When it comes to nutrition for muscle building and weight gain there are only three rules to remember: eat more, eat often, eat quality food.
Quantity + Quality = Muscles
There is no other way around it. In order to gain weight you need to eat more, a lot more, but you need to eat quality muscle building food rather than junk food like doughnuts and chips. Because you are aiming to build muscle rather than just get fat, eating a lot of the wrong things will not give you the results you want.
To gain weight and gain muscle mass you need to base your diet around an intake of quality protein and complex carbohydrates. Make sure you eat more poultry, fish and lean meat, eggs and low fat dairy, beans, quinoa, oatmeal, nuts, nut butter and oils. If you are vegetarian or vegan, check out tempeh and seitan meat substitutes.
The tricky bit and the main reason most people struggle to gain weight is the lack of preparations and or finances. It takes time and money to make six quality meals with meat, healthy fats and fiber on a regular basis and keep on doing it every single day. And that's exactly what professionals bodybuilders do they pre-make their meals and time each one religiously and, on top of everything else, they also drink protein shakes.
Protein Powders
Protein powders are not magic and they're not a fix it all solution, they are more of a convenience and are definitely not an absolute must.
Why do some people use them:
1) It's easier to make a shake on the go than sit down for yet another meal before and after your training session.
2) One shake will give you the alternative of eating two chicken breasts protein wise and it's a lot cheaper than buying chicken breasts too, so you can see why it's popular choice.
3) Most powders are also metabolised faster so they do give you faster visible results.
Eat Often To Gain Weight
Regardless of why you want to to gain weight, eating meals or substantial snacks think mini-meals more often is the way to pack more calories into the day.
"Try to eat six times a day, with each meal or at least three of them containing protein, starch, vegetables and fat.
Eat often and choose wisely, If you want good results eat wisely in right time and you can expect to gain an average of half a pound to 1 pound per week.