Best Weight Gain Supplements For Skinny Women

March 17, 2023

Lift Big Eat Big is not just for the male lifter looking to gain immense strength and size. We also have a HUGE loyal female following who want to smash the stereotypical norm of how women should look. Forget the dainty, fragile, and bone skinny look perpetuated by mainstream media. That’s all bullsh*t!

As a follower of the Lift Big Eat Big philosophy, you know that being a strong muscular woman is what exuberates health, wellness, and shows an amazing physique.

Not to mention you can now outlift most of the boys at your gym. This is all possible with the right training and dedicated eating. And guess what? Every powerful woman started somewhere. And it definitely wasn’t strong and muscular.

So, here are the best weight gain supplements for skinny girls that will help you build that strong and healthy physique you’ve been dreaming of.

Header

Best Weight Gain For Skinny Woman

Crazy Nutrition Mass Gainer

Best Lactose Free Weight Gain Supplement For Skinny Women

Carnivore Complete

Best Protein Bar Weight Gain Supplement For Skinny Women

Primal Protein Bar

Best Vegan Weight Gain Supplement For Skinny Women

Best Vegan Weight Gain Shake For Skinny Women

Product

Allergies

Gluten Free

Gluten Free/Dairy Free

Gluten Free/Dairy Free

Gluten Free/Meat Free/Dairy Free

Protein

40 g

13 g

15 g

16 g

Calories

488

180

260

240

Price

weight gain supplements for women

The problem with the vast majority of mass gainers are the large quantities of cheap fillers used to ramp the total calorie count per serving. Usually in the form of maltodextrin. Maltodextrin is a simple carbohydrate that digests very quickly. Essentially, it’s pure sure without the sweetness.

Maltodextrin has its purpose. For example, providing quick fuel for a hard training session as it digests quickly and easily. However, taking large quantities of maltodextrin every day to gain weight provides no added benefits other than calories.

Enter the Crazy Nutrition Mass Gainer. I’m very skeptical when it comes to supplement companies and their formulations. Most of them are overmarketed hype hidden behind proprietary blends (always a red flag).

Mass Gainer by Crazy Nutrition is a breath of fresh air and provides more than just a boost in calories. Let’s take a quick look at the main ingredients list:

  • Gluten free oat flour
  • Pea starch
  • Whey protein blend of whey isolate and concentrate
  • Sweet potato flour
  • Creatine monohydrate
  • Flaxseed powder

As you can see, all of your carbohydrates are coming natural food sources. Hence why the sugar content is so low in this weight gain supplement.

Since the carbohydrates come from natural food sources, you’ll get the vitamins and minerals associated with oats, peas, and sweet potatoes. Not to mention omega 3 fats from the flaxseed powder.

It’s also packed with digestive enzymes so you don’t experience any bloating or gas which other mass gainers give you. While the creatine monohydrate means you don’t need to buy a separate supplement during your weight gain process.

Here’s how the macros breakdown per serving:

Calories

Protein

Carbs

Fat

488

40 g

55 g (7.5 g sugar)

10 g

For a skinny woman, this serving size provides you with over a third of your daily protein intake making it something you can sip on during your day. It comes in two flavors, chocolate and vanilla. Two classic flavors you can’t go wrong with.

See my full Crazy Nutrition Mass Gainer review here.

How Much Should You Take?

I would recommend taking ½ serving in the beginning. As a skinny woman, you won’t need an extra 500 calories per day to gain weight. ½ serving after dinner, or between meals during the day will easily get the job done.

It still provides you with 20 g of protein and 27 g of carbohydrates which is a meal in of itself.

Best Weight Gain Supplement For Skinny Women

Crazy Nutrition Mass Gainer

Best Weight Gain Supplement For Skinny Women

Paleo Pro Carnivore Complete Grass Fed Beef Protein Powder

Paleo Pro Carnivore Complete

It's not often I'd recommend a product that isn't purely protein. But since weight gain is your number one goal, you need calories. And a scoop of typical weigh protein may only give you up to 120 calories. While other weight gain supplements will consist of one serving size often more than 500 calories!

