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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 :]

AIMEE-great advice.  great attitude regarding the night's eating.  i think its great that youre able to eat what you crave, my body doesnt seem to "talk" to me.  keep up the great work and pos thoughts!

 i hate taking the time to cook and also dont like pre-planning, altho i knw its what i ned to do, bc then i dont feel normal, like normal ppl will eat what theyre in the food at that moment, not what was pre-planned.  so you cook 1 meal, and have the leftovers later in th wk?  3 things on your plate?  ive been doing a bowl for salad, then a sandwich and a fruit or something.  what are some of your quick fixes w/ dinners on the nights that youre not having that meal or the leftovers?

thanks

Agru- I live by myself so I almost always cook for just me. There are a lot of simple things you can make, if I cook a lot I can either eat it later in the week or freeze it. it will last a really long time frozen and you can pull it out, say, next week and have some of it for another meal. Plus most recipes can also just be scaled down. Other things I do, I'll cook a lot of rice, or pasta, just plain and then I can do different things with it for different meals, have mexican rice one day, rice and veggies, the next, rice in a stirfry, etc, even rice pudding for breakfast or snacks! I also always have canned and frozen things that are easy to throw together. I always have canned beans, quick cooking grains like couscous, rice, pasta, quinoa. Sometimes I'll cook a large pot of sauce too, like tomato, or alfredo, and I can put that in a jar and keep it around for a while too.Frozen vegetables, veggie burgers, or you could have frozen chicken breasts that come prepackaged. Have you ever tried the frozen ravioli or pasta bags? Those usually come with 2 or 3 servings so they're small and really easy. My family loves Bertolli pastas, they're always really good and fresh tasting and have a wide selection, usually with different vegetables, sauces, sometimes chicken. I think cooking also involves you more in the whole proccess of feeding yourself and might help you out with recovery by getting you to try new things. I always feel more comfortable even with unsafe foods if i've been able to prepare it myself. Have fun experimenting!

I'll either have breakfast food for supper, or something that you can make in the microwave. One night I decided to drive home and mooch food, and my mom had made dinner so I grabbed some of that before leaving. A few nights I've gone out with my boyfriend and we've grabbed food out. It's pretty good because we're in similar financial situations (university students who can't spend too much on dining out) and he's watching what he eats (trying to lose), so we make a lot of healthier choices together.
My living situation has been pretty abnormal lately (I'm doing a lot of house sitting out of town this month) and I've actually just started to work on mentally recovering (that uses more willpower than severe restricting ever did) and I know that I'm not up to where I should be as far as eating good food and eating enough calories goes.

gibbit - Wow, your post is really really helpful. I'll be back at school in September and I always struggle when I'm cooking for myself. Thanks for all the advise!

wow, thanks guys!  so im living at home rt now-ill be 25 on sat!!! but we dont eat together and my mother doesnt cook, never has. 

so i dont really ever have pasta or rice bc eventho im trying to gain, i look at the portion and see how tiny it is and dont bother w/ it bc i dont think itll fill me up. 

so my family keeps kosher in the house meaning that either the meat product-no seafood, yes fish, has to be kosher, or i cant have it in the house.  so any frozen dish, and so many look awesome, like bertolli or whatever, i cant have bc of the meat/chicken/seafood.  i can get kosher chicken nuggets for instance i guess, but only frssh chicken meaning id have to cook the entire package immediately.  vegie fake meat stuff i like bc its ussually microwavalbe so maybe i should stock up on that.  so basically vegetarian may be easier for others to understand, sort of.

is it ok to have chicken nuggets+fries w a salad, fish sticks +some carb and slad, stuff like that each night?  seems sort of unhealthy but im sure when i was like 8 thats what i dd, not sure?

what do you think most ppl relatively our age do for dinner each night?  sandwiches, take out, actually cook?  i just cant get myself to eat grains other than bread or potato bc i just dont see them as filling?  altho sometimes they are, maybe its just a mind thing.

thanks again, you both are awesome!

agru, about the other grains...
It might just be a mind thing. I don't really think of pasta or rice as being a meal or snack of it's own, but it does make a nice 'filler' and kind of settles its way into you stomach in a warm filling way that a vegetable side just can't do. I like to add a bit of soy sauce to my rice and choose heavier types because fluffy rice just does not fill me up.

Ahhhsorry- I forgot to post what else I've eaten.. I'll reply to you, lala, tomorrow, I'm just gonna do this and then sleep, so tired.. hhahahaa... *obviously crazy*

Snack: Milkshake with 1/2 cup ice cream(200) about a cup of soymilk (100) and some chocolate sauce (70).. to make up for the puny lunch. :]

Dinner: turkey burger(190) on a whole-wheat bun(200), with spinach & tomatoes (about 30 cals) and some mustard and ketchup (40-ish)
And also, a salmon skewer, that had like, bell peppers on it.(100)

That puts me at almost exactly 2500 for today. :] And I feel awesome.

