Struggling to keep weight on - what nutritionally-sound-but-fattening stuff can I eat?

[EdgyMcNervous]

I'm naturally pretty skinny: 5ft 6, usually just over 8st. We don't have weighing scales at home but felt recently that my face was looking a little more drawn and booked an appointment with the doctor (also had a breast lump I wanted to get checked).

Turns out I have lost three kilos since I registered with them in June and am now 7st 8. They're doing some bloods and I'm booked for a mammogram plus I've got to do a stool sample so they can rule out anything sinister.

Assuming all the above is ok though, I'd really like some nutritional advice because I would like to put on a bit of weight but I do want to keep exercising and don't just want to fill up on cakes and chocolate i.e. stuff that doesn't have any wider nutritional benefit. I eat a lot of nuts...

Can anyone suggest high calorie foods that will make me feel good rather than stuff that will make my blood sugar spike and then plummet?

Thanks in advance

Avocado???

Thanks v much for the suggestion stressed Yes, avocado is good. But I've slightly OD'd on it in recent years if I'm honest!

Cheese :)

Buy full fat versions of everything.

Hope everything's okay health-wise op!

My son struggles to keep his weight up.dietetic advice was
*Milk and meat products together are caloric but nutritious.think lasagne,Bolognese with sprinkle of cheese etc
Milkshakes with banana.use full-fat milk and add spoonful ground nuts/seeds or nut butter
Porridge with sunflower seeds and dried fruit(or flapjacks with seeds and dry fruit)
Avocado,cheese,nuts and seeds(plus their butters)are your friends!

Graze more.easier to eat 4-6 smaller meals
Example-
Small bowl porridge made made with milk,sunflower seeds and chop dates(add vanilla or cinnamon if you fancy)

Apple or carrot sticks with nut butter to dunk

Cheese salad wrap.

Banana milkshake(as made above)

Small lasagne and salad

Couple oatcakes with avocado

Hope tests are fine and these ideas help!

I have a packet of crisps everyday or weight falls off me.

What are you currently eating in a day? Can you add olive oil to dips and feta you salads and add fat to a Mediterranean diet?

Avocado, eggs, cheese, peanut butter, nuts, red meat. Could also add an extra meal with a complan shake.

How much exercise are you doing?

Peanut butter!

Also, liquid calories : fruit juice, milk, milk shakes, etc.

Gosh this is really helpful. Thanks so much.

LoniceraJaponica I do 12,000 steps more or less every day. We do a lot of hiking as a family on weekends, so 15km odd. I was until recently doing outrigger canoeing a couple of times a week but have given up.

Reccy today's food has looked as followed (I'm living in Asia at the moment so early afternoon here):
Breakfast: slice of brown bread with cream cheese, dragon fruit, nuts
Mid-morning snack: lots of cashewnuts
lunch: white pasta with home-made tomato sauce and grated cheese

redexpat I like crisps actually. Will get some of those in.

stilllivinginazoo I really like those suggestions - flapjacks in particular appeal.

Milkshakes are I know a good thing but I get a bit queasy about milk. Should perhaps try with rice milk instead.

Had a horrible experience with a gone-off egg a couple of weeks ago - was making myself an omelette and cracked one that had gone totally black in the middle and smelt of death... Stood in the kitchen retching for a few mins and it rather put me off eggs for a while!!

I think part of the problem is that the selection of food is a bit more limited here than I'm used to. So it takes a bit more effort to prepare interesting, different food and I get bored quite easily and food becomes a chore.

Need to make more effort though and am really grateful for all your suggestions

Rice milk has lower calories of all the alternative milks,so if you can get(or Google how to make) a nut milk or even oat milk be much better!!

Ah ok - thanks stillliving

At that weight you're significantly underweight. Assuming nothing comes back from the tests I would ask for a referral to a dietitian.

reallybad Yes, I think I'll do that.

When I was struggling with my weight (stress/divorce/borderline anorexia) I set myself a rule that I had to have a home made fruit smoothie and a proper meal every day. For me a smoothie was 200ml apple juice, a dollop of yogurt, a banana and a big handful of other fruit of some sort, so quite thick and substantial and I could spread it over a few hours.

I’m naturally slim and find it hard to put weight on too. I think you’re right about it being due to living in Asia (where abouts?) and not having the food that you’re used to, it’s really easy to not prioritise eating and skip meals.

Do you know roughly how many calories you’re consuming on average? You’ve clearly been eating at a deficit for a while. I used a calorie calculator website which shows the attached values for calorie goals if that helps. You’ve probably been eating 2k or less per day, you need 2.5-3k+ to start gaining.

