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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 :]

Tuffstuff,

Thanks for the advice.  The food intake I posted yesterday is an example of my intake for trying to gain.  I am a very clean, healthy eater so at the end of the day adding in some of the unclean, junk food is my way of attempting to gain some weight.  I didnt realize I need to be up in the 2000's.  My body fat it very very very low (due to distance running and workouts..although like I said I am no longer running) and when I plug my numbers into a bmr or rmr formula its showing my body at 102lbs only requires around 1100 to 1200 to maintain...so I have added calories to that.  I will continue to increase my cal intake though.  Thank you!

Psychoj,

  Thanks for the advice.  I hope you are on your way to recovery with eating and the knee problem as well and will be back out there running in the future. That is definitely one of my goals!!!   I do eat very very healthy but have now been adding some sweets/junk food at the end of the day which is where I am getting my fats, sat fats, and sugars from..in attempts to enjoy some foods that I havent had in so long, and in attempts to put on some lbs.  I thought around 1500-1600 cal was enough for me to gain but based on several posts, it looks like I need to be up into 2000.  Well, I will continue to check in on here....

Cowgirl-That is great that you have been eating stuff that you have not let yourself have in so long! Doesn't it feel and taste AMAZING? How much do you want to gain per week? My guess is that your metabolism is so "ruined" that you might start the gaining process on 1500-1600 cals. But since you are eventually going to get back into running your metabolism, when it gets back to normal, will be sky high! Running burns tons and tons of calories.(I know you already know this though!) Starting out at 1500 sounds good. But your body will get used to that soon and you will stop gaining weight. You might want to up your calories by a 100 each week until you stop gaining at a reasonable amount every day and get to your goal weight. How long do you normally run? I am just curious. I love running too!!!!

psychoj: yes, ratatouille is delicious!  I've never made it myself but I'd really like to try.

cowgirl: we sound a lot alike - I was a distance runner in high school (and continue to train on my own)... I'm 5'6 and my lowest weight was 100.  I've been trying to gain while continuing to run, which usually requires me to eat at least 3000 cals/day (though I've definitely been no where near that the past few days).  Anyway, it looks like you've gotten some good advice already and are headed on the right track.  Good luck!

 

Breakfast: 1 cup Fage 0% with 1/2 cup lowfat berry granola; 1/2 cup egg whites with 1/2 an avocado; peach

Lunch:  20 oz "Muscle Punch" smoothie from a local smoothie joint (strawberries, bananas, soy protein, milk) - have to say I felt a little silly ordering something called muscle punch... haha...

Snack:  another smoothie (homemade this time) with 1 cup soy milk, 1 banana, 1 scoop protein powder

Dinner:  went out with the family to a nice restaurant but didn't eat much - had about 4 medium-large spinach raviolis with a chunky vegetable-tomato sauce (about half of my dish) - and was the only one that didn't order an appetizer or dessert.  Wasn't really hungry, though I know I needed to eat more... got a lot of "you'll be sorry about this when you don't make your goal weight" looks from the parents.  I'll probably be doing a pantry raid in a few minutes!

hey everyone-

so i sort of unofficially weighed myself today, but im going to tomm for a real weigh in, and it showed that i was up like 5-6 lbs from last wed, is that possible?  also, is it ok that i eat pudding and ice cream almost everyday?  theyre actually both light versions.

thanks

mon-

BFAST- 1/2 thomas' whole wheat bagel (buying more later), 1 slice bread, 1.5 tbspn PB, peach, handful blueberries

SNACK- PROTEIN SHAKE, CEREAL, MILK, TRAIL MIX

LUNCH-roll, cheese, fage, random string beans+cherry tomatoes, pudding cup

SNACK-~1/2 cup ice cream, 1/3 kashi bar, apricot

DINNER-boca cheeseburger, english muffin-toppings, veg salad w/ trail mix

SNACK-apple, yogurt, tspn PB

 

Meal:

Sandwich(2 sl bread, lite tuna, fatfree mayo, celery, lettuce) 

 2 oz pineapple

 

Meal: Wrap (flatbread with 1/2 c egg whites, tomato, 2 sl fatfree cheese, lettuce) 

 bowl of special k cereal with fat free yogurt and 4 oz pineapple

cookie from grocery store bakery

 

Meal: 3 reduced fat oreos, whole wheat square bagel with sugar free jam and fat free cream cheese, kashi TLC fruit snack bar

 

Meal: low fat low carb protein bar  and reduced fat poptart

 

Hey cowgirl! I never post here, but I just had to speak up. Your menu kind of makes me giggle. You're trying to gain weight.. yet pretty much EVERYTHING you eat is sugared 'light' or 'fat-free'. This isn't very beneficial to your health. You NEED fats in your diet. You can be eating the most nutrient dense foods on Earth and still be deficient if you don't eat enough fat. Fats are EXTREMELY important to your body.. and I really wouldn't be suprised if your skin isn't too soft or your hair is falling out/rough.

