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 :]

Agruskin-You do not eat too much; do not worry. No it did not come in a bag. I got it off a website. My dad and I made it together :) We used organic vegetable broth, asparagus, red peppers, scallions, garlic, different types of oil (such as sesame and canola), brown rice, etc. It was really really yummy and totally filling! Where did you/are you going out?

yesterday morning i weighed myself * i know i shouldnt have but i had this bad dream that i gained insane amounts* silly i know. the scale though went down the wrong way though. so i upped my intake

breakfast:two natures path cherry toasters pastries(400),one satchet asian hot cereal(80)and a strawberry soymilk:one cup fortified soy(130)one serving strawberries(50)blended.

snack:one cup fesh orange juice(120)banana chips(150)m&m's ice cream bar(190)

lunch:subway club six inch(320)baked lays(130)minute maid apple juice 10 fl oz. (140)

snack:haagen daazs chocolate peanut butter(360)one cup cherries(90)blended with one cup fortified chocolate soy(130)two satchets of asian hot cereal(160)

dinner:rice(150)avocado(45)salad(15)orange chicken from panda express about 2 1/2 ounces(250)

snack:strawberries(50)half cup black cherry-vanilla frozen yogurt(100)1/4 cup macadamia nuts maui loa(230)fortified soy milk(130)

Breakfast(9:25)-WW English muffin w/ all natural peanut butter, medium peach

Lunch(12:30)-PB on whole wheat sandwich, pretzels, organic apple!

Snacks: String cheese(not low fat!) and grapes

Dinner(6:00)-Vegetable Fried Rice, and one of my scones. Yum yum!

Snacks: Peach frozen yogurt, organic apple, grapes, and a small piece of all natural dark chocolate

meeshmeesh; I LOVE subway subs, i pretty much eat them everyday for lunch now :D today I had the oven roasted chicken breast on honey oat bread! my goodness it was amazing lol!!

hi everyone, just checking in. today i bought myself some chocolate from the shop because i craved it - something i'd never have done before! (yes yes, you guessed maltesers)

about that guy who i told you about - he really did go the whole hog in recovery. when i say he ate apple pie - i mean he went to the store and bought a family sized one for himself to munch through the day! he is now the healthiest guy i know - toned muscles and a mahooosive appetite to match!

am feeling v.nervous lately, im still in a dilema about going away for 1st time in 5 years on sunday to cornwall. weather isnt going to be great and also the food we will eat wont be terribly healthy. thing is, i LOVE english fish and chips etc but feel a pig for admitting this on such a 'clean eating' board. i love eating healthy...but i used to love all the naughty food aswell....

anyway, here's today before i forget:

Breakfast: porridge made with 150ml alpro light soya milk and hot choc powder, 45g bran flakes with 200ml alpro light soya milk, sultanas, mixed seeds, pear 

 

Snack: alpen bar, pear

 

Lunch: cod loin with lemon juice and herbs, wholegrain rice, cabbage/broccoli/carrots/mushrooms

2 non fat yoghurts, 2 crackerbreads with butter and chicken

 

Snack: 40g bran flakes, 200ml alpro light, raisins, mixed seeds, 2 easy peel Clementine’s = 210kcal

 

Dinner: WW pita bread stuffed with smokey quorn ham and salad, strawberries, yoghurt, snack a jacks salt and vinegar flavour

 

Snack: 2 crackerbreads with cream cheese

 

Snack: porridge made with 150ml alpro light soya milk and hot choc powder, yoghurt, 2 easy peel Clementine’s, options hot chocolate, small bag of malteasers

 

*night snack* : porridge made with 200ml alpro light soya milk and hot choc powder, WW food doctor bagel with spread+4 slices of lean chicken, 1/2 yoghurt, blueberry ribena

 

suzy roo xxxxxxxxx

meesh- good job not letting the numbers get to you and increasing! Your day's intake is quite impressive :) especially all the ice cream, yum! I ran out day before yesterday so I need to go shopping.

agru- no, 2000 is definitely not too much, there's no such thing as too much! Hope you have fun tonight! It's starting to seem like my friends are going to bail on me :\ it's almost 10 pm here. Or they're going to call at like 11 and want to go out then and I'm starting to get tired.

