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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 :]

thanks LALA- yea, it said that sauce was on the moussaka.  i cant job, i was never really a workout person or in shape, i mean i pushed myself when i was really in the ed, but never really in shape and cant run or anything.

PSYCHO-woooooohooo!!!!!  so exciting!

Today's meals, lots of yummy food, but was busy and didn't prepare myself with adequate snacks during the day... so I'll try to make it up with dessert!

Breakfast:  Greek yogurt topped with vanilla-almond granola and raspberries; scrambled egg whites with avocado

Lunch:  eggplant-lentil stew with brown rice (a BIG bowl of both!); carrots

Snack:  apple, banana, almonds

Dinner:  homemade falafel, hummus (with lots of tahini and EVOO!), and tzatziki in a whole wheat pita

Dessert:  probably some milk with Carnation Instant Breakfast; almonds... we'll see what else I come up with!

gibbit : yeah i initially got annoyed about it but talked myself around because im gonna have to start gaining weight anyways i think the 1st pounds are gonna be the hardest though. yeah i know what u mean, i wish i cud jus wake up normal an not have to go thru all this but thats never gonna happen. hmm wraps ..i never thought of them for lunch..im gnna try get some over the weekend :) yeah i find it helps alot wen i go through the nutrients an stuff in the food im eatin so instead of jus sayin im eatin food=fat i say im eatin protein which will help rebuild muscles an help my hair an nailes get stronger, stuff like that. oh an i had wholewheat pasta tonite :) thanks a mill for all the tips. an thats great ur not countin cals for today :)

pyschoj: your physical therapy sounds like alot of fun :) is it a one to one thing or is there others there too?

aquaev: thanks for the reply :) i think for a week im gonna try not weigh myself so if my weight is gnna keep changin i wont no an therefore wont get to panicky. i love ben n jerrys :) ice cream is one thing i can allow myself easily without feelin too guilty and i looooove the b n j one with white choc polar bears an marshmallows. yum lol.

butterfly_in_the_sky: sorry u have to wait so long for ur appointment but im sure everyone here will be able to give u tips, an gr8 intake btw :) seems like ur doing well.

agruskin: yeah ive been tryin to nibble on nuts durin the day cause i no at night i never end up eatin the snack i think i will an then end up fallin short on cals , but at the mo i dunno exactly how many cals i shud b eatin to gain.

i ended up havin a decent amt of wholewheat spaghetti today at dinenr yay :) ( more than i usually wud anyway)

ok question: im 5ft6.5 and 86 lbs how many cals shud i be eating to maintain? and then how many cals to gain mayb 2/3 pounds A MONTH? i think im currently taking in around 1500/1600 a day an ive been on that for a year maintain my stats most of the time

Yay!! I'm loving all this positivity from the thread, seriously, whenever I come on here I just try and absorb everyone's happy optimistic mindsets.

Psycho: That therapy sounds so useful- At the mo I don't get any therapy at all as here they refuse to give it to you until your bmi is up to at least 14- Most annoying.

Agru: Forgot to say congrats on the Greek meal, sounds super-delish and healthy and for the new calorie aims.

Angeleyes- Your food sounds so yummy- but curious as to what nutritional yeast is? How do you eat it?

Gibbit- way to go on not counting, you mentioned tofu recipes? I'm getting really into it, have only tried recipes using the regular type, but I gather there are "silken" and "extra firm" tofu forms as well. Have you tried those? Thanks for the suggestions- I've never really eaten nuts? Which would you recommend? Tahini sauce sounds intriguing too? Isn't that the stuff used in hummus? As for the smoothies, I know it's lame but the kid's one's are the only ones which come in the dinky cartons with the straws which I love and are easily transportable to work! Maybe I could try the honey vanilla for an extra snack one day.

Here's what I ate today/ will eat later:

B: 20g all bran with 3 stewed apricot halves on top, 200ml+ Copella cloudy apple and pear juice= 200

S: Ensure plus (banana flavour)= 330

L: Wholemeal bread with t peanut butter, lettuce, tomatoes and yellow pepper, Activia strawberry yoghurt. = 300

S1: 30g dry cookie crisp cereal and licking my baking bowl!= 170

S2: Ensure plus (forest fruits flavour)= 330

D: 1/3 mushroom quiche with some more lettuce, 2 small yellow plums =320

S: Options hot choc made with 250ml semi-skimmed milk and homemade warm oatmeal and raisin cookie! Excited to try this tonight!= 300

Total= 1950ish! Yay!

I have made the decision recently to defer my university entrance for a year so I can focus on getting better and then finding myself, regaining my confidence etc before Oct 09. Planning all the things I want to do in the year while/after I begin to make some progress is so inspiring for recovery-

• I want to start running again  (the talk of running on the board motivated me!) as I used to do cross-country.
  
