isn’t solely about overeating, it's also about digesting, assimilating, and building the tissues necessary for weight gain.

Being underweight means that your body weight falls below the required range needed for proper bodily function. Any weight outside the healthy range, whether underweight or overweight, can impact your immunity and other facets of health.

Before we dive into the reasons behind being underweight, it’s important to first determine whether you truly fall in the underweight category. You can very easily verify whether your weight lies in the optimal range or outside of it. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a tool that calculates using your weight and your height, where your weight (body mass) lies on the index.

If, according to your BMI, you’re underweight, here are some practical tips to guide you through your weight-gaining journey.

1. Weak Digestive Fire (Agni):

According to Ayurveda, the Agni refers to the body’s digestive fire, which is crucial and related to your metabolism and overall health. Agni governs your body’s digestive powers, absorption, metabolic health, and regulates body temperature. It is a process of your body transforming the ingested food into nutrients, which are further absorbed and build the tissues of your body.

When Agni is weak, it can cause irregular appetite, indigestion, gas, gurgling intestines, constipation, or diarrhoea. Even the meals you ingest aren’t fully digested, calories and nutrients slip through, leaving you hungry and undernourished.

What to Do?

 >Warm water or spiced tea before meals: Having a cup of ginger, lemon, and cumin tea before eating could potentially support digestion. Ginger is known for its anti-inflammatory and digestive properties. Lemon and Cumin are a good source of Vitamin C and antioxidants.
>Mindful meal timings: Always prefer eating at regular intervals, not skipping meals or snacking constantly. Aim for eating breakfast around 8 a.m., lunch at about 1 p.m., and dinner by 7 p.m. to maintain a steady digestive rhythm and support your metabolic health.
>Digestive spices: Adding a pinch of hing, black pepper, or ajwain to cooked grains and legumes could help stimulate the Agni.

2. Poor Nutrition Absorption:

Being underweight despite eating more means you are struggling to absorb nutrients present in the food. This inadequate absorption can lead to deficiencies and various health issues. Improving your digestive efficiency is essential to ensure the calories and nutrients you consume are fully utilized for healthy weight gain.

Steps to optimize nutrient absorption:

 >Eating Ghee-boasted grains: Cook rice, lentils, oats, or legumes, with a spoonful of organic ghee. Packed with various rich nutrients like Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Vitamins, Minerals, and Antioxidants, Ghee can be beneficial for digestion and even weight management.
>Seeds & Nuts: Nuts such as Almond, Cashews, Walnuts, etc. provide us the plant-based protein, minerals, and healthy fats in an easily absorbable form.
>Whole Grain & Cooked Vegetables: Softly cooked grains and vegetables deliver fiber and macronutrients without overburdening digestion.

3. Missing out on the power of Ayurvedic Herbs (Rasayanas)

In Ayurveda, Rasayanas are classical herbal potent tonics that are formulated to nourish the bodily tissues, help boost immunity, and enhance vitality. Sometimes, even when you are eating well, your body still seems to miss out on the full nourishing potential of the meals. 

This is when time-tested Ayurvedic secrets can make all the difference.

>Ashwagandha: Renowned for its adaptogenic properties, Ashwagandha helps the body manage stress, which can otherwise impede weight gain. It also helps in building muscle mass, enhancing stamina, and overall vitality.
>Shatavari: Particularly beneficial for women, Shatavari supports hormonal balance, improves digestion, enhances energy levels, and aids in weight gain.
>Chyawanprash: Known for boosting immunity, enhancing appetite, improving digestion, and enhancing respiratory health. Regular consumption may help in healthy weight gain by improving nutrient assimilation.

4. Dosha Imbalance

According to Ayurveda, the three doshas, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, represent the fundamental energetic forces that govern all aspects of physical as well as mental health. Each dosha has specific characteristics and can become imbalanced, leading to poor health and diseases.

Let’s learn how doshas can impact your body and how to fix them.

 >Vata Dosha: Elevated Vata can cause unstable digestion, poor absorption of nutrients, which makes it harder to gain weight. Correcting Vata imbalance is the first step towards healthy weight gain. Incorporating foods in your diet, such as root vegetables, nuts, warm tea, or water, can help pacify the Vata.
>Pitta Dosha: Known for regulating metabolism, Pitta imbalance can cause hyperacidity and inflammation, which hinders digestion and absorption. To balance Pitta, opt for cooling and nourishing foods such as dairy products and sweet fruits such as mangoes and bananas.
>Kapha Dosha: Excessive Kapha results in sluggish metabolism. Stimulating foods that are light, dry, warm, and spicy can help ignite the digestive fire for effective weight gain.

5. Disrupted Meal Rhythms:

The state of your mind while eating meals significantly influences how your body will process the food. When you are stressed out or distracted, the body’s fight-or-flight response gets activated, hampering digestive secretion and reducing blood flow to the gut. This can cause bloating, gas, indigestion, and nutrient malabsorption.

So, what can be done to fix it?

 >Dedicated Meal Time: Dedicating even 15 minutes to focused eating in a calm and tech-free environment can help your body to optimize the digestion process.
>Sensory Engagement: Engaging all your senses during meals, noticing the aroma, texture, taste of each bite, and chewing properly, stimulates saliva production and digestive enzymes, which facilitates better nutrient absorption.
>Post-Meal Pause: After eating, allow your body a few minutes to sit quietly. This brief rest allows the body to initiate the digestive process effectively.

Bringing it All Together

Gaining weight healthily and sustainably is much more complex than just ingesting calories; it's about rekindling your digestive fire, choosing foods that get easily absorbed into your tissues, supporting your body with rejuvenative herbs, balancing your doshas, and eating with mindful presence. Start by strengthening one aspect at a time and then observe how your body is reacting.