suzy- it's so inspiring to hear that someone has made it through this and ended up so happy and healthy! And don't worry about eating "clean" you should use moderation of course, but go enjoy yourself on this trip! Most of us here only eat clean because we're afraid of anything else, but being able to have treats is also really important to recovery. Trust me, we all still love the bad foods, we just won't admit to it.

so I finished off my day by having another snack because I was STILL hungry after the last things I listed so I had :

s- toast with tahini and honey and some grapes. v8 juice.

d- other half of the potato from lunch, soy fajitas with beans, and stir fried brussel sprouts and eggplant.

s- not sure yet b/c it depends on whether I go out of my friends come over or nothing happens at all. Probably more jam cake with pb, a banana, and maybe hot chocolate. ..or oatmeal with banana, I can't decide!

hi everyone-

1st let me say-coffee ensure is awful!  i felt like i was going to vomit!  i forced myself to have 1/2 and then couldnt have anymore.  i went to a bar for about 1hr to meet some ppl and it was fine!  except for feeling sick and i had an excuse to elave early bc i have to be up early tomm for an interview, which was good.  instead of the other 1/2 of ensure, i made toast w/ PB.  any ideas for portable bfast, should i buy something out?  i need to be awake for these internviews!lol

GIBBIT-i hate going out at nite!  i liked it in college but thats bc i was drunk i think, lol.  i meant 2000+, bc im over 2000 now, as i know you are too! have fun!

SUZY-goooo, life is too short!  fresh fish-yum!!!!  that guy, does he still eat a lot and i bet he excercises a lot?lol, good for him!

PSYCHO-how do you go from that bfast, to lunch, w/o being hungry?  i think id be so hungry??  so cool youre dad cooks, mine just eats PB from the jar-thats about it! lol

MEESH-cant thank you enough-yum, ice cream!  do you excercise and are you active?  just trying to figure it out?  keep up the great work anf thanks for posting!

i need some serious help. last night i had constipation so i took laxatives, and this morning i "went" alright, then stepped on the scale and it was 98lbs! two weeks ago i was 92 lbs!! so 6 lbs in two weeks on 1500 cals net?? and it can't be water weight coz i've just used the bathroom before weighing..what the heck is going on?? will i keep gaining insane amounts like this? my goal weigiht set by the doctor was 98 lbs, so now IF this is real weight i should be maintianing? or even losing? on less than 1500 cals??? i'm totally freaked out and have no idea what to do..i can't go to the doctor till 2 weeks, what should i be doing now??does my body think i'm starving and so saving every calorie? so i should up my calories, what if  i gained even more weight?? sorry this took so long..but i'm very worried right now. i will be posting some pics taken today so you guys get to see the difference from the 92lbs and NOW..ugh. i hate this. my body is so ruined..will this weight ever go down or is it real weight? is it possible?

Agruskin-I eat at like 9:30 and eat lunch at 12:30 or so. I will let myself have a snack if need be, but usually I can go three hours. I also make breakfast like the biggest meal, and mine always fills me up! Coffee ensure, so it was not that amazing? Too bad! Yucky, yucky!

Suzyroo-Your friend sounds awesome! Can we meet him? lol. And you do not eat bad! I second what Gibbit told you.

Relena-Sorry that you are not doing so well! I think yes, that your body is hanging onto every calorie it can get.(starvation mode) 1500 NET calories is not enough for a person to maintain. It is usually what women on DIETS eat.(actually men as well) You should probably be eating 2000 NET calories, or just stop the heavy exercise. You can do it girl! Do not give  up!

suzyroo- Good job buying chocolate! Don't worry about eating clean on your trip. A little junk food won't hurt you! Most people eat it a lot more than you do. Ditto what Gibbit said, eating treats and foods you're afraid is really important to getting back to normal eating.

agruskin- Lol, I hate nutrition drinks! But usually the vanilla flavors are the best. Boost smoothies are also pretty good. Glad you had a nice time out last night! One of the pluses of weight gain is being able to socialize!

relena- Sorry you're having such a hard time. I agree with what psychoj said, your body is still in starvation mode and is trying to cling on to every calorie. I think you should Boost your calories to at least 2500 and stop exercising so much. This way your body will realize that you have an excess of calories and it doesn't need to take in every cal, so you'll gain at a slower rate. I usually eat 3300 cals a day and I definitely don't gain 3 lbs. a week.