Within these 500 calories is only 30 g of protein. For a larger male looking to gain mass, this is great. For the average skinny female, an extra 500 calories a day is a sure-fire way to gain a lot of extra fat mass with your muscle mass.

Carnivore Complete is what I could deem an inbetweener. It is in-between a protein and weight gain supplement. This makes it perfect for the skinny woman looking to gain weight as you're getting more calories than a protein powder but less than a mass gainer.

Finally, women generally have lower absolute protein requirements because they are lighter than men. If you are a 125 lb female, your protein target to while gaining weight is anywhere between 100-125 g. Carnivore complete provides anywhere from 10-13% of your daily protein intake in this example.

The quality of the beef protein is the best you'll find on the market. It is grass fed beef from New Zealand (my home country) who have some of the strictest animal welfare laws around. Low quality beef proteins are made from cow hooves and other off-cuts.

Paleo Pro doesn't cut these courses. After talking with them, they assured me their beef protein is made from pure beef. And if you're wondering if beef protein will hinder your weight gain compared to whey protein, it doesn't seem it will based on the current research we have available showing similar gains in lean body mass.

Let's take a look at the nutritional information:

Calories

Protein

Carbs

Fat

180

13 g

0 g

13 g

If you are a 125 lb woman, that’s already approximately 10-13% of your minimum daily protein requirement to grow or maintain muscle mass in just one serving [1]. As it is made from beef and beef organs, it is very high in vitamins and minerals which you won't find in a typical whey protein.

As many women supplement with iron through a multivitamin or iron tablets through their menstrual cycle, this beef protein provides with extra iron. It's like having a small portion of red meat each day. Regarding its taste, I was pleasantly surprised. It tastes nothing like meat.

It even tastes better than most whey proteins to be honest. Like a hot chocolate flavor that mixes very easily. Most mass gainers will leave you feeling so full that you feel sick afterward. This will be the easiest 180 calories you'll get without any stomach distress.

Carnivore complete is dairy free and gluten free so there's no need to worry about allergies. Especially since 75% of the world's population loses the ability to digest lactose as they reach adulthood [3]. So, you’re not alone if you are intolerant to lactose.

How Much Should You Take?

I would recommend taking one-two servings per day. That would give you a little over 26 g of protein making it much easier for you to hit your protein target. Secondly, two scoops will give you approximately 360 extra calories per day on top of what you normally eat.

Best Lactose Free Weight Gain Supplement For Skinny Women

Paleo Pro Carnivore Complete

Best Protein Bar Weight Gain Supplement For Skinny Woman

Paleo Pro Primal Protein Bars

Paleo Pro Primal Protein Bar

Sometimes you want to chew something. Drinking protein supplements, while quick and easy, doesn't provide the same satisfaction as chewing your food. Also, if you live in a hot climate and need to take your protein already mixed with you, you're screwed.

Having protein bars on hand to help you gain weight will make your life easy and you can get a whopping 260 calories with just one bar! And this isn't the typical sugar filled protein "candy" bar. Let me list out the main ingredients of the Primal Protein Bar that I have in front of me:

  • Cashews
  • Soluble Prebiotic Fiber
  • Beef Protein Isolate
  • Honey
  • Cherries
  • Egg White Protein

And there's plenty of other goodies in this bar. Let’s break down the numbers of the Cherry Cashew flavor:

Calories

Protein

Carbs

Fat

260

15 g

26 g

14 g

This is exactly why I have recommended for you. An estimated daily caloric intake for a woman weighing 125 lbs is 1800-2000 calories per day. One of these bars gives you a great snack you can use to easily increase your calorie intake.

I wasn't sure if I'd like the Cherry Cashew flavor as I'm a chocolate lover. But the way they've mixed the ingredients provides a really tasty protein bar. It will get stuck in your teeth though as it is quite sticky! But that's how you know it's legit.

How Much Should You Eat?

I would recommend one bar per day which would give you approximately 260 extra calories on top of what you are already eating. This can make a great treat at night before bed or if you're on the run during the day.

