Banana Shake for Weight Gain: Does It Work, When to Drink It, and How Many Days It Takes

Short answer: a banana shake for weight gain works when you drink it in addition to your meals. Two bananas and 250 ml of milk is about 370 kcal; with peanut butter or oats one glass passes 500 kcal. Drink it at any time you will not skip a meal. At 250 to 500 extra kcal a day, most people gain about 0.25 to 0.5 kg a week, so expect the first kilo in two to four weeks.

Most people who search for a banana shake for weight gain are not looking for a recipe first. They want to know three things. Does it work? When should I drink it? And how many days until I see a change? So this guide answers those first. The recipes come after, with every calorie number traced to a source.

Does a Banana Shake Increase Weight?

Short answer: yes, when it adds calories to your day. A banana alone is only about 105 kcal. The milk, peanut butter, oats or dates are what turn it into a 500 to 650 kcal glass. And because it is a drink, your body does not cut back on other food to make room for it.

Weight gain has one rule. You must eat more energy than you burn, day after day. A banana shake does not change your body. It just makes the extra energy easy to take in.

Here is why a shake beats a plate of extra food for this job.

In a Purdue University trial, 15 adults added about 450 kcal a day for four weeks, first as a solid snack and then as a drink. With the solid food they ate less at other meals and made up for it fully. With the drink, "no decrease in free-feeding energy intake occurred." Body weight and BMI "increased significantly only during the liquid period." (DiMeglio and Mattes, International Journal of Obesity, 2000.)

That is the whole case for shakes. Solid food fills you up, so you eat less later. A drink slips past that. For someone who struggles to finish a big meal, that is exactly what you want.

The banana itself is the base, not the engine. Per 100 g, ripe banana is about 89 kcal and 1.1 g protein by the USDA table, and about 105 kcal and 1.2 g protein per 100 g in the Indian Food Composition Tables. A medium banana weighs about 118 g. So one banana gives you roughly 105 kcal and 1.3 g protein. It also brings about 420 mg of potassium. Good, cheap, and sweet enough to skip sugar. But not calorie-dense on its own.

Curious how much protein the plain shake has? Our banana shake protein guide breaks down banana plus milk gram by gram.

How Many Calories Are in One Glass of Banana Shake?

Short answer: about 230 kcal for one banana with 200 ml of toned milk. About 370 kcal for two bananas with 250 ml. Each tablespoon of honey adds about 64 kcal, and two tablespoons of peanut butter add about 190.

This is the question behind ek glass banana shake mein kitni calorie hoti hai. It depends on what goes in the glass, so here is the table.

USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy values per 100 g, scaled by USDA portion weights. See Sources.

One thing about milk. Indian packaged milk comes in grades. By the Indian standard, toned milk is 3.0% fat, full-cream is 6.0% fat, and double-toned is 1.5%. The USDA row we use is whole milk at 3.25% fat, which sits closest to toned. Full-cream milk adds more calories per glass. Read the carton, not this page, for that number.

When Should You Drink a Banana Shake for Weight Gain?

Short answer: any time you can drink it without skipping a meal. Mid-morning, after a workout, or 30 minutes before bed all work. The research is clear that your total food for the day matters more than the clock. Never drink it right before a main meal.

This is the most searched question on this page, in English and in Hindi: बनाना शेक कब पीना चाहिए. The honest answer is less exciting than the internet makes it.

A meta-analysis of 23 studies on protein timing found that once total protein intake was accounted for, "no significant differences were found between treatment and control for strength or hypertrophy." The authors wrote that the results "refute the commonly held belief that the timing of protein intake in and around a training session is critical." (Schoenfeld, Aragon and Krieger, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2013.)

So there is no magic hour. Pick the slot you will actually keep.

The one timing that does have evidence: before sleep, if you train

Two trials from Maastricht University looked at protein just before bed. In the first, 40 g of casein 30 minutes before sleep was "effectively digested and absorbed" overnight and improved whole-body protein balance after an evening workout. In the second, young men who took 27.5 g of protein every night before bed for 12 weeks of weight training gained more strength and more quadriceps size than those on a placebo.

Milk protein is mostly casein. So if you lift weights, the whey-and-peanut-butter shake below is a sensible bedtime pick. If you do not train, pick whichever slot you will keep.

How Many Days Until a Banana Shake Shows Weight Gain?

Short answer: at 250 to 500 extra kcal a day, most people gain about 0.25 to 0.5 kg a week. So the first kilo shows in two to four weeks, and 3 to 5 kg takes two to three months. This is a rule of thumb, not a formula. Weigh yourself once a week, same day, same time.

This is banana shake pine se kitne din me weight badhta hai. Nobody can give you an exact day, and here is why.

