Weight Gainers: What did YOU eat today?

I am copying the many times copied thread, "What did you eat today?" in hopes of helping some of those who are just starting to gain and have no clue what to eat. I know that when I began weight recovery, I was eating tons of low-cal foods just because that's what I was used to. I learned the hard way that dense foods are essential to weight gain when you have high caloric requirements (at one point I needed 4500 cal to maintain my weight on BEDREST). Perhaps newbies can get some ideas if we post our weight gain meal plans! Even if you're not gaining anymore, grab an old one and post it!:]

Please note that every body is different and some will need more or less calories than others to gain. This thread is just so that you can get an idea of what you need.

Oh, and yes, I'm breaking the "no calories, no portions" rule, since it is pretty helpful in this case. If you want to post cals/portions you can. I just ask that you don't post if you're not eating enough, though as this is a weight gain thread, I would hope none of you are undereating.;]

I'll start....

Breakfast (875 cal)*

• 1/2 cup oatmeal (150) cooked with
• 1 cup evaporated whole milk (300)
• 1 mashed banana (100)
• 2 tbsp peanut butter (200)
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed and cinnamon to taste (50) 
• 1 hard-boiled egg (75 cal)

Morning Snack (300 cal)*

• 1/4 cup mixed nuts (200)
• 1/4 cup dried apricots (100)

Lunch (660 cal)*

• 1/4 cup rice cooked in 1 cup chicken stock (300) and
• 1/2 cup canned or cooked chickpeas (145) and
• 1/3 cup shredded cheese (150) and
• 1/4 cup each onion, peppers, and tomato (30) cooked with
• 1 tbsp olive oil and curry powder to taste (120)

Afternoon snack (390 cal)*

• 1 serving baby carrots (35)
• 1/4 cup hummus (155)
• 1/4 cup mixed nuts (200)

Dinner (875 cal)*

• 1 cup of my insane Mac & Cheese recipe (515)
• 2 cups tossed salad (45)
• 2 tbsp rasins (60)
• 2 tbsp sunflower seeds (105)
• 2 tbsp dressing (150)

Evening snack (480)*

• 1 cup plain whole milk yogurt (180)
• 1/2 cup homemade granola (300)

About 3600 calories :]

hi everyone-

quick flyby post and ill be back- i have chicken legs (bone+skin) baking right now in an attempt to have ready available food to eat, any good ideas of what i can make w/it, 1 dish meals, add w/ it to bake, sauces, whatever...?  thanks!

Breakfast: oatmeal made with semi skimmed milk, sliced banana and chopped pecan nuts. Glass of oj

Snack: 3 ryvita's with mini tub of light cream cheese

Lunch: Egg mayo sandwich (2 slices wholemeal bread with egg may made from 1 egg and 1 egg white and tbsp light mayo, little salad) Danone activa strawberry yogurt

Snack: Strawberry and banana smoothie ( 7 strawberries, a banana, 200ml semi skimmed milk and tbsp peanut butter)

Dinner: Vegetarian mixed bean chili and 1/2 cup brown rice

Snack: Hot chocolate (300ml semi skimmed milk and tbsp drinking chocolate)

Weight check day for me to: no gain. Still at 102.2lbs at 5ft 7

breakfast: 1 1/2 cups vanilla rice krispies, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup rice milk, 1/3 cup activia yogurt, 1/3 cup mocha yogurt

snack: 1 frozen juice box, corn squares, jelly belly jelly beans

lunch: 2 small slices of rye bread with almond butter, ground cinnamon and strawberry jam, 1 small apple

snack: nectarine, strawberries, 2 dried figs, 1 kiwi fruit, dried fruit snacks

dinner: 1 corn on the cob, salad with red peppers, croutons, grilled chicken, cucumbers and tomatoes

snack: goji berries, pineapple, mocha yogurt

I was so hungry today, I went for a run in the morning then went for a walk later on in the afternoon..

hi everyone-

good luck w/ weigh ins everyone.  ENIA- what are goji berries?