Best Protein Bar Weight Gain Supplement For Skinny Women

Paleo Pro Primal Protein Bars

Best Vegan Weight Gain Supplement For Skinny Women

PhenQ Meal Replacement Shake

Best Vegan Weight Gain For Skinny Girl

While I don’t recommend going vegan if you are trying to gain weight, some women opt to be vegan for ethical reasons which I respect. Vegans often struggle to maintain a high protein intake because there are very few pure protein sources that are vegan.

That is why I highly recommend the PhenQ Meal Replacement Shake. Yes, their website states its for weight loss. But weight loss isn't about the product you use. It's about consuming less calories than you burn. So, if you take PhenQ Meal Replacement Shakes on top of your current daily eating habits, you WILL gain weight.

It is made from pea protein to provide epic plant power. The added bonus? It's also gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and non-GMO so if you have any food allergies you can rest assured knowing you can use this weight gain supplement.

Let’s break down the numbers:

Calories

Protein

Carbs

Fat

270

16 g

5 g

16 g

This is a true meal replacement supplement to help you gain weight as a skinny woman. 270 calories may not be a lot but you're not stuck using only one serving. The epic thing about PhenQ Meal Replacement Shakes are the calories aren't made from sugar fillers.

Most weight gain supplements will use sugar to astronomically increase the carb count and the total calories. PhenQ doesn't do this. Instead, calories are mainly derived from coconut oil, pea protein, and linseed flour. Doesn't get more natural than that. 

Regarding it's taste, it is like a chocolate malt shake or a chocolate cake. Nothing better than a great tasting drink full of calories to help you gain some muscle mass!

How Much Should You Take?

I would recommend starting with one serving per day to give you approximately 270 extra calories per day and to boost your protein intake stress-free. If you start to see yourself gain weight, great! If you don't see your weight increasing, up your dose to one and a half to two servings.

Best Vegan Weight Gain Supplement For Skinny Women

PhenQ Meal Replacement Shake

Best Creatine For Weight Gain For Skinny Woman

Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine Monohydrate

Ah yes. The most misunderstood supplement on the market. And funnily enough, the supplement with the most evidence behind it. Don’t believe what the mainstream media reports about creatine. It is not a steroid. Nor will it make you lose your hair or cause so much bloat you look like the Michelin man (or any man for that matter).

Creatine works by providing more instantly available energy for the working muscles. It binds to a molecule called phosphate. These phosphates are used for energy and the more creatine you have in the muscle, the more phosphates you have.

The result? You are likely to be able to produce more force, power, and potentially even perform extra reps with your heavy weights. For example, lifters can potentially see an increase in strength of 8% [5]. All of this equals more muscle growth!

The benefits don’t stop at the physical level. Creatine may even protect your brain from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's so you can also reap brain benefits too [6]. And for those of you who are vegetarian, it may even enhance your memory [7] with the side effect of your friends calling you rain (wo)man.

The moral of the story? Take your creatine.

Which Type Of Creatine Is Best?

Creatine monohydrate. Why? Because it’s been studied immensely and even against other forms of creatine. No other creatine has shown greater benefits and creatine monohydrate is the cheapest of the lot. The only reason companies market other forms of creatine to you is because they can mark up the profit margins.

How Much Should You Take?

Take 5 g (1 tsp) every single day. You don't need to load it as that personal trainer tells you with big arms and no legs. You don’t need flavored creatine either. Just add 5 g to your weight gain protein shake each day or into a smoothie and you’re good to go.

Best Creatine For Weight Gain For Skinny Woman

Creatine Monohydrate!

When Should You Take A Weight Gain Supplement?

This is entirely up to you and how you like to plan your eating schedule. If you already eat a protein and carb-rich meal after working out, then you don't need to use your weight gain protein supplement at this time.

However, if you struggle to eat after training or you need to travel a long-distance home, then I would recommend having your weight gain supplement directly after your training.

If you are taking two servings or one large serving, you don’t need to drink both servings in one sitting. You can split these up so it’s easier to digest and more pleasant. For example, having one serving with breakfast and one serving with dinner as dessert.

Or you can use one of the servings as an easily digestible pre-workout meal. What you will notice is you just need to try drinking your weight gain supplement at different times and see when you feel best.

