By Shannon Clark

Are you one of the many guys who struggle to gain weight? If so, take comfort in knowing that you aren't alone. Building muscle for anyone is not an easy process and for some, it can be remarkably hard. These individuals, who are often referred to as "hardgainers," are really going to have to push their dietary efforts to the limits to start seeing measurable progress.

Here is the lowdown on a hardgainers diet and what a hardgainer grocery list needs to look like:

Hardgainer defined Before discussing the hardgainer grocery list, you need to understand exactly what a hardgainer is and check that your workouts and current diet are conducive for muscle gain.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

Are you taking at least two days a week off from lifting and one day for complete rest? Are you incorporating the "big 5" (the squat, deadlift, shoulder press, row, and bench press) exercises in your program? Are your gym sessions no longer than one hour long? Have you ever totaled how many calories you are eating during the day? If yes, is the total at least 15 times your body weight? Are you eating at least one gram of protein per pound of body weight? If you answered no to any of these questions, you may not be a hardgainer; work on fixing the issue and see if results start coming. If, on the other hand, you are doing all of the things listed above, then you need to really look at your diet and create a hardgainer grocery list.

Unless you're supplying your body with more building blocks and energy to build new muscle tissue over and above what it's currently using to maintain your body as is, weight gain will not happen. This part of the equation is the No. 1 reason why guys struggle to gain muscle.

However, you can get around this by choosing your foods carefully.

What dietary adjustments need to be made Once you establish that you are a hardgainer, you need to eat according to certain dietary principles.

First, you need to eat foods that are as dense with calories as possible, but low in terms of volume. If you eat foods that pack a lot of fiber or have high water content, you'll get full and bloated before you meet your caloric needs.

For this reason, foods such as fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, popcorn, diet sodas, egg whites, and so on must be avoided in large quantities. Fruits and vegetables are obviously important for good health, but you really don't need much to meet your nutritional requirements.

The hardgainer grocery list The hardgainer grocery list should focus on:

Dry oatmeal Dry oatmeal should be on every hardgainer grocery list, because it's a great way to double up on your calories without feeling overly stuffed. Top it with some sliced banana, drench it in milk and you have a good, high-calorie breakfast. You can also sprinkle protein powder on it to really boost the protein content.

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