• I want to feel independent enough to go abroad on my own to France, Spain or Italy and do a course of some sort for a month or so.
• I want to learn to meditate/ practise yoga
• I want to read a tonne of French and Spanish books...........
• I want to walk Hadrian's wall with my Mum (something we've always planned to do together)
  

And so much more!

Stay happy everyone!

 

Likear-Yummy food; you are right! Great job!

Agruskin-THANKS! YAY!!!!

Aussie-Yeah, I have not scheduled any more past the next one, but I will each time. It is a lot of fun and the guy is really sweet! You should probably be able to maintain on 2200 calories at least. As for gaining weight, probably extra 500 calories, maybe 375ish :)

Headingup-Why do you need to go to PT? Is it your knees? Stinks that you cannot go, but just another incentive to get healthy!

 

 

hey everyone-

so annoying-i go to the gym 2/wk to do about 30 mins fo free weights.  well as im leaving the guy at the desk who im freidly w had a big box of cupcakes and offered me one-fresh baked from an awesome bakery.  i took 1, licked 1/2 the frosting, and when i left tossed it in the trash!  im planning on 2400+cals and couldnt have the stupid thing bc i didnt know the exact cals in it!  also, i really wanted to try and listen to my body and eat what i wanted still ensuring i ate enoguh, my body doesnt talk to me no matter how long i listen.  i wanted nothing and could have gone w just having water.  so frustrating!  oh, and im going out tongiht to meet up w soem ppl, ive turned into such a dork that i get tired at night but im planning on an ensure b4 i go so hopefully thatll help?!

HEADINGUP-sounds like youre really taking recovery seriously and i wish you the best of luck!  great goals altho im soooo not a runner, lol!

AUSSIE-i love your idea of saying i need to eat food to stregnthen and improve my body-thats fabulous!

LIKEARE-YOUR LUCH AND DINNER SOUND AMAZING!  woops-didnt mean caps, do you do the cooking or does your mother?

Oops Psycho- I didnt realise the PT was specifically for pysical problems/injury, just thought it was part of general anorexia recovery therapy for you. Sounds fun though!! I just cant have any normal mental therapy until i get to a bmi of 14 apparently- they tell me that at a lower weight i.e.now, i cant be rational enough for the therapy to be effective. So frustrating though as I feel like now is the time i need the therapy, not once ive already made the progress!

Aussie- Your stats are v.similar to mine (5ft6 and 83lbish). Im shooting for a consistent 2000 a day at the mo and will see where that takes me- If i end up needing more then I'll add but if I gain quickly I WILL NOT REDUCE. Also totally agree on looking for the positve in foods e.g. milk is good for my bones, wholegrains for energy and fibre etc.- no food is evil, everything has good stuff in it and we should be able to enjoy everything in moderation.

Heading up: Wow! you did so well tonight. Well done!! (also i am will u on the little dinky innocent smoothie cartons. I like these ones too)

Psycoj: Glad you appointment went so well. Also it ,ight be worth checking out the Total website to find some other uses for it.

Aussiegirl: Thanks for the encouragement. I wasnt feeling so great about todays intake but you have made me feel a whole lot better.

Agru: I tried mousakka the other day...isnt it yummy? Mine was a vegetarian version with lentils instead of meat.It had layers of Aubergine, potato and lentil mixture. You can also find that bechamel sauce in stuff like lasange.

I had a thought this afternoon. How about using greek yogurt in a savory dish?? Like stirring it into some pasta with some veggies like peas, courgette strips and maybe some spices (chilli etc) of some grated lemon zest.

Agruskin-Sorry to hear about your cupcake-run in. It is okay, at least you had some frosting! Good for you! Yeah it might be a good idea to drink it before going out. But try and have something that you really want. Enjoy it, savor it and eat it slowly. Have fun!

I just made Whole grain Parm. Rosemary Scones! They smell sooo good and I cannot wait to have one! I am making vegetable stir fry w/ brown rice for dinner.

Headingup-Whoops, sorry! But that seems weird that they won't let you go in b/c you are too underweight. Oh well, like I said before, another incentive :) I love what you said about moderation; so so true!

Butterfly-Thanks! I have heard that Greek yogurt can be used in place of sour cream and other things. I do not remember where I read this though! Sorry... But that pasta recipe sounded like it would be really good!

aussiegirl- No prob :) Ben and Jerry's rocks! I can convince myself to eat it b/c it's all natural lol. I like strawberry cheesecake best! Awesome job eating whole wheat pasta. It was one of my hardest FF's to eat but now I love it!

headingup-It sounds like you really want to recover! Those are great goals. Good luck!

agru- Sorry about the cupcake mishap. I'm exactly the same way. But eating frosting is something! Have fun tonight!