DAMN school today :( AND NET STILL CAPPED :(

well just thought i'd do yesterday (last day of holidayss!). lotsa unexpected things. i think i'm doing better :)

BREAKFAST: 9 grain english muffin, honeyed ricotta, porridge made with sustagen and oats

SNACK: coffee with 200ml skim milk, almonds, kiwi fruit,

LUNCH: 1/2 portuguese chicken wrap w mayo, 1/2 toasted sweet chilli chicken in turkish bread w cheese. (shared with sister haha. she was dying; TOTALLY spiced out for the chicken wrap hahahaha.) water

SNACK: new zealand natural wildberry frozen yoghurt ice cream in waffle cone

SNACK: small skim latte, granny smith apple

SNACK: 200ml calcium enriched soy milk, 4 soy linseed crackers

DINNER: chinese steamboat (hotpot).
lots of crab, jew fish, green leafy chinese veggies, taro, one store-bought wonton (don't like them, just forced to), oyster mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, calamari, prawn, bean curd, udon noodles
also a couple slices of char-siu pork

haha, i hate the beef etc. that they usually put in hotpot so my mum never buys it now :):)

ohh. agruskin? i just estimate or leave it alone :D. i dont restrict i think. or restrict very little (eg. i might not have my right-before-bed cup of milk, which is now added in extra to what i was eating before coz i wasnt gaining).

and im snacking between meals/snacks a lot more too ! haha like. theres like another 10 walnuts/almonds and a mandarin and half a pear and half an apple (shared with sister) and other stuff in there throughout the day. but i dont count that. :) and my dinners are always just guesstimate. if i feel too full afterwards, then i might not drink milk before sleeping.

PSYCHO- I forgot to answer you yesterday. I just get my pirogies from the regular supermarker, they are Mrs. T's brand. They have quite a few flavors of B & J's and my store. They have vanilla, cherry garcia, chocolate fudge brownie, cookie dough, and strawberry cheesecake. Yum yum.

COWGIRL- Well first of all, hi! And second, I agree with what wistfulxthinking says. You need to have some fat in your diet! I have to eat full fat everything as part of my meal plan, and it makes it so much easier to add calories. Since I've started eating more than like, 10 g of fat a day, I have noticed such an improvement with my body. My hair doesn't fall out as much anymore and my skin is so much clearer! And plus my mood has improved by a million times. Fats are really important for weight gain, so maybe you should start swapping the "lite" stuff for full fat, one meal at a time. Add it to lunch one week, and when you get comfortable with that, add it to dinner and so on.

Bfast- Oatmeal, WW english muffin with natural PB, nectarine, egg

Snack- popcorn and blueberries

Lunch- Grilled cheese on WW potato bread, Rachel's Exotic Yogurt, TLC PB bar, carrots

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

Dinner- Organic mac and cheese, semolina bread with butter, 2 squares dark chocolate, Annie's cheddar bunnies

Snack- Almonds, orange, Luna bar, strawberry banana shake, Ben and Jerry'

I will comment on everyone later, but I am off to the nutritionist. Wish me luck!

XXX

hey everyone, so ill ask this again before i comment, having pudding and ice cream almost everyday, is that alright, or no?  thanks

aqua-martins potato bread?  its so good if thats what youre having! lol

saykyoku-omg, youre doing amazing!!!!!!  wow, i cant wait to be as carefree as you seem.  are you excercising,?  what do you think has helped you the most, good for you!

psychoj-good luck!

Agru - YES. It's fine to have that every day provided you're getting all of your nutrition. I mean, it's a source of calcium, fats (I hope you're not eating fat-free. They add a lot of sugar to try and amend the taste, and artificial sweetners are NOT healthy), and possibly iron depending on the brand. If you're living off of it, that's not good. But a serving or two a day won't hurt you - it could even be beneficial to breaking away from the ED. You might want to scout out for some lower sugar/higher fat brands, but yeah. No biggie. =) Good for you for eating it!!!

agru- Yep, it is totally fine. I eat Kozy Shack and Ben and Jerry's every day because neither of them have any icky preservatives. And they are both all natural too! I think it is helping me to separate myself from my ED, since I used to be afraid to eat them but now I eat them daily. And yep, Martin's whole wheat potato bread. SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD.

psychoj- good luck times 10!

wistful, thanks for the input.  I am getting appx 20-26g fat daily   4-7g sat.  how much should I be taking in?  any suggestions from anyone with a nutrition/dietician certification?

Cowgirl:

You should be getting 25-30% of your calories from fat as a minimum.  Up to 1/3 is recommended.  A good gameplan for you would be to add the calories you need as full fat foods.

 If you really want to gain weight AND be healthy it's going to take making changes with what your comfortable with.  Not everyone can do it, that's why so many people get stuck with ED for life, if not killed by it than a life as a slave to it.  But those that decide they're going to do THEIR thing for their best and ditch all the foods and habits that had to do with the ED life can move past the fear and discover what's out there.

I know you say you didn't have an ED, but there is definitely some disordered patterns going on when someone wants to gain wait but can only stick to a weight loss diet plan.