really determined today, maybe bc its monday?  well anyway i cooked up lots of food to keep in the fridge so i can jsut grab it when i want, altho eating intuitively-still really not there yet.  so i made pasta, a chicken bake type thing w/veggies and potato, and tuna salad, and went food shopping so i have other stuff as well.  im making my version of the famous "jacket potato" for dinner too.  also, it might be bc im slightly constipated for some really really annoying reason, but im sort of full, for the first time in a long time.  felt like a ate SO MUCH!  today so far--

1/2 thomas' bagel, ~1 1/2 tsp PB, jelly, vanilla yogurt, 1/2 cup blueberries, peach

1/3 cliff bar

cheese sandwich (roll, edam cheese, tomato, lettuce), PB vitamuffin, giant apple, cut up celery and mushrooms

protein shake, fage yogurt, tbspn raisins, 1 slice watermelon, 1 apricot

   will be---

potato, slice cheddar cheese, tbspn tuna salad(has mayo), salsa, veg salad w/trail mix

apple, yogurt

have been lurking but havn't posted in an age!

busy, being end of term. but mostly being lazy as well haha.

well. i am apparently up to about 47.5 kg now (about 105 pounds?) but that numbers a bit off, because i drank a lot of water before weigh-in (.. a whole bottle haha), because my appointment was delayed. so i think the number is somewhere around 104 more likely. which is actually badnews. because with the water, i just gained the amount i was supposed to gain in the fortnight; about 1 kg (2 pounds i think?)

ANYWAY. i dont really know how much i'm eating. but its around 2200+ because i  eat a lot of tidbits through the day (eg. nuts, bits of dark chocolate). this way i add cals wihtout stressing out, coz i tend to sortof mentally count all my main meals and snacks except for dinner (mum's cooking). with the little tidbits i find it easier to tell myself "these couple of nuts won't make a difference" and just ignore/forget the fact that i've eaten them, and by the end of the day, i can add in at least100 cals. =)

haha i dunno if that made any sense... ohwell.

..i have a headache =\ i think im gonna have a rest  now. might type out what i ate later :D 

Agruskin: goji berries are amazing.. they look similar to dried cranberries but smaller. They are very nutrient-dense, you can also have goji berry juice, but I prefer them as a berry :)

Here are a few links about them. You should try them if you can get them. I usually buy them at a bulk store, but I know that you can get them at some grocery stores as well.


http://www.foreverhealthy.net/html/products/P rod_180_goji.html

http://www.dnagojiplus.com/Goji/goji.html

http://www.aviva.ca/shop/products.asp?itemid= 1354&catid=225

AHAHHA I LEAVE FOR ITALY TODAY! I'm so scared, I hate eating food that I don't know the calories of! But maybe this will do me some good, maybe I won't be as obsessive when I come back in a week. I don't know what dinner or snacks will be since I'm going to be on the plane then and we get dinner. I'm bringing nuts and Luna bars to Italy though in case I haven't eaten enough.

Breakfast- Mini waffles spread with SNB, oatmeal made w/ almond milk w/ cinnamon, nectarine, egg, almond milk

Snack- String cheese and watermelon

Lunch- SNB on w.w. English muffin, chocolate mousse yogurt, Kashi soft-baked bar, carrots

Snack- Berries, carrots, Yoplait kids, pudding, Boost smoothie

Dinner- ? I doubt I'll eat what they serve, so I think I'll bring a cin. raisin bagel with SNB

Snack- ??????

The plane is leaving at like 7:00 our time, and we stop in Heathrow for 2 hours at like 3 a.m. I'll try to find something for breakfast there I think.

Have a good time, aqua! I wish I could take a holiday right now. ): They help me to relax most of the time, and not think about food - which is what I really need! Oh well. >< Enjoy yourself and soak up the sun, you lucky bum! P:

AQUA-I went to italy 2 summers ago-it was amzingly beautiful!  i also take bars and stuff w/ me when i go away which is helpful.  raisin scones are delicios and remember, try ad enjoy, you do so much walking that you might end up losing?!

thanks ENIA for the info! 

the "jacket potato" last night was soooo good, im tempted to eat all the same things i had yesterday since i loved them all.  so this may sound weird and ive sort of asked this befire, but a question for you all--how do you pick what youre going to eat throughut the day?  i have a really hard time deciding what to eat, if i try and listen to cravings my body goes silent, i end up eating the same things repeatedly, which i like but i guess its redundant.  how do you pick?  their are just so many choices?

thanks, have a great day everyone

Think i need to increase from 2000 but i am too scared to do it.

