Weight Gain

I am copying the many times copied thread, "What did you eat today?" in hopes of helping some of those who are just starting to gain and have no clue what to eat. I know that when I began weight recovery, I was eating tons of low-cal foods just because that's what I was used to. I learned the hard way that dense foods are essential to weight gain when you have high caloric requirements (at one point I needed 4500 cal to maintain my weight on BEDREST). Perhaps newbies can get some ideas if we post our weight gain meal plans! Even if you're not gaining anymore, grab an old one and post it!:]

Please note that every body is different and some will need more or less calories than others to gain. This thread is just so that you can get an idea of what you need.

Oh, and yes, I'm breaking the "no calories, no portions" rule, since it is pretty helpful in this case. If you want to post cals/portions you can. I just ask that you don't post if you're not eating enough, though as this is a weight gain thread, I would hope none of you are undereating.;]

I'll start....

Breakfast (875 cal)*

• 1/2 cup oatmeal (150) cooked with
• 1 cup evaporated whole milk (300)
• 1 mashed banana (100)
• 2 tbsp peanut butter (200)
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed and cinnamon to taste (50) 
• 1 hard-boiled egg (75 cal)

Morning Snack (300 cal)*

• 1/4 cup mixed nuts (200)
• 1/4 cup dried apricots (100)

Lunch (660 cal)*

• 1/4 cup rice cooked in 1 cup chicken stock (300) and
• 1/2 cup canned or cooked chickpeas (145) and
• 1/3 cup shredded cheese (150) and
• 1/4 cup each onion, peppers, and tomato (30) cooked with
• 1 tbsp olive oil and curry powder to taste (120)

Afternoon snack (390 cal)*

• 1 serving baby carrots (35)
• 1/4 cup hummus (155)
• 1/4 cup mixed nuts (200)

Dinner (875 cal)*

• 1 cup of my insane Mac & Cheese recipe (515)
• 2 cups tossed salad (45)
• 2 tbsp rasins (60)
• 2 tbsp sunflower seeds (105)
• 2 tbsp dressing (150)

Evening snack (480)*

• 1 cup plain whole milk yogurt (180)
• 1/2 cup homemade granola (300)

About 3600 calories :]

psychoj im glad im not the only person finding it hard to trust my body and youre right, eating naturally is way harder than gaining!

aquaev i love ben and jerry's too, i have a weakness for the kinda sickly ones like chunky monkey and phish food though haha. but its simple to measure, an average ice cream scoop is 50ml, so take as many flattened scoops as you want and calculate it that way :)

agruskin thai curry is soooo easy, just buy a curry paste from your food store (go for authentic ones rather than branded ones, the authentic ones are just herbs and spices so all natural) and add 40g of curry paste to 400ml of coconut milk (comes in a tin) really you cant go wrong :P

also, in the gym i do (google the names for some diagrams ;) ) tricep dip, hammer curl, lateral raises, dumbell fly, all using dumbells and i use machines for seated row, chest press, shoulder press, leg extension and leg curl....when i first started i only did the machine exercises because the free weights were too tough for my non-existant muscles lol. hope this helps :)

I'm not gonna write this in order.

I was actually hungry today for the first time in 2 years.

And I ate.

And ate

ANd anyway, what the hell - if I haven't gained 1 lb by tommorrow then I could be reccomended for in patoent treatment fot the 3rd time.

Anyway......

40g rice crispies; 100mls us soya milk; 7 dried prunes; 1 homemade little vegan banana muffin; 250mls strawberry alpro; 700kcals of peanut butter; 4 slices wholemeal bread (74kcal each); 1 alpro vanilla pot; 2 satsumas; 20-30 dried apricots; 36g (dry weight) brown rice; 2 vegan 'fish' fingers; 2 pink vanilla wafers; lots of grapes.

 

Oh my god.

 

Aquaev-No I have not had any in forever! I actually think I am going to get some. Also the fact that it is all natural and I saw (tv) where b+j's was first made, and they are very green. So I need to have some, maybe I could use that as an excuse to go to Earth Fare :)

Peanut butter-It is GREAT that you ate and were hungry, no matter how much it was! That happened to me last night. I ate more than I thought was "acceptable" and felt bad, but in reality, that is how most people eat: eat more one day, then less the next.(but not on purpose!)

Here is more of what I have eaten and what I will eat:

Lunch: Peanut butter sandwich made with all natural and also organic peanut butter with blueberries and grapes

Snack: Organic apple

Dinner: Tacos(two whole wheat tortillas filled with lean ground beef, tomatoes, lettuce, refried beans, and light all natural sour cream!)

Snack: IDK!

