Calories to Recover

[snickers6907]

I recently decided I need to gain weight because of health reasons. I am at a low BMI but all my blood is normal except for low white blood count and bradycardia. I like to think that I eat very healthy (no highly processed things, lot of fruits, veggies, healthy fats, fish, etc) but Its not enough calories. I currently eat about 1300 a day. Looking for suggestions on how to and how much to increase. I am ready to gain as long as its healthy weight and hopefully goes to areas of need!

[Alittlelost]

It depends how much you exercise and how active you are but a 500 calorie increase per day should see a half a kg weight gain per week I’d say try increase to around 2000 calories if you really still want to be super healthy try having double servings of this high in calories such as nut butters like cashew and almond and add these in as snacks throughout the day also hummus with extra virgin olive oil added in and nuts in general are high in calories also cheeses and full fat yougurt and dark chocolate is healthy but can be added in as a snack that won’t fill you

[snickers6907 in reply to Alittlelost]

I wouldn’t say that i exercise but I do walk a lot. Increasing by 500 scares me a lot and I don’t know if my stomach could handle that. Do you think I could start by adding just like a 300 calorie snack of nuts & what you mentioned first ? Thankyou so much for your input

[Alittlelost in reply to snickers6907]

Yes I get what you mean about your stomach handeling it if my honest bloating is inevitable at the start of weight gain but don’t worry at all trust me the weight redistributes to the rest of your body fairly quickly also full fat yogurt and blue cheese have some kind of probiotics or something im not sure what the exact science is but basically they are good for your stomach and aid digestion also nuts are protein and can make you feel full but your stomach will definitly be able to take more as they are only small and yes honestly anything is a start don’t worry to much about how much you increase some days you will be able to eat more then other but I would say push yourself a bit , good luck !

[Houseelf]

Trust your body. Whatever you consume at this stage will be sent to where it needs to be. Alittlelost gave great advise. I noticed you didn't mention any grains - these will help!! I had low white blood count too. Try smoothies with oats, banana, cocoa powder and a nut butter. Using bloomer seeded loaves are great too. Salmon as well, full fat yoghurt (or coconut yoghurt if you prefer), German rye bread.... With these foods it is easy to reach those higher calories.

[snickers6907 in reply to Houseelf]

Thankyou for your suggestions ! I eat a lot of yogurt but maybe if I switch to full fat like you said I won’t even notice. It’s totally psychological to

[Houseelf in reply to snickers6907]

You know I found it embarrassingly hard to switch as it was just that - psychological. Now I eat it everyday. It is meant to be much better for you than the 0 stuff anyway because it doesn't go through so much of the stripping process. The fat in the yoghurt is linked with calcium I think - I can't quite remember the science! But I remember it being good for fat soluble vitamins and bones.

[snickers6907 in reply to Houseelf]

Lol. I’ll give it a try. This might be tmi but when adding in snacks, I’m trying to get my stomach( intestines) moving again and I feel like if it’s nuts and small things even though they are high in calories the volume is low so it won’t help. Any advice or insight on that granted I do eat high volume already tho.

[Houseelf in reply to snickers6907]

Just getting back into the rhythm of eating regularly will aid your intestines. They are in the state you mention as it is a muscle and will have wasted away. It will take time but just eating regularly helps! I found snack bars to be the best. The ones with dried fruit and seeds. I had the same issue and found Cliff bars to be helpful as well as the German rye bread.

[snickers6907 in reply to Houseelf]

That makes sense. I guess in the end of the day it’s calories from good sources. Thanks

[snickers6907]

Thankyou so much for all your input. I need motivation and I just found this website and am already so thankful for you and your ideas.

[crazycrossstitcher in reply to snickers6907]

Glad to help, ABC is Anorexia and Bulimia Care - just put that into your search and it should bring them up.

[crazycrossstitcher]

1300 is not enough calories - suggest you could speak to your GP about getting some dietary advice - or ABC have a dietician so you could ring/drop them an email. Its often about getting balance back into your diet - making sure you get carbohydrates as well as the "healthy" fish etc - also about eating some fats and sugars - our body needs them. Bread, cereals and potatoes are all sensible things to start with - and if you are on no fat milk/yoghurts - getting half fat milk and non-diet yoghurts also helps. The odd biscuit/piece of cake surprisingly isn't a disaster!!!

[snickers6907 in reply to crazycrossstitcher]

I mentally know it’s not enough but it’s so hard to eat more. And what’s ABC ? I eat a lot of healthy fats ( avocado , but butter , salmon) just never bought yogurt with fat. I also eat lot of potatoes & whole grain bread already but thanks for the suggestions. It’s just more in general!