Breeakfast- SNB on WW mini bagel, oatmeal with pumpkin, egg, nectarine

Snack- Almonds, berries

Lunch- Grilled cheese on WW potato bread, Rachel's exotic yogurt, Kashi TLC bar, carrots

Snack- Popcorn, yogurt, carrots, berries

Dinner- Quorn cutlet cooked in olive oil seasoned w/ cumin and garlic, two slices of rye bread with real butter

Snack- Orange, blueberries, Luna bar, extra natural vanilla ice cream, Ben and Jerry'ss

Original Post by agruskin:

hi everyone-

1st let me say-coffee ensure is awful!  i felt like i was going to vomit!  i forced myself to have 1/2 and then couldnt have anymore.  i went to a bar for about 1hr to meet some ppl and it was fine!  except for feeling sick and i had an excuse to elave early bc i have to be up early tomm for an interview, which was good.  instead of the other 1/2 of ensure, i made toast w/ PB.  any ideas for portable bfast, should i buy something out?  i need to be awake for these internviews!lol

GIBBIT-i hate going out at nite!  i liked it in college but thats bc i was drunk i think, lol.  i meant 2000+, bc im over 2000 now, as i know you are too! have fun!

SUZY-goooo, life is too short!  fresh fish-yum!!!!  that guy, does he still eat a lot and i bet he excercises a lot?lol, good for him!

PSYCHO-how do you go from that bfast, to lunch, w/o being hungry?  i think id be so hungry??  so cool youre dad cooks, mine just eats PB from the jar-thats about it! lol

MEESH-cant thank you enough-yum, ice cream!  do you excercise and are you active?  just trying to figure it out?  keep up the great work anf thanks for posting!

 no im not doing any excercise right now.usually i got for a half hour walk 2-4 days a week but i am currently studying my head off =]

psychoj- I had your oatmeal pancakes today for breakfast :) yummy.

then i had..tortilla, garbanzo beans, greek yogurt, hummus, lettuce, broc, onion, pepper, nutritional yeast. Yummm.

good day so far :D

Chinese last night wasn't so good. It was loaded in grease, which kind of scared me. My dad was right there though, so I couldn't do anything and ate it :\. The options I thought they had weren't there, so they ended up giving me kung pao tofu with veggies and rice. urgh. But hey, today's a new day. Plus, I probably gained something from that hopefully!

agruskin:  My mom is a very good cook, but actually, I do a lot of the cooking because while I do like to know what goes into what I'm eating, I actually LOVE to cook!  I procrastinate by looking up recipes!

Here's today so far.  My family is going to a really nice restaurant tonight to celebrate, because... I'm leaving the country tomorrow to study abroad for 5 months!  Usually I would restrict since I don't know what I'll be having at the restaurant, but instead I ate when I was hungry (which was a lot today!) and am definitely poised to get in more than enough cals.

Breakfast 1 (woke up at 7 am, why!?):  cup of milk with vanilla-almond granola

Breakfast 2:  egg white omelette with spinach and avocado; grapefruit; apple

Lunch:  a little left-over homemade tofu tikka masala; whole wheat pita with homemade hummus; greek yogurt with raspberries

Snack:  cup of milk with chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast; carrots

Then dinner out!

hi everyone!  so yesterday id say was about 2200 and the previous 2 days about 2000, and i already feel so much better!  altho- my body dies give me signs that im hungry, or still sick so to say, like my veins pop out when im getting hungry, or ill begin to have a hrd time concentrating.  but already this morning, i was more energetic even before having bfast than i was like 2 wks ago!  its so cool!  bad part is that when i have to change my morning schedule i then cant go to the bathroom, forl ike 3 days, i become so backed up for some reason!?

LIKEARE-wher are you going again?  have a great time!  when i was really in the ED id cook, but never eat it, now im just like, im hiungry, i want easy food and fast! lol  have a great time!!

ANGEL-sorry chinese wasnt good, that sux.  but a fatty meal out once in a while is ok i suppose.  maybe next time you pick the restaurant?  good job sticking it out!

