To us regular people, Hollywood seems like a magical place where celebrities transform their bodies at will with no real health consequences. As soon as a celebrity has a baby, she effortlessly bounces back to her previous weight without breaking a sweat. Once every couple of months, a headline pops up about a skinny actor who suddenly became ripped for some new role he is pursuing. But in actuality, replicating their efforts is easier than it might seem. Here is how famous actors gain weight quickly and healthily.

Hard Work and Determination

The only difference between the Average Joe trying to shed off a few pounds between office meetings and Christian Bale dropping half of his body’s weight and gaining it back and then some in the span of four months is that their efforts are coordinated by entire teams of specialists.

Through the magic of modern marketing and PR, they make it seem like all celebrities are super humans who are capable of everything. But celebrities face the same obstacles as regular people when it comes to dedication and motivation. They are only human, after all.Even still, celebrities do not transform their bodies just by being famous – they are desperately working towards achieving goals, like landing a very specific role that requires a certain look or body shape or getting out of their artistic comfort zone by transitioning to other niches.

The good news is most of the regimes followed by famous people are accessible can be totally replicated by everybody. If this is something you intend to do, you can check this additional resource about gaining weight fast at home.  Actors are not transforming their bodies just for the sake of doing it – for them, it is a means to an end. Which takes us to the next entry…

Set Realistic, Achievable Goals

Similar to celebrities, you have to decide what exactly you want to get out of your regime, whether it is losing a few pounds or building muscle. The important thing is not to dream big – set easy, achievable and realistic goals that you know are not out of your reach. Aiming too high right from the get-go and failing will not only be demoralizing, but it will discourage you from any future attempts.

Therefore, make sure to choose a regime that suits your need and you know you can follow and then give it your all. If it does not yield the best result or you simply do not like it, there is no shame in changing it.

The important thing is to focus entirely on achieving your objectives and, after a few small victories, all the negative thoughts and excuses will suddenly vanish and following whichever strict regime will become a pleasurable, satisfying activity. With that being said, here are a few examples of where hard work, determination and a dogged pursuit of your objectives can get you.

Chris Pratt

Chris Pratt, who first broke into the mainstream by playing the loveable chubby goof Andy Dwyer in Parks and Recreation, underwent a major body transformation to take on the role of Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy. Initially, he said he achieved his new body by ditching beer, but in reality, the process was much tougher.

His training regime consisted of boxing, swimming, running, consuming over 4,000 calories, and a triathlon.Eating high amounts of the right food, hydrating properly and training for over three hours per day turned him from a well-respected character actor to being cast in big budget Hollywood blockbusters.

Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg, who was already muscular to begin with, had to gain over 40 pounds to play a bodybuilder in the 2013 film Pain and Gain. To achieve this, he followed a regime based on eating copious amounts of food (up to ten meals in a single day) and lifting weights. If you are curious about his workout routine, here is what he shared in an interview:

• Monday – back, legs and biceps
• Tuesday – triceps, chest, shoulders
• Wednesday – legs, biceps
• Thursday – Rest day
• Friday – Rest Day
• Saturday – legs, biceps,and back
• Sunday – Triceps, chest,and shoulders

So, how achievable is this for a regular, day-to-day person? Sadly, following Mark Wahlberg’s to the letter might be a tad difficult because chances are you do not have as much time in your hands as him. Jobs, family responsibilities have a tendency of getting in the way. Even though the actor’s routine is hard to replicate, there are many ways to gain weight healthily and in a timely fashion. Generally speaking, following these steps will aid you in your weight gain efforts:

• Consuming more calories than your body can expend
• Choosing foods that are rich in calories and nutrients
• Increasing dietary fat intake
• Lifting heavy weights

In other words, to gain weight, your calorie intake has to be larger than the body can burn. Since this ratio varies from person to person, use a calculator to learn your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). After finding out your TDEE number, add 500 calories to it. If you are not seeing any results after a couple of weeks, increase your calorie intake to 750 or even 1000.

Another essential thing is to eat lots of carbs and proteins. Protein can be found in eggs, almonds, milk, fish,and meat. The recommended ratio is to eat about 9 grams of protein for each pound of body-weight. As for carbs, oatmeal, sweet potatoes,and rice are the foods that you should include into your diet.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

A consistent presence in foreign films, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau achieved superstardom as Jamie Lannister in HBO’s award-winning fantasy TV show Game of Thrones. Although he admitted he does not necessarily enjoy going to the gym, he had to gain a considerable amount of weight to get into the role of Jamie Lannister.

The good news is that his training regime can totally be replicated, as it does not take an exaggerated amount of time out of your busy schedule. Similar to Chris Pratt, his regime consists of eating copious amounts of the right food and training his core for three times per week.

 It is worth noting that this particular training schedule is not suited for casual gym goers, as it is quite taxing to the body. Therefore, make sure to have at least three to four months of gym experience before adopting it. Here is a sample of his workout schedule:

• Warmup 1: Medicine ball rotational throw. Do one set with 60-second long repetition.
• Warmup 2: Plyo pushups. Do just one set, with a 60-second
• Warmup 3 (optional): One set of burpees, 60-second
• Overhead barbell press – Five sets with six repetitions each.
• Inclined Barbell bench press – Four sets, five repetitions each.
• Bench Press – Five sets with five to six repetitions.

Again, this is a rough sample and following it to the letter will not necessarily yield the same results. As always, a common recommendation is to adapt the workout schedule to your own needs and goals.

Conclusion

Celebrities are not some magical, superhuman creatures who are capable of transforming their bodies at will. Like everybody else, they gain weight healthily and in a timely fashion by focusing their minds and efforts entirely on their objectives. And fortunately for everybody involved, their regimes can be easily replicated with hard work and determination.