Could you look to increase your portion sizes? So you’re still eating what you like and not overloading on snacks.

Also try eating out more - more expensive but nicer food, gives you meal ideas to try out and they generally won’t be the ‘low calorie’ version that you’d serve yourself. EG buying food at Nando’s vs cooking it yourself

I think another way you can ‘pad’ your meals is to try and have a ‘3 course meal’ per meal. So add a side dish and dessert item. So to your breakfast you can have a side bowl of granola and yoghurt, and some fruit. Lunch add a side salad (could also add cheese and croutons and dressing if you want), and a dessert treat like an equivalent to a single serving trifle pot from M&S or a brownie bar from pret which could easily add 400+ calories to your day.

Hannnnnxo It's a good point you make re eating out. One of the things that might have caused the weight loss, now that i think about it properly, is that we live pretty remotely (one of the outlying islands near HK) and so we rarely go out in the evenings and I don't really drink these days so the extra alcohol calories have gone too. The three-course breakfast/lunch/dinner thing is a good idea. And I might try one of those calorie counting apps. I've got no idea how many I'm eating at the moment. Today so far:
Breakfast: thick slice of brown bread with cream cheese, dragon fruit, nuts
Mid-morning snack: lots of cashewnuts
lunch: white pasta with homemade tomato sauce and grated cheese
mid-afternoon: grapes and homemade ginger cake
Dinner later will be vegetarian. Probably some sort of pasta bake with broccoli and cheese.

I guess that probably doesn't add up to 2,000. But other days I'll have more (yesterday I was out and about and had quite high calorie lunch and dinner plus had crisps/shared a muffin) so I thought it had been evening out but it seems it hasn't.

Thanks v much for your input. I'll look at downloading a calorie counting app

Drink your calories.

Smoothies with lots of chia seeds, peanut butter, bananas, full fat milk, etc.

I use the Fitbit app. You type in what you eat and they can give you a similar or exact match so you can start a fairly accurate food diary. Can also log your steps, exercise and weight too.

Maybe tonight give yourself a slighty larger portion of food - gradually increasing your food intake will help you adjust your eating habits easier.

You can use this website for a more accurate goal. I think 2000 is a bit low.

Yes, forgot to mention drinks! Easy way to add more calories if you’re used to constantly drinking water. I like almond milk personally, for milkshakes, protein shakes, smoothies, hot drinks etc. Also fruit juices. Might be fun making your own protein shakes, blending in fruits etc

I really hope you are OK OP and that the weight loss is not a symptom of illness.

DSs have both struggled to keep weight on in the past. For them I do:
Banana milkshake with added single cream. If you can bear it, add a lump of nut butter to the blend too - peanut, almond or cashew.

Eat wholemeal bread with real butter. DC used to have PBJ sandwiches with cream cheese replacing butter.

A good sandwich is mashed avocado with walnuts and salad on buttered seedy bread.

Add single cream and a sprinkling of seeds to thick root veg soups.

Pasta carbonara? Fish pie? Chicken and leek pie in a creamy sauce? Do any of those appeal?

Add butter to steamed veg or toss veg in oil to roast.

You can also make high calorie, high protein cakes. I used to use equal weights of real butter, almond flour, soya flour, sugar and eggs with melted dark chocolate and vanilla or almond essence. It's dense, not too sweet and good for you.

More fantastic ideas here. Really appreciate you all taking the time to post. I like creamy pasta dishes, chicken pie and fish pie. The avocado sandwich sounds cool too. You’re reminding me of a bunch of options I’d forgotten - I do tend to get stuck in a food rut!

Part of the problem is the DH is a bit overweight and suffers from sleep apnoea so needs to lose a few pounds. So we’re pulling in slightly different nutritional directions. I think I just need to plan a bit better. Have mini meals as suggested and also pack in more calories while he is at work (I work from home).

Quick query: do the protein shakes you are suggesting generally have protein powder in them? Making a trip home soon so might stick up on some stuff

Thanks again, all. MN really is a wonder at times like this

Yes, I use Women’s Best and Protein World. They have a range of products you can try in a variety of flavours - just avoid the ‘skinny’ dieting ones.

Also you can try something like Whittard’s Matcha powder, loads of great possible options there

Do you like beans or other pulses. Your lunch looks a bit low on protein and you may he able to stir blended beans into the sauce. Humas and other dips are good. You could also add coconut or its milk to dishes.