Breakfast: oatmeal made with semi skimmed milk, sliced banana and 25 raspberries

Snack: mixed nuts and tropical dried fruit

Lunch: 2 slices whoewheat bread, 3 slices veggie beef slices and salad

Tesco's finest raspberry yogurt

Snack: Tropical fruit smoothie made with semi skimmed mlk and tbsp peanut butter

Dinner: Stuffed peppers (red bell pepper, brown rice 1/2 tbsp green pest, 50g goats cheese) and garden side salad

Snack: Instant hot chocolate made with 200ml semi skimmed milk

Agru: Yay! ^___^ I'm glad you liked the jacket potato. They're SO good, and the best part is you can put many, many different toppings on them. One of the best, I think, is chilli con carne or vegetable/three bean chilli on a jacket potato - it's balanced if you eat it with veggies on the side! There's also options like cream cheese; tuna you had already, but other fish can work really nicely too; beans as they are (borlotti are my favourite)... a good thread for the foods forum might be favourite potato toppings! P:

What I usually do is start with either my protein or my carb for a meal, and then figure out "what carb/protein will go best with this?" so, the other night I had a salmon fillet but nothing else planned for the meal, and so I looked at what was in the cupboards and found anya potatoes - little, nutty white potatoes. :] I had those and a serving of asparagus on the side, and baked the fillet in some black pepper, spices and lemon juice - and it was delicious :D If you start with a central ingredient and then think "what works with this" it makes it a lot easier - for me, anyway!

I know how you feel about eating the same food over and over, but I have alwaaays done that sort of thing. xD Now, I try and vary the main meals I have over the week (aiming not to do the same thing twice a week, ultimately, unless we're talking leftovers) and while I tend to eat the same sort of snacks I'll have differing flavours or do something to them to make them differ, like sprinkling cinnamon in my oatmeal one morning and having a dollop of yoghurt on it the next. I hope this helps a bit, and congrats on upping your intake! :D

yaaay im going on holiday tomorrow :D going to cyprus im soooo looking 4ward to it! some sun at last

havent had a great few days with food...my wisdom teeth are coming through and its agony :/ if it carries on ill be living off greek yogurt and honey for the next 2 weeks :P

although...if anyone ever finds themselves in a situation where they cant chew heres a good menu (what i had yest.)

breakfast: milkshake (banana, strawberries, milk, honey and oatmeal)

snack: mango and passionfruit smoothie w/ yogurt

lunch: lentil and vegetable soup with mini maccaroni in it

snack: 1 cup of ben + jerry's chunky monkey

dinner: mashed potato with vegetable and lentil puree

snack: another milkshake!

hi everyone-thanks LALA. my problem is that i guess im lazy, or i know that the foods that i always have will fill me up-not getting full is like a fear i guess.  so like, i made pasta and its in the fridge, i can mix it with anything, but the portion for that is so small and i always get scared that it wont be enough, so i stay clear.  also, another bad habit, is i like to take a long time to eat, so sandwiches can take me a while which i like. 

the potato was awesome, i could have it again tonight.  ive never had chili and dont know what borlotti beans are.  im sort of scared of fish or chicken or meat bc they dont have nutritonal lables, i dont know how to measure it.  ot sounds like youre doing really really well w/ diff foods, good for you.

CHARLIE- CYPRUS, WOWO!!!! have a great time!  feel better!

Ach - gained about half a pound since last week, which is dangerous, as Dr Jaffa (no kidding, that's his name) is expecting a full lb every week, and my staying out of hospital fro the summer kind if depends on that happening. Anyways, no I've broken the 40kg barrier (which makes me feel muchos ****) I am allowed to start strength training 2 days a week - I only have 2.9kg left to gain, but they still treat me as if I'm chronically underweight and about to keel over. AAAAAAAAAAAARGH

 Anyway, cried alot today. Meal plan went up. Weight went up. Everything feels like it sucks. And now my left hamstring is all screwed up (don't ask me how) so now I can't stretch for the splits and will be condemned to inflexibility and thus no dancing career for ever AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!!