Ok, still not counting! yay! I started off the day kind of restricting :X

Had an apple, blueberries, and some coconut sprinkled on top and some apple juice.

a little later I had a scoop of protein powder mixed into about a cup or maybe more of greek yogurt.

then I gave myself a kick in the butt and had half a baked potato with margarine for lunch and a huge salad of pinto beans, spinach and carrots with a tahini and lemon juice dressing. Tahini is sesame seed paste, so like a nut butter actually and it's used in hummus or tzatziki in greek recipes.

then, even though it had been less than 2 hours I was hungry and wanted to make myself wait but realized that was stupid so I had wm vanilla yogurt with almonds, granola, a plum and rhubarb.

no idea what dinner or other snacks will be since I'm waiting to hear from some friends about plans for later

Butterfly- I use greek yogurt sometimes in place of sour cream or cream cheese and it can be used in recipes too like potato salad or pastas.

Headingup- That is really weird they won't see you until you're healthier, that seems counterproductive since you need the most help when you're sick. I'm glad you've decided to take a year off, I think it will be a really good experience and chance to get healthy and figure out what you want. Make the best of it! The innocent smoothie I got also came in a little portable drink container and I took it on the plane with me. Also,t here are different kinds of tofu from extra firm to really soft (silken). The soft are usually used for dessert dishes like mousse or smoothies, and the firm is denser so you can grill it or bake or fry slices of it, or crumble it up for scrambles or cheese replacement.

Agru- don't worry too much about the cupcake thing, we all have our moments, the idea is just to have them less and less, but just see it as one slip up and we need to pick up right where we left off. Have fun tonight! I completely understand getting tired at night, I'll be ready for bed at like 10 when all my friends are just beginning to get together. I'm actually already sleepy lol, but I'm going to go out tonight at least for a little while!

hellloooo everyone! looks like you're all doing amazing! woohoo for the pb lovers, I'd marry it if I could <333

headingup- nutritional yeast has a nuttty/cheesy taste and is usually a vegan alternative for cheese. I'm not vegan, but I am vegetarian so I use it to get my essential B12 which is mainly in animal products. It's not good by itself, but if you put it with macaroni, or mexican dishes, or popcorn, or anything you want to taste cheesier, it's good stuff! It also has protein. Yay :) It's found in health food stores, but not in your typical grocery store.

anywayyy, here's me for today. I'm having a sweet tooth day (for me anyway haha). Actually, more like an "I want cinnamon in everything I eat day" :p

breakfast- egg whites, veggies, nutritional yeast, jalapeno hummus, bean dip. Oatmeal with a LOT of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, sf syrup, cup of bluberries, stevia, vanilla...it was heavenly

s-oz of trail mix, cheese crackers

s- whole wheat tortilla, soy cheese (mozz,chedd,monterey jack), hummus, lotsa veggies

s- macaroni (by itself, was in a hurry), mango

s- greek yogurt, carnation instant milk chocolate powder, cocoa powder, vanilla, strawberries, mighty bites cereal, cinnamon. YUMmm

s- like 2 cups of puffed corn cereal, lotsa cinnamon, soymilk, vanilla (my own version of healthy cinnamon toast crunch pretty much)

s-broccoli, pepper jack veggie slice, nutritional yeast, veggies (i'm a veggie fan as you can see heh)

s- english muffin, cottage cheese, blueberries, reddi whip, cinnamon again. Toasted. Tasted like a healthy cinnamon roll !!

coffee, soymilk. and cinnamon, ahha

and tonight I'm taking my dad out for his birthday. We're going to chinese. Big Challenge for me! I'm already full though this sucks..But I told myself I was going to eat normally plus eat out so that I get a lot of calories in. Hope I'm not so full in a couple hours! wish me luck. I looked up the menu, and they have good vegetarian choices. I'm shootin for won ton soup, veggie rolls, and tofu satay (they're all starters so I think I can eat all of them since they're small portions?) Buttt I'll let you guys know haha

the more i eat, the hungrier i am?!?!?!!lol

GIBBIT- i started reading your menu thinking, omg, ive never seen this girl have so little before, i hope her day is ok, but you picked it up!  good job!  still seems a little less than ussual or no?  i wish ppl hung out durung the day andl ess at nite! lol

PSYCHO-come cook for me!  im never "in the mood" for any food, your stuff sounds awesome!

