How to put weight on?

[Alreadysalty]

Looking for some tips to put weight on other than just eating lots of fatty/sugary/high calorie food?
I eat 3 meals every day plus snacks but cannot seem to get above a particular weight - my clothes do not sit well, I never get taken seriously as a woman in her 30s and it’s really starting to get me down.
slightly disordered eating background so think a gradual approach would be best!

I don’t know what’s the healthiest way for you, sorry.

Personally, I put weight on by eating crisps and cakes as well as meals.

I struggled at uni. Eating a packet of crisps everyday helps. Full fat everything.

Do you know why you can’t gain weight?

Go full fat everything - real butter, blue top milk etc.
If you’re underweight you can get build up drinks from the pharmacy, or make some calorific smoothies with oats, yogurt and fruit.

Nuts are also high calorie

Peanut butter
Hummus
Ground almonds in baking
Cream in sauces
Fry veg in butter
Full fat milk
Greek yoghurt
Nuts
Avocados

I would consider all of these relatively healthy ways to get more fat and calories into your diet.

I think it is probably muscle you are after building. So exercise and protein.

Full fat milk in tea, coffee etc.

Nuts are great as they are incredibly high in calories so you don't have to eat that many to add 200-300 calories in a day.

If your other meals are healthy, the quickest way to add calories is a slice of cake. Even a small slice is about 300 cals. If you want it to be quite healthy, make your own with almond flour, real butter, plenty of eggs, so that it is very high calorie but not too packed with empty calories.

Seriously look at people who weight train - they can build serious bulk! So that sort of thing will get you bigger in a good way.

I have the same problem OP, but from breastfeeding twins. I can’t seem to get enough calories in me no matter what I try. Even went for a thyroid test but came back negative.

Snacking has helped a bit and like previous poster suggested, full fat dairy. If you’re not sure what is causing the weight loss I would consider ruling out any thyroid issues with a blood test.

Similar to you, also with a background of an unhealthy relationship with food. I have always been slim but lost a stone after I got braces and looked really gaunt. I've put most of it back on now. I did have a thread on here with some good suggestions. Will see if I can find it but things suggested were avocados, peanut butter etc and adding olive oil to foods. What are your meals like? I have also found I had to put aside time to make a proper lunch to take to work with me or I'd just end up with cup-a-soup or something that could be eaten quickly.

DD is anorexic, so I can say a lot in detail about what not to do

Add a spoon of butter or oil to dishes

Google body building diets, you won’t need to eat as much as a muscly bloke but the types of foods they eating are what you need rather than crisps and cake type food. Lean protein (chicken, fish, eggs), nuts, seeds, avocado, oily fish, whole grain carbs etc.
have you had your thyroid checked?

Maybe up what you are eating? Are you having a dessert with meals- eg fruit and yoghurt? And have some calories in drinks eg juice at breakfast, milk with snacks and a milky drink at bedtime. I found having a small snack at bedtime helped too.

Get a personal trainer and build some muscle. As my skinny friend said: "Finally, I have calves!"

Thank you for all your replies, I’ll definitely take these on board 😀 yes, I have had my thyroid checked and no issues there for those asking!

I would suggest you avoid calories gained from such things as cakes, biscuits and crisps. Instead eat more dairy, such as full fat yoghurts, full fat cheese and full fat milk. If you have mashed potatoes you can add cream and butter to them. Also add cream into custard or milk puddings. These things will give you essential nutrients as well as extra calories. Snack on nuts and dried fruit.

My DH struggles to keep in the healthy BMI range. He does nut butter on oatcakes as a mid morning snack, a protein shake after any exercise and a handful of cashews in the evening. Then normal three meals.

Three meals and three snacks a day.

I've been waiting for a weight gain thread! If you're anything like me, snacky bits won't do it.

The only way I ever gained weight properly was to cook massive amounts and eat constantly. So like a fry up with toast, eggs, beans. Chilli con carne and rice. Mashed potato and meat with onions.

Even then, i only moved from skinny to thin/slim, it's so hard for some people to do. Lost it all by breastfeeding, have to try all over again grrrr

Hey,

You probably need to increase your tolerance for lightly bigger portions of meals and snacks which can feel a bit uncomfortable at first. You could get some advice from a dietician, but you should probably spend a week paying attention to how big your portion sizes are and working out your nutritional intake. You might not be taking in enough. Whatever you are eating try adding 20% (you choose!) More to a meal for one week, then add 20% to another meal the next. Have a clear plan and record it or you won't progress.... Just as people often don't when trying to lose weight.

Find some anxiety management exercises to help manage the feelings of fullness after eating if you have a background of disordered eating too. There is an Australian website CCI that has some self help strategies on that might be useful.

Good luck with it :)