How can I put on weight?

[wonderingwondering]

Hopefully avoiding flippant answers! I'm quite small, usually a size 8/10 but recently I've lost a bit of weight - just been busy with work and the children and a few stressful things going on. I've noticed my clothes are looser and I've lost weight on my face (people are commenting). I am quite healthy generally, but would like to build myself up a bit.

I don't really want to sit eating tubs of icecream - that certainly won't help me cope with things that are going on at the moment! - but do you have any suggestions for high-calorie, healthy food/meals?

Brazil and any other sort of nuts, greek yoghurt, seeds are good. chocolate bics and a few bars of choc, and the odd tub of ice cream won't go amiss! I lost a lot of weight after being in hospital. The sweet fat things are good under the circumstances, as long as it doesn't become a lifelong habit!

Have you swapped to full fat milk and butter?

I was advised to eat heathily but larger portions, but I find it hard to eat more volume as I have a small appetite - as Silentcatastrophe said nuts and seeds are good.

Cheese is always a winner - a slice of cheese on toast or cheese and crackers is a good snack and not too unhealthy. I also used to add a handful of parmesan onto dinners - high fat but low volume and tasty too.

Also milk based puddings - custards, rice pud - getting hungry now.

You could also try those build up powders that they recommend for convalescence (sp?) but they don't look very tasty.

HTH

Instead of going for bad fatty foods which although they will help the weight go on, they won't do your health any good, you need to increase your calorie intake per day but the proportion of fat to overall calorie intake should remain the same to ensure you're getting a good spread of nutrients.

You probably won't need to eat that much more each day as even an extra 200 or so caloires is likely to make a difference.
more info here

Thank you, that is all very helpful. I had thought about hot chocolate/milk and so on, and I had started eating peanut butter (but that makes me so full up I can't eat much for lunch!).

I was hoping to build up all over, rather than weight going straight to my tum/ hips (as it usually does), so I suppose the healthier options are a better way to put on weight 'all over'?

I do quite a bit of exercise/physical activity, and I don't want to cut that down as it's good for stress release, but from the NHS link it seems I'd be as well to keep up with that - a friend had suggested I was doing too much in the gym (she obviously hasn't seen me in there ).

It's important to keep exercising - not only for the health benefits but also because exercise is an appetite stimulant to some degree as you're using up energy that needs replacing. If you're doing a lot of high energy workouts then it's best to consult a reliable source for weight gain advice based upon a high energy lifestyle as you may then need to take in even more calories and they'd be able to help you do it safely. Your gp might be able to help out or refer you to a dietician for further advice.
Hope life gets less stressful for you soon!

Thanks again. Am sitting here eating choc teacakes, but will aim for healthier high-calorie options from now on!