thurs so far-

1c/ all bran extra, 3/4 c milk, ~tbspn+ trail mix, 1 slice toast, ~tspn+PB, peach, protein shake ~440

bagel square, tuna salad, stonyfield blueberry yogurt, ~tspn+PB, some cut up veggies, plum  ~450

choc PB muffintop thing, apple  ~250

Agru- yeah today didn't start off too well. I was feeling fat and depressed but I'm picking myself up and making up for this morning. Not counting just really really scares me so it's hard to eat when i don't know the numbers behind what I'm eating. I'm so ridiculous! And yes, I do wish people would hang out during the day! I always try and make plans with people earlier and they just don't want to or they're sleeping or busy, or lazy. I wish we all lived nearby so we could hang out early in the day and eat healthy food!

haha, GIBBIT, as i write rt back to you bc im a dork!  im not ready to not count either i dont think plus i do it automatically now.  also, i cant eat what what im in the mood for bc im never in the mood for anything.  oif we all hung out, then you guys can show me what healthy is!

hey everyone, congrats, ive just read through the tons of posts there have been today and everyon is so positive :)

as for me i managed to increase to 2000 yesterday and today i had so much more energy it was amazing!! im never dropping down again :) (yey that is my minor relapse over....i will be upping again tomorrow)

agruskin yey im so glad you had a good time at the greek! and well done for eating the diferent foods, hows getting to 2400 today going?? i really admire your attitude :)

headingup i think its a wise idea to defer your entry....hey its uni you need to make the most of it right?? especially freshers haha where are you going?? youve done really well getting back up to 2000 keep it up :)

butterfly ive cooked with greek yogurt before!! i made a yummy pasta dish, saute veggies in a little olive oil and garlic then stir in grated cheese, yogurt and cooked pasta :P

heres the food for the day:

breakfast: oatmeal. an apple, a pear and greek yogurt

snack: hot chocolate with 20g of chocolate buttons melted in and a cocoa mole larabar

lunch: garlic and corriander tortilla with cheese pickle salad and salad cream (like a ploughmans wrap)

snack: more hot chocolate, an activia yogurt, a pack of mini ryvitas and 30g dry cereal

dinner: gruyere cheese omelette with stir fried veggies

snack: pb and banana milkshake and a bowl of oatmeal

Hey all! Sounds like we are doing well!

Charlie-Congrats! You are doing AWESOME! Keep it up.

Gibbit-I would LOVE if we all could meet! Hopefully one day :) Great job for getting back to your senses after restricting. I love what you eat! Lol!

Agruskin-Yeah, I can understand the whole the more I eat, the hungrier I am. Totally true, but it is probably a good thing! I would be more than happy to cook you :D

 

So far today:

Breakfast(9:25)-WW English muffin w/ all natural peanut butter, medium peach

Lunch(12:30)-PB on whole wheat sandwich, pretzels, organic apple!

Snacks: String cheese(not low fat!) and grapes

Dinner was delicious! My dad and I made Vegetable Fried Rice! It was really really yummy. Full of veggies, brown rice, and eggs.

Dinner(6:00)-Vegetable Fried Rice, and one of my scones. Yum yum! 

I am not going to the gym today, but I am going to do my exercises. I have gone three days in a row, so I am going to rest. It might rain, and I love the rain!

I got a really awesome bag today. It says: Organically Grown! And something else in little print, but I do not remember! I love it and I am going to use it all the time.

hey everyone, forgot to list some of my food! lol  and yes, meeting everyone would be awesome, preferably in a cool place like wales or something, i dunno lol.  eating more deff is scarey, esp w/o a nutritionist, just hope eating over 2000 is safe and all.  tomm im waking up early and going to the city for an interview and traveling around and stuff so out of my comfort zone.  dont know if i sohuld take a PB sandwich, shake, fruit or something, or if i should buy a bagel and cc, i need to be awake for the interview tho so it cant just only be empty cals.

PSYCHO-fried rice, yum!!lol.  im feeling like i eat so much!  is the bag from whole foods?

CHARLIE-good job!  im finding it hard to increase, its scarey, feel like im eating a ton, and all i can think of to increase cals is to eat junk or take out?  but..supposedly, this is what you do to fix your metablosim, so i hope it works!  how was the larabar?

thurs so far-

1c/ all bran extra, 3/4 c milk, ~tbspn+ trail mix, 1 slice toast, ~tspn+PB, peach, protein shake, cheese ~470

bagel square, tuna salad, stonyfield blueberry yogurt, ~tspn+PB, some cut up veggies, plum  ~450

choc PB muffintop thing, apple  ~250

veg salad w/ trail mix, some feta, kashi vive cereal, 3/4c milk  ~310

will have -

coffee bean ensure, yogurt, apple  ~500  will add something, dont know?

Agruskin-You do not eat too much; do not worry. No it did not come in a bag. I got it off a website. My dad and I made it together :) We used organic vegetable broth, asparagus, red peppers, scallions, garlic, different types of oil (such as sesame and canola), brown rice, etc. It was really really yummy and totally filling! Where did you/are you going out?