 

hi everyone-

PEANUTBUTTER- it honestly doesnt seem like that much for a whole day's eating!  but being hungry, oh my goodness, the more i eat the mroe hungry i am!  it is so weird, i am always hungry now.

AQUA- ITS FINE THAT YOU EAT THE KASHI  and ice cream or whatever, even if you didnt need to gain weight foods like that are fine, i just have a prob justifying eating it myself.  i love other kashi bars tho.  this morning for snack i had a choc pretzel kashi bar-so good!! lol

CHARLIE-THANKS for the info.  i printed out a free weight/toning routine from the internet.  i try to do it 2/wk.  ive never had curry and dont think my parents have either but i think a lot of ppl eat it in europe, right?  it sounds great, thanks! 

well im not at 2000 cals whatever that # amy mean,  but im still wondering what it takes to show a gain.  last 3 days ive been averaging 1500 cals and i truly truly felt as though i had gained since 10 days ago, but i didnt.  do ppl just keep increasing till when?  i dont get it?  how often to increase and to weigh?

so many qs!  ahh! lol

insight? thanks!

Aqua- Thanks!!!! I recently found this site and so far everyone has been so supportive. By the way, how tall are you?

Anyway...

Breakfast (290) -Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal -Small Banana -1/4 cup Egg Substitutes -Red. Fat Swiss Cheese (I know, I should be eating full fat!)

Snack (340) -2/3 of a cinnamon raisin bagel -Toasted Nuts'n Cranberry Luna Bar

Lunch (375) -Turkey and cheese on a tortilla -Broccoli -Apple -6 Almonds

Snack (420) -Plain Low fat yogurt -1/2 cup granola -I cup cantaloupe -2 tbsp raisins

So far, this is a really good day for me!!!! I didn't get to dinner yet, but I'll post when I do.

So im 97lbs and 5"2. I use to be 115-120, and am in the process of trying to get back there. I have had my gallbladder removed in feb. '08 and endoscopy in june '08 an ercp to remove stones in my common bile duct also in june of '08 and I still have extremely elevated liver enzymes. Im scheduled for one more test, which they hope to fix my problem this week and well as one more surgery if the test comes back positive.

 

Its so encouraging to see so many people in recovery from weight issues. right now im really not on a schedule. I've kind of put myself on this eat whatever as much as i can plan. I have a goal of 2500 i try shooting for everyday, but seem to come up short. I've just started, any suggestions?

Britnie- I just started recovery as well and found that yogurt, protein bars such as Luna bars, and oatmeal prepared with milk are good things to eat. Also, nuts and nut butters are great to eat because they have HEALTHY fats and protein too. Good luck and remember to just keep trying!

agruskin: finding the # of calories I needed in order to gain weight was definitely a trial and error sort of process.  When I was losing, I was eating about what you're eating to gain on (1500-1600), so I started out by upping my cals to about 2000 (figuring that with 500 extra cals a day, I'd gain about a pound a week).  When that didn't work, I upped my cals by about 200/day each week until the scales began to show a gain.  In high school, my nutritionist recommended 2400 for me to gain on (with exercise), but I now have to eat about 3000 to gain.  I increased rather quickly because I have a fairly short time frame that I need to gain in.  It was definitely uncomfortable for my body to get used to eating so much more so quickly, but I'm slowly getting more and more used to it (even if my mind doesn't like the idea).

And Britnie, definitely looking at others' meal plans is helpful - there are a lot of obvious ways to hit your calorie goal (especially by eating a lot of calorically dense foods that pack a punch but don't make you feel super full), but a lot of the people on here have some really good, high calorie, and tasty-looking meal suggestions that might inspire you, too!

So today for me:

Breakfast:  scrambled egg whites with 1/2 a medium avocado; 1 cup Fage 0% with 1 tbsp almond butter and 2 tbsp strawberry jam

Snack:  1 carton Carnation Instant Breakfast; 1 cup cranberry juice

Lunch:  bowl of homemade vegetarian minestrone; 1/2 a wheat english muffin with vegan cheddar cheese; 4 oz strawberry Yoplait topped with toasted wheat germ

Snack:  smoothie with 1 cup skim milk, 2 scoops chocolate protein powder, 1 large banana, and 1 cup Puffins peanut butter cereal

I'm about to head to the gym (my plan is to do about 45 min of running and about 30 min of weights), and then...

Dinner: more minestrone; 1 cup apple juice; 1/2 wheat english muffin with 1 tbsp almond butter

And dessert with my friends!  I sort of dread eating out (especially for dessert), but hopefully I'll be able to relax a bit and indulge a little.

hi everyone, welcome BRITNIE-

okie dokie!  i AM going to gain 12 lbs this summer!  is that a good amount? lol  i cant beleive that i stayed the same weight the past 10 days, i jsut cant, it really felt and looked like i gained!?

