Help DS 17 to put on weight

[Justturned50]

He's over 6ft and is probably under 10st. I try not to keep weighing him. He lost quite a bit of weight over the summer with anxiety over exams etc and is struggling to put it back on. He's not likely to go to the gym so weight training isn't an option . How do I build him up?

More calories. Things like nuts that are healthy but high calorie. But if he’s otherwise healthy I wouldn’t worry too much, when my parents got married my dad was 6”2 and 9 and a half stone.

When my friend's DS, then aged about 8, was struggling to put on weight, the GP advised McDonald's milkshakes! Not the most healthy, but very calorific and possible to eat/drink as well as a meal.
Would also second nuts if he will eat them.
Could you introduce a starter before his evening meal occasionally? Something like veggie sticks and hummus, slices of melon, soup etc. Not very high calories, but it all helps!

What does he like to eat? I was thin at that age (6ft, 9.5stone) and my mum used to make milk puddings, bread and butter puddings, cakes, creamy buttery cheesy mash etc etc.
Though if he eats ok generally, maybe it's just his age and he'll put weight on eventually?

When Mark Beaumont completed his round the world fastest cycling record he was trying to put away between 7 and 10000 calories a day.
He had to do it with the minimum amount of time off the bicycle and eating and he found the fastest way to get the calories in and keep the weight up was .........pizza.
Just a thought. 🙂

Adding cheese and/or cream to things like soup, full fat milk and yoghurts, nuts, regular snacking on higher calorie snacks (eg cheese and crackers rather than carrot sticks).

I try not to keep weighing him At 17 why are you weighing him at all? His not a little child and Your give the poor thing issues about his weight

Unless his very underweight or very unhealthy I wouldn’t be worrying tbh. Some people are just small, some people just don’t eat much.

Make some flapjacks, pack them with nuts too to up the calories

Use full fat diary, none of the low fat stuff which is worse for you really anyway.

Could add a starter to some bread to each dinner

Cubes of cheese as a snack

Smoothie or milkshakes are good too

Pizza

IF he wanted to use some weights he wouldn’t have to go to the gym, he could set a small set of weights for at home.

Thanks for the responses. He also seems to have recently developed a dairy intolerance. Anything dairy based makes his stomach churn so we've been experimenting with alternatives. He has fixed braces at the moment so avoids nuts, but once they are off I can start buying them again.

It's hard to know if he's eating enough. He's always been on the stockier side of slim, so it's unusual for him to be as he is now.

I really would leave him, young men are often very thin, he’ll bulk up as he gets older

The Oatly barista style oat milk is really nice, and you could add non dairy protein powder, cocoa, almond butter/nutella/smooth peanut butter to add calories and very easy to drink a couple of those a day

Rice pudding made with full fat coconut milk

Avocado on toast

Just adding a few more calories to each meal and adding a couple of snacks in will make a big difference

i have similar issues with ds in terms of bring skinny. Good things are: nuts, peanut butter, full-fat dairy, eggs, hummus, avocado, chicken. Good amounts of protein rich food. My ds will eat most of that & he did put some weight on last year when the GP started getting concerned (no medical issues re weight).

I wondered why you are weighing him too. Is weighing yourself a big part of your life?

My DS is quite slim too. He tends to have a sandwich and some crisps or fruit when he gets in and still eats his evening about an hour later.

If it were me, I’d avoid giving him anything sugar free. If you want to give him nuts, can he have smooth nut butters? Milk shakes made with almond milk banana and berries are good and probably more healthy than MacDonalds, especially if he’s not having dairy.

What does he have for breakfast at the moment?

Hace a look at this thread too. You might find it useful

Avocado, peanut butter and bananas, abs full fat coconut milk were what we were advised to use for our dairy allergy child- stir into porridge, apt cookies/flapjack etc

If he has energy and is not lethargic probably best not to worry. Alternatively Maybe get some of his favourite foods in to tempt him. When my son lost weight (Adhd meds making his lose appetite) we gave him protein shakes with nut butter and bananas worked a treat

5 meals or snacks a day is the way to go I think. DS struggles to keep weight on - similar size to yours. But he can't eat huge meals, he gets full up. So he has a snack after school and another at bedtime, plus 3 family meals. He mostly eats bread and peanut butter (the smooth variety might be ok with braces?) Or sometimes heats up leftovers from a meal. But I'd encourage your DS to tuck into whatever high calorie snacks he likes best. Fruit juice contains a lot of easy calories too

Thanks all for the suggestions. I've made a list. I'm not weighing him at all but buying smaller clothes and everything seems baggy on him hence my concern. Plus he says he's too skinny so trying to help him and make sure he doesn't lose any more.

He also seems full very quickly and says food weighs heavily on his stomach so we go for little and often. We tried "supper" but he couldn't take to it.

Anxiety over exams, starting 6th form and hassles with girls meant he went through a few months of panic attacks and vomiting after an evening meal a few times a week. Under the GP for that now and things are improving. GP weighed him as a benchmark should this continue. His appetite just isn't what it was and the sickness has put him off fruit juice, dairy and breakfast. He takes loads of snacks to school and chooses his own lunch. I've noticed the after school snacks are getting bigger so hoping we are getting back on track.

I agree with the suggestions for liquid calories.
Having some food issues myself I have found it easier to pack calories in that way.
Nut butters are also excellent. You could add avocado to a smoothie.
Also pancakes made with non dairy options are nice but light, can be made with oats rather than flour and cottage cheese (easier to digest) or dairy free yoghurt and topped with fruit/nut butter/maple syrup.
Dark chocolate is nutrient dense and not unhealthy.
You could add it to flapjacks or fridge cake (along with dried fruit and nut butter).

Ds2 is 5 foot 9 and 9 stone 2 (he is weighed about once a year). He has a brace and eats loads of smooth peanut butter on toast.

Does your ds like avocado?

Ds1 is 22 and over 6 foot. He was so pleased at 16 when he reached 9 stone (he was 6 foot). I really wouldn’t worry about it. As long as he is eating reasonably healthy, then just let him eat as he pleases.

I would be a little worried he has developed food issues. Are you sure he is eating in school. Getting sick after wating is a worry. Could he have felt girl issues were to do with being in his mind..fat.
Try to take focus off food for a while. Have lots of his favourite foods around and hopefully he will turn a corner.

Sorry to hear he’s being having problems. Are the school helping with his anxiety at all?