MEESH-i just want to say thank you again!  i read your other post to me about trying to find a little balance and health is my food choices, its so hard tho.  a bagel for bfast, a bagel for lunch, i dunno, im bad.

AQUA-so weird, a while ago i used to love the ensures! maybe it was a diff flavor, either butter pecan or banana, but this was like glue!  so cool, i was able to focus and talk to ppl, not think about the cals i had eaten or some garbage like i used to!  your dinner sounds so good!  the bread and butter part esp, lol!

PSYCHO-its weird, other than rt now, i ussualy get hungry like every 2 hrs, no matter what i ate.  when im constipated-sorry-im just not hungry and it sux!

fri-

thomas mini bagel square, 1 1/2 tbspn PB, apple ~400

whole wheat bagel and tuna salad bought from bagel place ~600

DINNER WILL BE AND UNSURE OF REST OF DAY-

small veg salad, peice of rotiserre chicken, ~1/2 sweet potato...

agru- you've been doing so goood. That's great to feel energetic again, I hate when I used to wake up tired all the time and not be able to concentrate at all (Except about what I was going to eat next ). Now that you mention veins, mine pop out a lot. Is this a bad thing?

hiya, so reading all of your posts and food intakes has really ispired me to eat more and imactually feeling hungry more now which makes it easier to eat more, and cause other ppl here are in the same situation tryin to recover from an ed it makes it , i dunno...like less "bad" to be eating this much, if that makes any sense? i really belive that to recover from eds u need to change your beliefs an values when it comes to your health an size. after all if we belive only thin is beautfiul then we wont evern be happy at a normal weight n therefore wont really recover but if we , sort of, programme our minds to change an belive that healthy is beautiful then we can accept the weight gain cause were just gettin back to our old healthy selves :)...sorry random i know...i jus thought id share what i was thinkin lol.

b-oats n more cereal and milk -300 cals

s- 2 oatcakes with p/b and nutella ( yummm soo good, my new fav snack lol) , small fruit salad of half banana grapes n strawberries -300 cals

l- wholegrain breqad sandwhich with egg white, turkey, sweetcorn an relish - 300 cals

s- fortisip shake - 300 cals

d- salmon with broccoli and carrots - around 250/300 cals???

s- havent had yet but hopin to have either fruit an yogurt or piece of toast with p/b -150 cals

nibbled thru the day on these bakes corn things from health shop -50 cals

1700 cals :)

oh an i discovered a really tasty healthy snack/desert,  cut a banana in half, spread p/b on 1 half an nutella (or any choc spread) on other half, put back together and put in freezer. take out wen frozen an enjoy!! its sooo good an healthy. protein carbs, b vitamins an potassium :)

angeleyes137: my veins are always so noticable too? mayb its jus cause theres not enough fat under our skin to hide them?

agruskin: sounds like ur doin really well :) thats gr8 ur gettin signals wen ur hungry, i want to get signals so bad lol. but ive been feelin a bit hungrier lately which is good :)

likear0ck6: have a  nice dinner:) an good luck abroad , thats so awesome u get to go study away from home!! an i always wake up at 7.30 every day even if i dont get in till 4am from a nite out...its soo annoyin...i think its to do with the ed an not lettin myself relax or somethin..i dunno lol.

relena: sorry to hear ur havin a rough time with te scales :( im no expert on how the scales change etc cause im only new to tryin to gain but mayb jus give uself a few days to see if it evens out angoes down? try not to restrict that cud jus make the ed worse.

gibbit: ha im always really desisive about snacks too lol, i can never decide what i want. gr8 intake :)

suzyroo: well done for buyin urslef some choc from the shop :) i bought some today too ( went shoppin with dad..he was so happy i wanted some "non diet" food lol) hope u have a gr8 time in cornwall :) an im the samw about sometimes feeling like i need a "clean" eating thing but in recovery were tryin to learn moderation is best right? so go on an enjoy the chips if u feel like them :)

keep up the good work everyone!!!

xxxxx

 

Hey guys. i have had a pretty good day today except i am quite constipated and it is making me feel very uncomfortable. Also , went shopping for new school uniform today. I'm 15...my skirt is for 10 year olds, and its still a bit big. How silly is that.