Now, g'night everyone!

breakfast:400 cals

-fruit n fiber cereal+orange juice+2 prunes+vanilla FULLFAT yogurt

snack:140 cals

-bueno choc

lunch:250 cals

-pistacho yogurt +1 fig+1 pear

dinner: 400 cals

-pizza

that's just the planning..and then i do eat after dinner but i can't think of something in paricular now. see that FULLFAT yogurt?  i'm not scared of it anymore! and it tasted great!! AND that pistacho frozen yogurt, it's AWESOME!! and it's loaded with cals and fat as it's make of fullfat stuff...also, last night i had brownies!! can you believe this?? i made it with my sis and i had it with my family and they were really happy and proud even they didn't comment which made it easier to feel normal. i'm having like a challenge food everyday and i'm enjoying every bit of it..and as of the bloating..well, i get bloated for an hour or two but then later it all disappears and it's making me feel much better...you know what's weird though? i don't feel like i'm gaining at all..???! i haven't weighed myself (or will until friday) but with all the crab i'm eating, i don't see any change, maybe when i weigh in it'll be different though, i dunno. well then i'll post and keep you updated! thanks for the help,guys. this is such an awesome supportive thread!!

p.s: my intake is usually 3000, but i do still exercise daily and the net becomes 2500 cals..not bad huh? should i be increasing? anyone having the same?

Heh, thanks for the advice on the soy, guys. My BC is a POP, as estrogen containing ones affect my migranes. x:

I feel rubbish. Since I stressed about the 10lb gain my once a day weigh habit has returned and I jump by like a lb a day. I hate this. I hate this I hate this I hate this. I keep wanting to restrict so badly because it's just coming on way too fast. Ugh. I won't, I promise myself I won't, but it just keeps getting worse. It feels like I'm binging, but if I am that means my BMR is 500 if I am really putting on a lb a day. God, what did I do to myself?

hey everyone, sorry i didnt write yest. i wrote it all out and then lost my internet connectoin and was tired so went to bed!

yesterdays food:

breakfast (pre gym): banana and toast with cream cheese

breakfast (post gym): oatmeal with soy milk and apple

snack: activia yogurt and a cadburys choc. bar

lunch: ww bagel with cream cheese and a hot chocolate

snack: ryvita minis and a milkshake (yogurt, milk, blueberries, strawberies)

dinner: vegetable, lentil, apple and hazelnut roast topped with cheese and groats

snack: strawberry milk and oatmeal with pb and banana

agruskin sorry ive not replied earlier but a british bagel is around 220cal depending on the brand and type. also, in flapjacks i add about 100g of the extra stuff, but you can just add as much as you want really!

psychoj yey ive been watching the olympics, i watched it in the gym while i was running and got so engrossed that i ran further than planned :/

out of interest, how much do you guys eat back after the gym, i often run for 30mins at about 6.3mph (oh im 5ft3.5 and 95lb ish) i asked on the fitness forum and no-one has replyed!

Thanks for all the replies guy! I do feel a little better today, yesterday i woke up feeling bad and all the events that happened in the day just tipped me over the edge. I guess i am a pretty competative person when it comes to anything. I always have this desire to win or be the best. I think this is also linked with the fact i am an A grade student, and have always felt in competition with my younger sister who was born with several medical conditions requiring a lot of my parents attention. I am sure the women didnt mean any harm, after all how would she have known it was going to affect me? Plus she gave my mum some great and really useful information too.

Today i fell a little better, except i have a massive stomachache and ..ehem diarrhoea.. but i am determined to make 2200 and then increase until i get to 2500 or higher/ Here what i have planned for today.

Breakfast: Oatmeal made with semi skimmed milk, tbsp peanut butter, sliced banana and 7 strawberries

Snack: 4 Oatcakes with sundred tomato and basil houmous (yummy!)

Lunch: Whole wheat roll with cheese and salad. Activa Raspberry fruit layer yogurt. Small apple. Ginger nut biscuit.

Snack: Blueberries with natural yogurt and 1 ounce almonds

Dinner: 2 egg omlette with tbsp olive oil, mushrooms and salad. Slice of whole meal toast.

Snack: 400ml semi skimmed milk, sachet of options hot chocolate.

Total: 2188. Gonna aim for 2300 tomorrow. Where abouts should i be aiming for calorie wise?