 

Original Post by agruskin:

TUFFSTUFF- you say youre a nutritionist?  thats so interesting!  for what its worth, and i hope you dont mind, im almost 25, slightly under 5'4, about 92lbs and have been restricting for about 3 years now.  ive never been overly active and am now striving to eat 1800-2000cals, i weigh on wed morning.  do you have any advice?  thanks and good luck!

 Agruskin: Right now I just have my B.S. in exercise science with a fitness and nutrition specialty.  Since graduating I have been certified by the American College of Sports Medicine for exercise prescription [personal training] as well as nutrition, and I am now in grad school to get a higher degree in dietetics--at which point I will "officially" be a nutritionist.

 

As far as your intake, you are currently still stuck at a diet level, as will be the case until you get at least up to 2500+.  What is commonly seen in ED recovery is that initially you can gain on 2000 or even less because your body is starved and underweight and has gotten really good at making each calorie go really far.  However, after consistent refeeding and increasing the body goes into the opposite extreme and starts burning calories carelessly.  This is why so often patients are discharged on 4-5000 calorie meal plans with no activity allowed [often not even walking].

 

The thing is, the metabolism doesn't speed up [plus the body starting to work like it shoudl rather than cutting corners with you health and % muscle mass to save calories] until it actually gets not just "more" calories but as much and more than it would need to work like it should.  That won't happen at your current calorie level, so keep stepping forward and don't let up!

 

Think about how you want to be able to eat for life [and maintain weight on] then add to that to gain and signal the body to work like it should so you'll be maintaining on that.  When your tempted to "just be okay with that lower option or that much" tell yourself you'll save that to be able to adjust to IF you need to cut in the future to maintain.

Hi all! My nutritionist app. went awesome!!! I have officially met my goal weight. We talked about a lot of things. She was very proud of me. I do not have to go in for like a month and a half! I am just going to check in with her then too, so not a big deal. She said that she thinks that I am done with the work with her. I am so proud of myself!

About the fat content thing. Yes Tuffstuff07 is right. Definitely at least 25-30% of your diet should consist of fat. If you eat around 1600 that would be about 53 grams. What I did was: multiply 1600 x 30%(which I used as 0.3)=480. Each gram of fat has 9 cals.(correct me if I am wrong) So, I divided 480/9~53 grams of fat. Hope that makes sense. I am not too good at explaining myself I do not think!

hi everyone-thanks for responding about the treats and all.  im eating edys loaded ice cream and the pudding is the 60 cal kraft calcium jello.

psychoj-woohoo! congrats, what an awesome accomplishment!

tuffstuff-thanks so much and gl w/ your masters, i actually just got mine this past june.  so since im older than most of the ppl posting here and not a runner or basketball player or anything, i just cant believe that id really need 2500 cals to gain.  but youre right, i do try and think about the future and i know that i dont want to maintain on a little amount.  for some reason i just assume that the ave moderately active adult female should be able to maintain on 2000, not a marathon runner, just a normal person.  so i know i should be eating more than that i guess. 

i basically eat almost the same thing everyday, can you maybe suggest something.  i do have random extra bites of things that i dont post or log so i assume thats maybe an additional 100 cals.  what im planning/have had today-

BFAST-  thomas' plain bagel mini bagel bread, 1.5 tbspn PB, peach, plum

SNACK- eas PROTEIN SHAKE, 1 cup all bran extra fiber cereal, 3/4 cup skim milk, 1 tbspn TRAIL MIX

LUNCH-roll, cheese, fage, apricot, hard boiled egg~400ish

SNACK-~ 3/4cup ice cream, peach

DINNER-2oz tuna, mayo, 1 slice sargento reduced fat cheddar, roll, veg salad w/ 1-2 tbspns trail mix

SNACK-apple, yogurt

thanks soooooo much!!!!!!

 

Hey everyone. It looks like you are all doing good! I have a quick question to ask..basically what is the benefit of a pilates or yoga class once a week? My parents wont let me go to the gym even twice a week now (v.upset!!), we have comprimised at one gym session a week and another day were i can do either an exercise class or go swimming. The e.d is going nuts about the fact i cant exercise and i am so upset. I'm not even doing p.e and stuff at school now that it is the summer holidays. So i am trying to make the best of my options. What would be a good choice and what are the benefits of these classes??

Hey everyone! You all are doing so great!!!! Sorry I havn't posted in so long!!!!! I went for my yearly check-up today and I reached my goal weight already! I don't know whether to be happy or to cry. I doesn't make much sense to me that I've gained so much weight because I have only been eating around 1800-2000 a day. I am seeing my dietician tomorrow and hopefully she will have some answers :) I don't know what to maintain on now, and I'm scared my dietician will keep my intake at about the same as it is now. I don't want to keep gaining, but I don't want to lose either. I am confused and really scared that I'll keep gaining weight. Today I only ate 1500 because my weight freaked me out. If anyone has any support or suggestions that would be greatly appreciated!!!