LIKEARE or anyone really, lol, i am no where nearly as active as you are nor have i ever been, that sort of scares me and makes me beleive that these huge amounts of cals that some are eating is not for me.  the past 3 days i was at 1500, today i will go for 1600, its really all an estimate, some things i just guess my amount and cals.  SO IF i THINK THAT MY BMR IS 1500, i would want 2000 to gain 1 lb a wk?  scarey-1 lb a wk!  when do you guys think i should increase next and by how much?

TRIGIRL-great job!  was that a regular bagel from a bagel store or like the smaller supermarket ones?  i was so close to buying Thomas' bagels today at the store but 1 bagel is like 4 carbs in 1 sitting, its my problem i suppose, youre doing the right thing, awesome!

everyones doing amazing!

pre run breakfast: banana with peanut butter, 1/4 cup heritage o's cereal

post run breakfast: 2 cups vanilla rice krispies, 1 strawberry kiwi activia yogurt, 1/2 cup rice milk

snack: cherries

lunch: 1 wholewheat english muffin with almond butter and strawberry jam, 1 apple, 1 source blueberry yogurt

snack: blueberries

dinner: 2 cups mushrooms sauteed in canola oil, with 1/3 cup pasta with pasta sauce, 1 cup broccoli with hummus, 1 strawberry source yogurt

snack: 1 nectarine, 10 strawberries with nectarine source yogurt, 1 cup heritage o's, 1/2 cup honey nut cheerios, 1/3 cup mocha frozen yogurt

trigirl-I'm 5'7". What about you? Good job with the bagel, they've always been one of my biggest fears. But now I love them, especially whole wheat!

ok ,so im trying here, but im wondering if anyone else has this problem-  itll come time to eat and i wont be able to decide what to have and i end up making and eating the same things all the time.  i never really end up trying nre recipes and just always eat the same things.  im not able to listen to my body bc lunch time or wahtever will come and ill try and think what i want, but ill just be blank.

do you have any favs i should try?  i dunno.  at night ill lie in bed sometimes thinking of all the diff options that i could eat the next day and it drives me nuts.  im so weird.

mon-

BFAST-VITA MUFFIN, VANILLA YOGURT, FRUIT, TRAIL MIX

SNACK- some kashi choc pretzel bar

LUNCH-CHEESE SANDWICH, FAGE YOGURT, APPLE

SNACK- CEREAL+MILK, FRUIT, TRAIL MIX

DINNER- TOASTED SANDWICH W/ CHEDDAR CHEESE +SOY CRUMBLES, LOADED SALAD

SNACK-APPLE,YOGURT

Aqua- I'm 5'4 but I havn't had a big growth spurt yet (courtesy of ED)!!! I should be around 5'8 or so when I grow more. I know, I havn't had a bagel in forever. It is scary to eat so much, but I am proud too.

Agruskin- It was a store bought bagel. It was actually a Thomas bagel. My nutritionist said that 1/3 of a bagel was a carb, so I usually split a bagel into thirds and eat it as part of my snack.

Our fear of carbs is ridiculous! Not criticizing, I just think it's funny, bagels scare me too.

Here's what I ate today:

breakfast- another 900+ calorie concoction of banana, dates, grapes, strawberries, walnuts, protein powder, kashi go lean crunch, whole milk yogurt, fage total, and honey.

snack- apple juice

lunch- used the tofu alfredo sauce from yesterday and made it with scrambed eggs in a tortilla, plus large salad and a carrot. I'm running out of olive oil!! Berry juice.

snack- another carrot, apple slices with pb, toast with cream cheese, rasberry jam and walnuts on top

dinner- brocolli, same gnocchi's with tofu mushroom alfredo sauce, apple juice.

snack- another crazy oatmeal made with chopped apple, dried mango, walnuts, almonds, 1/2 cup instant oats and 1/2 cup granola, maple syrup, earth balance margarine, microwaved with soymilk, topped with vanilla ice cream.

ugh, so full!

you guys are all STARS :)!

 

Breakfast: Oatmeal with skimmed milk, Banana, 6 dates, brown sugar + 45g Bran flakes.

Snack: Soynut butter + Jam on a wholewheat english muffin, 330ml innocent smoothie.

Lunch: Carrot, lentil + corriander soup and a multiseeded baguette with sliced turkey style Quorn and cranberry sauce.

Snack: An apple, an orange a pear, 150ml live yoghurt, honey and 10 soynuts.

Dinner: Quorn steaks (cracked black pepper), baked sweet potato, roasted courgette slices, runnerbeans, fine trimmed carrots and horseradish sauce.