Finally, when taking creatine, take it any time of the day every day.

Are Weight Gainers Safe For Women?

Weight gainers are perfectly safe for women. Just be cognizant of how your body feels after taking your supplements. Do you feel overly full and bloated? Split your doses up into two separate servings instead of one big one.

Feel like you aren’t digesting dairy well? Opt for the Paleo or Vegan alternative. The Crazy Nutrition Mass Gainer has digestive enzymes within the product so small additions like that can make all the difference.

Which Protein Is Best To Gain Weight For Women?

Whey protein has consistently shown to spike the building of new protein (i.e. muscle) to a greater extent than other forms of protein [2]. The same is seen when you compared protein supplementation compared to just carbohydrates [8].

However, not everyone can tolerate dairy-based protein powders. Hence why I've offered dairy-free alternatives in this article.

How Quickly Should You Gain Weight?

1% of body weight as a weekly average is considered the upper limit of weight gain without gaining significant body fat along with muscle mass. It seems that the optimal rate of weight gain sits anywhere between 0.3-0.6% of body weight per week on average.

What Is The Best Weight Gain Pills For Females?

There are no best weight gain pills for females because they don't fit into the logical equation of calories in vs. calories out. No pill will give you the calories you need to gain weight that a weight gain supplement will.

For example, it is impossible to fit 500 calories of mass gainer powder within a few tiny capsules. Therefore, if anyone is selling you magic weight gain pills, you know it's a scam.

Why Crazy Nutrition?

Crazy Nutrition is my number one choice for multiple reasons:

  • They've moved away from the typical maltodextrin mass gainer formula and provided carbohydrates from natural food sources.
  • Added digestive enzymes to the mass gainer is a huge added bonus especially when taking in large volumes of food as you try to gain weight.
  • It's very high protein making it very easy to hit your daily protein intake.

Why Paleo Pro?

There are a few reasons I’ve recommended Paleo Pro within this article:

  • They have very high-quality ingredients. For example, their beef protein is sourced from grass-fed cows in my home country, New Zealand where some of the strictest animal welfare laws are in place.
  • For those following a low carb or keto diet, Paleo Pro offers a unique formula without carbohydrates but still relatively high calorie.

Best Weight Gain Supplement For Skinny Women

Crazy Nutrition Mass Gainer

References

1. Morton, R. W., Murphy, K. T., McKellar, S. R., Schoenfeld, B. J., Henselmans, M., Helms, E., ... & Phillips, S. M. (2018). A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. British journal of sports medicine, 52(6), 376-384.

2. Phillips, S. M., Tang, J. E., & Moore, D. R. (2009). The role of milk-and soy-based protein in support of muscle protein synthesis and muscle protein accretion in young and elderly persons. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 28(4), 343-354.

3. Mattar, R., de Campos Mazo, D. F., & Carrilho, F. J. (2012). Lactose intolerance: diagnosis, genetic, and clinical factors. Clinical and experimental gastroenterology, 5, 113.

4. Phillips, S. M. (2011). The science of muscle hypertrophy: making dietary protein count. Proceedings of the nutrition society, 70(1), 100-103.

5. Rawson, E. S., & Volek, J. S. (2003). Effects of creatine supplementation and resistance training on muscle strength and weightlifting performance. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 17(4), 822-831.

6. Beal, M. F. (2011). Neuroprotective effects of creatine. Amino acids, 40(5), 1305-1313.

7. Benton, D., & Donohoe, R. (2011). The influence of creatine supplementation on the cognitive functioning of vegetarians and omnivores. British journal of nutrition, 105(7), 1100-1105.

8. Cermak, N. M., Res, P. T., de Groot, L. C., Saris, W. H., & van Loon, L. J. (2012). Protein supplementation augments the adaptive response of skeletal muscle to resistance-type exercise training: a meta-analysis. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 96(6), 1454-1464.

About the Author

I am a professional strength & conditioning coach that works with professional and international teams and athletes. I am a published scientific researcher and have completed my Masters in Sport & Exercise Science. I've combined my knowledge of research and experience to bring you the most practical bites to be applied to your training.

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