Lifestyle tips

I've been gaining for the better part of a year now but it's involved a lot of sugar (donuts, cookies, chocolate bars, etc.). I'm looking to shift some proportion of that to healthier foods, i.e., foods that induce a weaker insulin response and favor subcutaneous fat production over visceral fat production.

I already know the typical foods associated with "healthy fats"--avocados, nuts and nut butters, fish oils, coconuts products, and dairy. But are there other, lesser-known foods I can incorporate that similarly have both healthy and gain-friendly fats?

Also, I don't drink much alcohol, but I have a huge sweet tooth and don't want to give up sugar as part of my gluttony and my gaining. Is there a (comparatively, if not absolutely) healthy way to incorporate sugary treats? Does pairing them with fats and proteins help mitigate my glycemic response? For what it's worth, I already get a decent amount of sleep, drink lots of water, get a moderate amount of physical activity, and try to manage my stress levels.

Thanks for any tips and advice!

Do a web search on glycemic index, basically a measure of how much/fast your blood sugar spikes up in response to eating various foods. Generally foods with more fibre digest more slowly, so some sweet with fibre will hit you less hard than sweets and more heavily processed starches (i.e. most sweets). But to some degree sugar is sugar and always is a punch to your system, it is just a question of how sharp of a punch.

Thanks, I was familiar with the basic concept but googling definite revealed some surprises - like oatmeal has a higher glycemic index than whole wheat bread? I guess it probably depends on the bread, but this is still useful information.

Oatmeal is a good thing to have, because it contains soluble fibre, which apparently helps clear build up out of our arteries (or something like that). But it doesn't slow down digestion in the way that insoluble fibre (like the bran in whole wheat flour) does.

Good to know, thanks!

Definitely a new one to me! Thanks for the suggestion!