Snack: cocopops mega munchers (dry) and 2 insant hot chocolates.

trigirl- I was just nearing the end of my growth spurt when my ED started. I probably still have another inch or so to grow, so I'll be around your height!

Breakfast- Whole wheat mini bagel with soynut butter, oatmeal made with almond milk with cinnamon stirred in, apricot, almond milk

Snack- I don't know yet...

Lunch- Mini bagel spread with veggie cream cheese, Fage TOTAL (AHHHHH!) with fruit sauce thingy thing, TLC PB bar, carrots

Snack- Berries, carrots, Yoplait kids, pudding, Boost smoothie

Dinner- Homemade 4-cheese lasagna (made by me- super high fat!), slice of ciabatta bread w/ butter

Snack- String cheese, orange, almonds, Lara bar, Ben & Jerry's, smoothie made with avocado, banana, and soy ice cream

I'm not so sure this smoothie will turn out well (avocado?).. oh well, it's worth a shot. I'm planning to eat Fage Total today, I'm so scared! I eat the 2% kind often, but the nutrition of this one scares me. And I'm making lasagna tonight! I love to cook, but a couple months ago I was just making like, 90 cal soups and stuff. So much more fun when I don't have to make stuff low cal!

aqua- I put avocado in smoothies a lot! It's really really good and makes it extra creamy. I also eat fage total a lot. The fat content is scary! but it's amazing in recovery. I was eating low fat yogurt almost daily so this is such an easy switch and it's so good with honey and nuts mixed in. And the good news, which really makes me relax a bit with it is that I know it will be really easy to switch back to the 2 %  when I don't want to gain anymore.

As for me, I've gotten back into logging my calories and I need to stop so I'm trying my hardest to not log anything today, it's so hard!! I'm already calculating my breakfast in my head and am dying to know how accurate I am but I will NOT DO IT!!

Aquaev- I think that cooking is so much fun! I bet it is hard though, going from making 90 calorie soups to lasagna! But I am guessing that it is more fun making stuff that you want, rather than what you think you should have. Can't wait to here about how all the food you are making turns out! Yummy yummy!

Gibbit- I am struggling lately with that too. And the fact that I seem to have been eating less lately does not help! Listening to our bodies is so freaking hard! And I have lost weight. This is so frustrating! x(

Breakfast: Apple Cinnamon Organic Oatmeal made with skim milk(can't drink whole...yuck! I have grown up on skim!) and one piece of whole wheat bread with organic butter and organic peanut butter!

hi everyone-

AQUA-im the same w/ skim milk, also diet coke

GIBBIT- i tend to "fear" anything i cant count the cals of so a bagel doesnt have a nutritional guide on it if its from a store, adn therefore i cant count it.  but w/ the carbs, yea, i think ive been eating the equivelant of 4/ day so today im going to go for 5.

i made 1600 cals yesterday after 1500 the 3 previous days and i weighed myself this morning and was up 2 lbs from yesterday morning.  i know that their are weight fluctuations all the time but i really feel like that was a more accurate picture of my increase over the last 10 days from going from an intake of 1300ish to 1500ish.  im obviously still underweight and still need to gain.  i still feel a lack of energy throughout the day and am hungry a lot, but i feel like i need to increase in increments.  if my bmr is 1500, yesterday i hit 1600, what do you think my next increase should be and when?

also, i have this problem w food, where i will think during the day of something id want to try for dinner but when it comes time to eat/make it, i dont want it anymore and end up eating the same things for my meals.  now i like the foods that i eat, but i tend to gravitate to the same things all the time and never try anything new.  i try to "listen to my body" but when it comes time to eat its like my body isnt saying anything so i just make the same things over and over..ugh!?

Ergh. This is difficult. I want to intuitively (is that the right word) eat and not count but I know I naturally eat low calorie amounts. \: I also want to fix my metabolism and KNOW the level I am at will not do that. But counting and numbers set me off on BAD paths - one minute I'll estimate, then I have to know exact numbers, then I'll be on the scales first thing in the morning... ugh.

I was told it's quite so bad to have a medium or half-fat equivilent dairy during recovery as long as you still keep your calories up. o_o; My doctor mentioned it in that it's okay to have semi-skimmed or 2% or half fat cheese and such such as long as you try to stay away from no fat. Most of them have more or less the same amount of nutrients (calcium and so on) with less saturates. This was from a GP, though, not a nutritionist. I can't stand the taste of most full fat dairy anyway, it's too rich for me >__< But I make sure to eat at least half fat.

Oh. And, I asked this in the recoverer-club, but will ask here too: is it normal to be eating a higher percentage of sugar than normal? I mean. I don't go crazy, but I sometimes come out with probably 5-10g more sugar than is RDA, and while a portion of that is from fruit it's still... well, sugar. I have a bad sweet tooth, ha.