The common rule says about 7,700 kcal of surplus equals 1 kg of body weight. It comes from a 1958 paper by Max Wishnofsky. A 2008 analysis by Kevin Hall at the US National Institutes of Health showed the rule only roughly holds, and that the real number shifts with how much body fat you start with and how much of the gain is muscle versus fat. So treat it as a guide.

Two practical rules. First, find your starting point. The ICMR-NIN 2020 reference energy for a sedentary Indian man is 2,110 kcal a day and 2,710 for moderate work. For women it is 1,660 and 2,130. If you are already eating that much and not gaining, the shake goes on top. If you are eating far less, the shake and a proper third meal both matter.

Second, weigh weekly, not daily. Your weight swings by half a kilo or more in a day from water and food. A weekly number, taken in the morning before eating, is the only one worth writing down.

If nothing has moved after three weeks, add another 200 kcal to the shake. A second banana, or a spoon more peanut butter. Our weight gain shake recipes without supplements has seven more ways to do that.

How to Make a Banana Shake for Weight Gain

Short answer: milk first, then the calorie booster, then two ripe bananas. Blend in two short rounds. Drink it between meals, never instead of one.

This is banana shake kaise banaye weight gain ke liye. The order matters in a small blender.

1. Pour the milk first. Blades spin freely in liquid and nothing cakes at the bottom.
2. Add the booster. Two tablespoons of peanut butter. Or 30 g of oats soaked in the milk for ten minutes. Or soaked almonds and pitted dates.
3. Add the bananas. Two ripe ones, broken into chunks. Speckled skin means sweeter fruit, so you can skip the honey.
4. Blend in two rounds. Thirty seconds, rest, then another 20 to 30 seconds. Thick shakes come out smooth this way in a portable blender.
5. Drink it on top of a meal. Mid-morning, post-workout or before bed. Not before lunch or dinner.

Frozen banana makes a thicker, colder shake without ice watering it down. Peel, chop and freeze a few at a time.

5 Banana Shake Recipes for Weight Gain, With Calorie Counts

Short answer: five glasses from about 540 to about 650 kcal. Peanut butter for the cheapest calories, oats to stay full longer, dates and almonds for the traditional taste, whey for protein, avocado for good fats. Every number below is computed from USDA values.

Each recipe makes one large glass. The tables show where the calories come from, so you can swap things and still know your number. All five use the same basis as the table above: USDA per-100 g values, USDA portion weights, and toned milk counted as USDA whole milk at 3.25% fat. Full-cream milk adds more.

1. Peanut Butter Banana Shake (about 650 kcal)

The one to start with. Peanut butter is the densest common calorie source in an Indian kitchen, at about 598 kcal per 100 g. Pick an unsweetened peanut butter so the sugar comes from the fruit.

Method: milk and peanut butter first, blend 10 seconds to loosen it. Add bananas and honey. Blend 30 to 40 seconds.

2. Oats Banana Shake (about 540 kcal)

Oats add slow carbohydrate and fibre. This is the shake for people who find liquid calories leave them hungry an hour later. Any plain rolled oats work.

Method: soak the oats in the milk for 10 minutes. Add bananas, honey and a pinch of cinnamon. Blend a full minute for a smooth texture.

3. Dates, Almond and Banana Shake (about 550 kcal)

The traditional one. Khajoor-badam milk has been given to thin children in Indian homes for generations. The banana turns it into a thick shake.

Method: soak the almonds overnight and peel them. Soak dry dates in warm water for 10 minutes. Blend the milk and almonds first for 20 seconds, then add dates, bananas and a pinch of cardamom. Blend 45 to 60 seconds. For a version without banana, see our dates milkshake recipe.

4. Whey, Peanut Butter and Banana Shake (about 650 kcal plus your scoop)

The protein pick for people who lift. The base shake is the peanut butter recipe above. Then add one scoop of whey protein. Scoops differ, so add the calories and protein printed on your tub. Most scoops list their protein in the 20 to 30 g range. Check the label.

Method: milk and whey first, blend 10 seconds so it does not clump. Add peanut butter, bananas and honey. Blend 30 to 40 seconds. This is the one to have before bed on training days.

5. Avocado Banana Shake (about 650 kcal)

The highest-fat option, for people who want calories without protein powder. Avocado is about 160 kcal per 100 g, nearly all from fat. It also makes the thickest shake of the five.

Method: milk, then avocado, bananas and honey. Add chia if using. Blend 40 to 50 seconds until fully smooth. Avocados are the priciest item on this list, so the peanut butter shake gives similar calories for far less.

Want more variety? Our dry fruit milkshake and the 520-calorie weight gain milkshake use the same method with different bases.

