Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have medical concerns, please seek medical attention; if you think your problem could be acute, do so immediately. Even qualified doctors can't diagnose over the internet, so do bear that in mind when seeking or giving advice. If you need to talk to someone in confidence, please contact Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity.
Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have medical concerns, please seek medical attention; if you think your problem could be acute, do so immediately. Even qualified doctors can't diagnose over the internet, so do bear that in mind when seeking or giving advice. If you need to talk to someone in confidence, please contact Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity.
Eating disorders
How to gain weight
Yourmentalhealthmatters2017 · 24/03/2018 17:23
Might sound odd but I want to gain weight like now
I've always been skinny and I want curves
Help xx
Heratnumber7 · 24/03/2018 17:27
Every time I eat, you eat the same.
You'll gain weigh in no time 
QuiteLikely5 · 24/03/2018 17:27
Eating a diet high in carbs/fat
Takeaways
Restaurants
Eating dessert
Yourmentalhealthmatters2017 · 24/03/2018 17:30
The main issue is I am unable to eat in a group bar immediately family.
And effect my appetite MH x
Heratnumber7 · 24/03/2018 17:35
Do you mean you don't have a group to eat with?
Or that you have a mental illness that means you can't eat with other people?
Either way, bring on my own doesn't stop me eating.
Yourmentalhealthmatters2017 · 24/03/2018 17:36
No I struggled to eat with a group of people x
trickyex · 24/03/2018 21:07
Try nutrient dense foods like cheese, nut butters, avocado, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate.
Having a hot chocolate every evening with toast or crackers and nut butter is a good way of getting some calories in without having to eat a massive meal.
Pastry goods are high in calories but not very healthy. Sourdough toast with butter and jam is a tasty and healthier option.
redskyattwilight · 26/03/2018 12:39
I'm trying to do the same.
My anxiety is about being sick though, so avoid eating stuff if I think it could have a problem (based on what it looks like or not been kept cold enough etc). So frustrating as I hate the way I look, get comments and stares from others and has resulted in me effectively being a recluse, no confidence, and no prospects of a future. I still wake up everyday knowing the key is to put on weight. I do wonder how much stress and worries use the calories I am having?
Also anyone have any guidance on amounts? I would love to just add butter to more things but once again worry that I might over do it and that could make me sick. Sorry for slightly hijacking your post, but I have the same goal.
Yourmentalhealthmatters2017 · 26/03/2018 13:25
@redskyattwilight it's perfectly fine and it's good to talk about it.
I'm unable to eat in front of people in the fear of chocking so we are kinda in the same boat.
Today I actually got a comment that I was eating loads at work... 4 club biscuits and a breakfast bar so that's good
SnooSigh · 26/03/2018 13:31
Eat a healthy well balanced diet and add in Slim Fast shakes! I’m 5ft8 and until I was about 21 I weighed about 7.5 stone. I used to drink a slim fast shake with every meal, they only work for weight loss if you have them instead of meals but they don’t fill you up so drunk with meals they’re great!
colditz · 26/03/2018 13:36
Chocolate biscuits have got to be one of the most perfect weight gain foods there is. They're moreish, bitesized, calorie dense and both creamy and crunchy.
Eating an extra 500 calories a day will put on a pound a week, and 5 chocolate digestives a day will do that
Yourmentalhealthmatters2017 · 26/03/2018 13:43
I have been drinking slim fast and milkshakes but not every day...I need to start again
In the summer I felt good I was eating fresh fruit and picking all the time just seems I'm the winter I don't.
Some times I get 'passed it' and by the time I get round to eating I don't want it.
The key is little and often
Daffodils78 · 26/03/2018 14:00
Up your healthy fats (avocado, cheese, cottage cheese, yoghurt, olives, olive oil, oily fish like salmon, sardines, hummus)
Increase protein- 8oz steak instead of 6oz, keep chicken drumsticks, eggs, etc. in fridge handy
Add a smoothie/milkshake/protein shake if struggling to eat. When my MH is bad I use meal replacement when I am not hungry to regulate blood sugars.
Do some weights and build your bum etc. through squats. If you work your core that should help you gain curves in the 'right' places not the 'wrong' ones
Do strengthening exercises like swimming and pilates which tone you, instead of running or aerobics which makes you burn a lot of calories.
Mostly, people gain weight through eating junk but you can do it healthily.
Do you snack? if its low cal like fruit, add a yoghurt, a HB egg or a handful of nuts.
failing that, PEANUT BUTTER. I put on a stone clean eating and the culprit was PB.
trickyex · 26/03/2018 22:23
I was told the key to weight gain is to be consistent.
Adding cocoa or nut butter to milk shakes is a great way to get some extra calories in.
There are some good sources of info around, will see if I can find one to link to.
rightknockered · 27/03/2018 13:46
Try to get into a routine of eating every two hours. I'm doing this with my 15 year old ds, who has to gain weight for medical reasons. He has gained 4lb this month, has similar anxiety issues and fears of throwing up. If he is sick a little, he will brush his teeth, wait a while, drink some water and then have something different.
It doesn't matter what you eat, you will put on weight if you increase calories. So stick with food that you feel safe eating. My ds eats a lot of toast, cheese on toast, cheese rolls, croissants and cake. I have no rules. The eating every two hours has helped to increase his appetite, in a routine manner (he thrives with routine being asd/adhd) and is easy to fit into his day.
Ickyockycocky · 27/03/2018 13:49
High fat dairy. Add double cream and cheese to things like soups, mashed potatoes, pasta dishes etc. Eat full fat yoghurts and drink full fat milk.
SleepFreeZone · 27/03/2018 13:51
I can tell you what piles the weight on me. Sugar, fat and carbs.
Yourmentalhealthmatters2017 · 27/03/2018 14:00
I've started to have meal replacement milkshakes with full fat milk with my dinner along with crisps and biscuits thought out the day
Actually I've only been doing this for a few days and I'm happy to say my work pants are tighter 😊
TheJoyOfSox · 27/03/2018 14:00
Just a few extra calories will quickly add pounds.
Make sure you are eating a variety of foodstuffs, if you have eat 2000 healthy calories daily, add a glass of wine in the evening would be enough to add a stone in 12 months.
redskyattwilight · 27/03/2018 15:59
I feel not so isolated when I read all your advice.
After being told when I was younger how having too much of xxx will make you sick, I have somehow morphed that in to an intense fear of anything more than what I have now will make me ill. I am someone who is very visual in terms of how I think or learn things and just 'see' what I have in a day and think that if for whatever reason I don't have something then all the 'food type proportions' go out of kilter and that unless I adapt (often meaning having less of something else), I will again increase the chances of being sick.
I too only eat on my own, not due to fear of chocking but for not wanting to be judged I suppose and it's less stressful.
Yourmentalhealthmatters2017 · 27/03/2018 16:14
At work I take my self away from other when eating a 'proper dinner' and only eat small things with people
It's nice to know other people have a fear of the same thing as you
It really helps
Yourmentalhealthmatters2017 · 28/03/2018 15:50
Today I ate a small starter in a restaurant with my family 😊 (14 of us)
Granted I was on the end of the table and no one in front of me but I still did it
redskyattwilight · 01/04/2018 11:28
@yourmentalhealthmatters2017 Sounds like you're really attacking your fears. Well done. I feel completely defeated by life as all my efforts so far have resulted in failure to get anywhere. And I'm so tired of carrying on trying.
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