Angeleyes137: When i was on holiday i still woke up at 7.00 am regardless. It was really annoying since everyone got up waaayyyy later.

Agru: Gosh! you are doing so well.

Likear0ck6: Hope you have a great time. I really want to study abroad too. In fact its one of the incentives for me to recover. i want to travel and there is no way my mum would let me go in the state i am in now.

Breakfast: Oatmeal made with semi skimmed milk, banana, sultana's and tbsp peanut butter

Snack: Eat Natural almond and apricot bar

Lunch: 2 slices whole wheat bread, Quorn chicken slices, tbsp light mayo, sliced tomato and salad. 180ml Innocent kids smoothie. Activa Raspberry fruit layers yogurt.

Snack: 3 ryvita with light cream cheese. Apple. 5 almonds.

Dinner: 2 Quorn lamb grills with baked potato, veggies and tbsp hot and spicy mango chutney (absolutly love this stuff!)

Snack: Ovaltine with 300ml semi skimmed milk.

Aussie-That is awesome! Seems like you are doing great. Isn't it like the best feeling ever when you know what true hunger is?

Angel-Yay for my pancakes! Lol...Too bad about the Chinese, but great job that you challenged yourself and ate some. Congrats!

Like-Have fun! You will have a blast I bet. Where are you going for dinner?

Agruskin-Yeah, it just depends on the day for me. Some days I get hungrier than others. Do not worry, you will get hungry soon!

I totally agree, coming on here is so inspiring! I've been doing realy well with the food today since yesterday started out so terribly, I'm more determined than ever today to not let it stop me. And I'm still not counting, not even estimating. I caught myself starting to add up estimates at lunch and made myself stop before I figured it out so I still have no idea what I've had today and I'm not letting myself think about it. It doesn't matter because I'm sure I needed it.

on the topic of veins, mine stick out and are really embarrasing, does anyone know why this is?? I know part of it is just a low bf% but I think it's gotten worse in the last month or two even though I've gained weight. I think they've also gotten darker? maybe I'm just paranoid.

aussie- good job incorporating more snacks, and hooray for being hungry! keep it up! That banana dessert sounds so good, I'm going to try it! I'm usually to impatient to freeze things so I'll just spread the pb on the banana and have it like that. Oh and isn't it a great feeling to see your parents so pleased with how you're eating now? I loved seeing how happy my parents would get in france everytime I asked if we could stop at another gelato place.

agru- i never could stand the ensures, I just make my own shakes with protein powder. How was going out last night? My friends bailed so I stayed in, but I'm going to a party tonight! I'm excited, but I am worried about all the junk food. I'm making chocolate banana cupcakes to take, but even those I'm making with white sugar which I never ever use, so I don't know if I'll even want to eat my own baking :\

likear- where are you going? You're going to have the greatest time ever! I studied in Spain for 5 months and it was the best experience of my life. Remember food is part of the experience, so eat up and enjoy!

Ok, and a lot of you are saying you wake up really early. So do you, I never sleep! I wake up several times in the middle of the night and always wake up before 8 no matter what. Has anyone found ways to help you sleep through the night?

Today so far:

b- greek yogurt, peach, blueberries, dried apricots and almonds. granola with soymilk.

s- soymilk with protein powder mixed in. almonds.

l- english muffin with 2 egg and soy cheese omellete, spinach and sprouts salad with almonds, olive oil and vinegar. apple juice

s- coconut juice

s- not sure yet, probably a mango and something with pb.

d- fillo rolls with chickpeas, dried fruit and veggies. bean and oats soup.

s- lots of junk at the party!!

WOOOOOOOOO POST #1000! Must claim before someone else!

aussiegirl- This forum has helped me so much. I know I never would have been able to get as far as I have without seeing all these meal plans. Their meal plans inspire me to eat that much too! And that banana thing sounds delish!

butterfly- Glad you're having a good day. Erg, these ridiculous clothing sizes are all the more motivation to gain! My bathing suit it left over from when I was 10 :\

gibbit- I constantly wake up in the middle of the night also. I just count to 100 and back down in Spanish in my head! But people in the yoga class I used to take who couldn't sleep claim that listening to recordings of waves makes them sleep through the night.. I've yet to try it. Enjoy the junk at the party!