How Much Protein Do You Actually Need?

Short answer: the Indian RDA is 0.83 g per kg of body weight a day, or 1 g per kg on a mostly cereal diet. To build muscle with weight training, sports nutrition bodies suggest 1.4 to 2.0 g per kg, and gains level off around 1.6 g per kg.

A shake with 15 to 20 g of protein covers a good chunk of the day for a 60 kg person. Here are the targets, so you know where you stand.

Notice the gap. A gym-goer needs roughly double the ordinary RDA. Two bananas and milk alone give about 11 g. That is why the peanut butter and whey versions exist. For shakes built around protein first, see our 620-calorie protein shake for weight gain and the ten blender protein shake recipes.

Will a Banana Shake Make You Fat Instead of Muscular?

Short answer: without exercise, extra calories are stored mostly as fat. With regular weight training and enough protein, a larger share of the gain is muscle. The shake is the same either way. What you do between shakes decides the result.

This is a fair worry, and the honest answer has two halves.

If you are underweight and just want to reach a healthy weight, some fat gain is fine and expected. Your body needs it. The shake does its job.

If you want the gain to be muscle, you need resistance training. A 2018 review of 49 trials with 1,863 people found that adding protein to a weight-training programme increased fat-free mass by about 0.3 kg on average, and that "protein supplementation beyond total protein intakes of 1.62 g/kg/day resulted in no further" gains in lean mass. Protein plus training builds muscle. Protein without training does not.

So pair the shake with three or four sessions of lifting a week, and keep daily protein near 1.6 g per kg. Then most of what you gain is the kind you wanted. Our homemade mass gainer guide is built for that phase.

Which Blender Handles Thick Shakes?

Short answer: any jar blender does. A portable blender bottle also works if you pour the milk first and blend in two rounds. For oats, dates and almonds, the higher-power bottles with a pulse mode are the safer pick.

Every recipe on this page was written for a bottle blender, because that is what most hostel rooms and office bags have space for. Two rules make it work. Liquid in first. And blend twice with a pause, so the fruit drops onto the blades.

Making only the whey version? You do not need blades for that. An electric shaker mixes powder, milk and a mashed banana without lumps, and it is easier to rinse at the gym.

Not sure which type suits you? Our manual vs electric shaker vs portable blender comparison settles it in two minutes.

सीधे जवाब हिंदी में: बनाना शेक और वज़न

Straight answers in Hindi, for the questions people ask in Hindi.

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Questions People Ask

Sources & References

1. USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy: Bananas, raw · Milk, whole, 3.25% milkfat · Peanut butter, smooth, without salt · Oats, dry · Dates, deglet noor · Almonds · Avocado · Honey · Chia seeds. Per-100 g values and portion weights.
2. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017, ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. Food code E012, banana, ripe, robusta: 440 kJ (105 kcal), 1.23 g protein, 23.63 g carbohydrate per 100 g.
3. ICMR-NIN Nutrient Requirements for Indians, RDA 2020, summary note. Protein RDA 0.83 g/kg/day (1 g/kg on cereal-based diets); energy 2,110 / 2,710 kcal for men and 1,660 / 2,130 kcal for women, sedentary / moderate work.
4. DiMeglio DP, Mattes RD. Liquid versus solid carbohydrate: effects on food intake and body weight. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2000;24:794-800. PMID 10878689.
5. Schoenfeld BJ, Aragon AA, Krieger JW. The effect of protein timing on muscle strength and hypertrophy: a meta-analysis. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2013;10:53. PMID 24299050. See also Aragon & Schoenfeld, Nutrient timing revisited, 2013, PMID 23360586.
6. Res PT et al. Protein ingestion before sleep improves postexercise overnight recovery. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2012;44:1560-9. PMID 22330017.
7. Snijders T et al. Protein ingestion before sleep increases muscle mass and strength gains during prolonged resistance-type exercise training. J Nutr 2015;145:1178-84. PMID 25926415.
8. Jäger R et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2017;14:20. PMID 28642676.
9. Morton RW et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength. Br J Sports Med 2018;52:376-384. PMID 28698222.
10. Wishnofsky M. Caloric equivalents of gained or lost weight. Am J Clin Nutr 1958;6:542-6. PMID 13594881. And Hall KD. What is the required energy deficit per unit weight loss? Int J Obes 2008;32:573-6. PMID 17848938.
11. Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India: Packaged Toned Milk comparative test. Full-cream 6.0% fat / 9% SNF; toned 3.0% / 8.5%; double-toned 1.5% / 9%.
12. World Health Organization, Five Keys to Safer Food (poster). Refrigerate perishable food promptly; do not leave it at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

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