Anyhow:

Breakfast: 40g rice crispies, 105g soya milk, 20g prunes

Snack: Homemade vegan banana peanut butter muffin (200 kcals)

Lunch: Slice of rye bread w/ veggie sausage and ketchup, alpro forest fruits pot, orange.

Snack: Slice rye bread, 1dsp peanut butter.

Dinner: 140g baked beans, 140g sweet potato, 2 carrots, small handful watercress.

Snack: Vanilla alpro pot, gzillion red grapes (me like grapees).

Hope everyone's days went better then mine. I feel like such a fatso.

BREAKFAST: 1/2 cup honey almond flax cereal, 1/3 cup activia yogurt, 1 tsp peanut butter, blueberries

snack: sliced kiwi, sliced nectarine with lemon juice, brown sugar and cottage cheese

lunch: 2 egg whites with sliced onions, melted skim milk cheese and salsa

snack: plum, mocha yogurt, fruit snacks, pineapple, corn squares

dinner: 2 cups whole wheat linguine pasta with 1/2 cup pasta sauce and 1/3 cup yves ground veggie meat

snack: apple, mocha yogurt

quick flyby and ill be back-threatenend w in patient, lots of crying, i know, wah wah.  ive been at 1600 for 2 days, can i increase tomm to 2000?  any suggestions, samples, help, much appreciated!

thanks!

So I've been avoiding the scale lately since I realized a few weeks ago that I needed to increase cals in order to get up to my goal weight in time (I see my parents this weekend) - and not only have I not increased cals, I haven't gained anything with the amount of cals I was previously at least gaining a little on.  When I weighed myself yesterday, I was still only 107.  So today I ate a LOT... and then exercised a LOT.  It's so hard to do what I KNOW I need to do to gain this weight!!!  Total cals for today around 3,250.

Breakfast:  3/4 cup egg whites scrambled with a handful of spinach leaves and 1/2 a medium avocado; 1 cup Fage 0% with 1 oz toasted wheat germ and 2 tbsp strawberry jam

Snack:  smoothie with 1 1/2 cups skim milk, 1 medium banana, 1/2 oz almonds, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 tbsp non-fat powdered milk, 1 cup Puffins cereal

Lunch:  1 cup pasta with 1/2 tomato sauce and 1 tbsp olive oil mixed in; 1 cup apple juice; 1/2 cup boiled edamame; 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

Snack:  same as before

Dinner:  some roasted eggplant, zucchini, and red peppers; honeydew melon and grapes with a few tbsp strawberry yogurt; 3 small slices of french bread

Dessert:  1/2 pint vanilla soy ice cream with 1 packet of chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast

Agruskin - as far as suggestions go for boosting your calories, I'm learning that it's all about the little things you can sort of sneak into the meals that you're already eating that add a lot of calories but don't add a lot of noticeable bulk - like adding the olive oil to my pasta added 120 cals, or adding the almonds and the powdered milk to my daily smoothie added a lot of extra calories, and I couldn't even tell the difference.  And definitely eating more calorically dense foods helps too, because you get a greater number of calories for a lesser amount of food.  So for example, eat another tbsp of peanut butter with your bagel in the morning, etc.  I'm definitely guilty of not always following this advice (I know I should be eating higher-fat dairy, for example, to boost the number of cals in items that I'm already including in my diet), but there you go anyway.

i for sure know how to increase my calories, im just wondering if its ok to increase by about 400 cals over night.  i useed to be 155ish lbs and im slightly under 5'4.  i know how to increase, lol, just a matter of doing it and if i do it the right way and if i will do it too fast?

thanks!

Agru: I'm going to be trying to get to 2400 today and am finding it hard -__- Without resorting to eating extra bowls of oatmeal, but then I end up having too many carbs and not enough protein. I need to find some good variations to my snacks and such that I actually want to eat! It's also been tricky because we need to go shopping, but we do that tonight. x: I think, if you can mentally handle the increase, go for it. Remember to keep well hydrated, though.

Peanut Butter- I know how you feel. I have been in recovery for 5 weeks now and I've gained 5 pounds, but my doctors still won't even let me do strength training at all. It really stinks because I want to be able to run and swim again. I am going to a new school this year, and I thought joining the cros country team would be a good way to meet people who have similar interests to me. I really don't know if I'll be able to do it though. :( Hang in there!