Hi

I was at the doctor today for a routine check-up, and was told by my GP that I must gain some weight, my BMI is way too low.

At the same time, my cholesterol is quite elevated, so I should eat less trans fats, sugar etc.

I've been eating mostly a clean diet of vegetables, fish and fruits, and some low-gi carbs like oat. And from time to time some chocolate/desserts.
Due to the elevated cholesterol I probably should cut off now completely the chocolates (trans fats) and cakes, but I am worried I will loose further...

So, any tipps, recipes for healthy weight gaining recipes/foods would be greatly appreciated.

maybe more fish and nuts.

Your diet already sounds pretty healthy (in my non-qualified opinion!) but perhaps you need to "up" your portions a bit.

Maybe stick in another small meal throughout the day somewhere.

People losing weight need to cut their calorie intake because they eat too much so, to apply the reverse logic, you would need to eat more (healthy) calories than you can burn.

If your chocolate has transfat, then there is no excuse for eating it in the first place. Good or even middle quality chocolate in Europe is free of transfat. You however have to look at the fillings. But Lindt and other quality products available everywhere in this country are really all good. Look at the ingredients, there are many chocolate withouth butter/palmoil. The Belgium forbid that totally, I was told (but you never know what Europe allows in very small %).

Get a diet expert, putting on weight can be very difficult for some people. You are the only one who knows whether psychological conseling belongs to the plan, we can't tell from where we are.

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You should up your portion sizes. Say if you did an average of around 2500 calories per day, maybe add an extra 1000 calories or so, for example.

There is a website www.caloriecount.com, that I use, and it's great with telling you with has how many calories.

I agree about going to a nutritionist or a holistic doctor.

I'd increase good fat intake (butter, olive oil, heavy cream, coconut oil, avocados, etc) and maybe try to slip in another meal, if you don't have time or appetite for that, try adding smoothies! I also agree with the nuts. Keep them around so you can munch on them from everywhere you spend time.

I don't know about the cholesterol side of things, so this advice may not help with that...

But when I had a low BMI I was told to try things like mixing in skimmed milk powder to milk for additional protein or adding a small amount of cheese to soups. And eating either larger portions or eating more often.

I saw a nutritionist (this was in the UK) - could you do the same?

If only real life were that simple. You are talking of a 40% increase in calorific value with no commensurate expenditure. I can't speak for everyone (and I have no medical background), but I can safely say upping calorific intake is not that easy for many underweight people. if you already have a finely tuned system, your body simply blocks additional intake after it has had its fill (most often correctly).

Calorie counting is also a spurious method. You can give two persons identical food, of say 2000 kcals. What this means is 2000 kcals is the maximum that can be obtained from that food. But everyone absorbs less than that; for some it may be 95%, for some others, it may be 70%. Causes could be a pathological mal-absorption condition, or just that that meal didn't have the right balance of nutrients to allow complete absorption etc. Two cars can provide identical energy efficiencies, but not two human bodies.

OP: how old are you and how much do you exercise? Exercise is a double edged friendly sword: it helps both overweight and underweight people. And I am curious: didn't your doctor give you tips how to put on healthy weight?

Edit: And what worked for me (may not, obviously, apply to everyone): fistfuls of nuts, 1 avocado and a piece of salmon and 2-3 spoons of olive oil, bananas and milk in generous amounts, everyday, plus upping an already active lifestyle. Voila, I gained some 5-10% of body weight and dropped resting heart rate by some 10 points!

My advice was not intended to make "real life so simple", nor was to be the solution to the OP's query. It is not Bible either. It was simply based on personal experience and common knowledge.

Of course no two people are alike, but I do know that if I'm trying to lose weight I limit my caloric intake, and the opposite if I'm trying to gain.(even though I've never had to do the the latter).

I am 33, and run around 3-4 times a week, and on the days when I don't do any cardio, I do pilates, yoga/stretching and occasionally some strength training.

Nope. I was at my nhs gp, I was in and out in about 5 minutes.

Thank you all so much for the replies so far.

Cholestorol sounds worrying since you already exercise a lot. Did you get a breakdown of the type of cholestorol? Nuts will increase the ldls or whatever they are called and boost the calories. Scarf a few after dinner.

By the way: the first source of cholesterol may be shrimps and see food if it's not butter based products. I was warned for that some years ago, and yes, it made a difference.

Nuts, oily fish, avocado, olive oil (cold/raw), cheeses.
Combine with:
wholegrain rice/wild rice
wholemeal pasta
wholegrain/german or russian rye bread

in the same meal.


Don't be tempted to:

eat sugary foods
eat fried foods
eat excessive amounts of red meat fat
eat transfats or other "bad" fats

Eat more bread and other carbohydrates. When eaten at dinner time the weight gain effect will be most pronounced.

For gaining weight more calories should be consumed every day. You should choose foods that are nutrient dense instead of settling for high-calorie junk foods. Nutrient-dense foods include fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Foods that are both energy- and nutrient-dense include legumes, nuts, seeds, olives, and avocados. You should also increase your consumption of dairy products, meats, seafood and poultry. Use seasoning blends, herbs and spices to add flavor and aroma.These food items would increase you weight keeping you healthy as well.

Like others said, add nuts and oily fish to your diet and add in an extra meal, which could be a smoothie made out of banana, soy milk and almonds (plus a bit of cinnamon), that would instantly add a lot of calories. Also, make sure you have carbohydrates in the evening and don't exercise within two hours of having them, that way the body should store them better.

I also am underweight, and lost more (divorce diet) and am trying to load it back on. I find that drinking hot chocolate / ovaltine / milk and honey before bed is a good way to increase calories, and digesting them.
Also, (and I know it's not good for cholesterol) I make sure I have full fat everything. Most low fat yoghurts for example, just make it up with sugar anyway.
Plenty of carbs, pizza is what keeps me going, you can have cheese free pizzas. Or pasta with non-cheese sauces.
Cut down on your exercise. Keep up with the pilates and yoga, they are good to keep fit, but running and cardio will burn more calories than you are taking in. (I myself just run after a toddler for exercise).
Snack during the day, carrot sticks, fruit, pitta and hummus etc etc.

Just basically do the opposite of what people are told to do to lose weight (without being a junkfood eating slob)

p.s. Do as I say and not as I do. I have not gained an ounce, because I don't do as I say.

Use slightly more olive oil and other nutritious vegetable oils in your cooking.

How are you with cheese, cream, pasta and potatoes? Alpen Magronen is easy to make, tasty and gives you lots of calories. Hope you enjoy your process of weight gaining.

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/76...ni/search/true

Best eaten with applesauce!


Another tip: Use roughly chopped walnuts, cashewnuts and other favourite nuts when baking banana cake and carrot cake. More calories and nutrition.

Eat more carbs, basically. Go for rice, potatoes etc.

Also, if you really eat the way you say you do, you should note have elevated cholesterol levels. If you still you, you might want to get that checked out more thoroughly.

Not sure I'd agree with that - most dairy products are loaded with bad cholesterol.

oh, and you might want to adopt some of those habits :-)

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatt...t-make-you-fat

'Gain weight' is a bit vague. Does the doctor want you to increase fat levels, add muscle bulk, etc? Scarfing a load of carbs when you're not used to it will add weight, sure, but could play havoc with your insulin response. Should you be changing your exercise routine during this time, doing less running and more muscle toning stuff?

If it was me - and I so don't have this problem - I'd find a good nutritionist from personal reference or asking the doctor/hospital, and get things like body fat levels checked. S/he would then be able to devise an eating plan - probably along the healthy fats, grains and proteins mentioned by others here - to gradually add weight over a sensible time scale.

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