Hello everyone!

agruskin I, too, live alone and thus do all my own cooking. Like Gibbit, I usually make a decent quantity of proteins and starches and then mix and match adding fresh veggies and the all important FAT when I prepare meals. Although its kind of a pain, I like making a gigantic pot of soup to which I can then add pasta, rice, barley, beans, meat, etc. or eat with bread or a sandwich. (Supposedly soup is filling but I find I can eat a lot of it without getting too full.) I'm part Italian so I frequently eat ww pasta to which I can add a variety of sauce/protein combos. Canned beans are terrific. I like them combined with other grains or mashed and spread on bread then broiled. (If you eat cheese it would be a nice addition.) Bulgar is another yummy option. It cooks quickly and is good hot or cold.

I am amazed at how much my mood and spirits have improved since using this website. Thanks!

Yesterday's intake:

breakfast: 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Muesli w/ 1/2 scoop whey protein powder, 1 cup nonfat milk, handful of blueberries
slice of Ezekiel bread w/ 1 tbsp. almond butter
orange, kiwi

lunch: veggie soup pureed w/ 1/4 cup peas, 2 tsp. olive oil
2/3 cup brown rice
salad w/ 4 oz. turkey tenderloin, eggplant hummus, sunflower seeds

snack: smoothie (oj, protein powder, nf soymilk)
2 bran-a-crisp crackers w/ 1 tbsp. peanut butter
1 piece Elev8me bar
peach

dinner: 3 1/2 oz. turkey tenderloin
1/2 eggplant/ brown basmati rice wrap topped w/ salsa and 1/2 oz. tomato garlic soy feta (First time having cheese that is NOT nonfat in years! This is made w/ whole soybeans, olive oil, and fortified w/ omega-3's. Also, I NEVER buy prepared foods. Got the wrap at a local health food store. Even though the ingredients/nutrition stats were listed I usually don't trust them so I consider this a personnel victory.)
veggie medley in lemony hummus sauce over baby spinach
small glass of oj

snack: 1 cup nonfat yogurt w/ mixed berries
glass of plain nonfat soymilk w/ cinnamon, couple chunks of watermelon

Aimee-You have great ideas, for everyone! Thanks!

Agruskin-You can buy these pre-cooked whole chickens at my grocery store. They sit under a heating lamp. They are really really good and easy to use. The first night my mom made chicken ravioli, another meal was a salad w/ chicken, walnuts, strawberries, etc. Then on the third day, I made that chicken salad sandwich. THREE meals in this small-ish chicken! Oooo, just read your "Kosher post." Dang it. Well maybe you could just substitute any meat for what I just said. I think that that meal would be fine! Just not every night b/c life needs variety! Pasta is awesome! Get whole wheat and it will fill you up. A portion size is actually a good bit. Most pasta gets bigger when it cooks too. But do not worry about portion too much. It is okay to have more than a "portion!!!"

Relena-That is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!

Lala-I am sorry your weight is coming on so fast. Your body is probably in like heaven right now though :] You can do it!

Charlieuk-I am loving the Olympics! I get so into sports too. Sometimes (ok like all the time) I become way to psycho about them, hence, PSYCHOJ! When I go to the gym(when my knee was better) and I ran and did stuff like that, I would come home and eat probably like 200 calories? Yeah, around there. But I would always eat back the calories at some point!

Butterfly-Good to hear that you are feeling better. That lady was just trying to help, you are right. Calorie wise, just keep increasing and you will be good to go :] Keep on pushing though! Great job!

Charliebo-Great job!!! Congrats and doesn't it taste like TEN TIMES BETTER!?

I am kind of stressed today. I cannot decide to workout at home/go to the gym or to just do my PT exercises that my PT gave me. I KNOW I probably should not go to the gym, but I just love working out and sports. But I need to get my knee better and not worse by going to the gym and all. Why won't my mind ever let me have a day off!?!

aimee- Here is the recipe for the blackberry bars: http://www.recipezaar.com/238720 They're so good, and calorie dense!

agru- I think it's perfectly alright to have something like chicken nuggets and fries. It might be unhealthy for normal people to do it every day, but it certainly won't hurt you. A calorie is a calorie! So 100 cals of fries is the same as 100 cals of apples.

relena- That is so amazing! You are making such great progress. Discovering what foods you enjoy is one of the best parts of weight gain! I think you should wait until you weight to see whether you should add cals or not.

Blahhh!!!!! I've been only eating like 2600-2700 cals for the past couple days. I weighed myself a couple weeks ago even though I'm not supposed to and I was up like 4.5 lbs in a week.. I know it was probably water weight but I can't convince myself to eat more! I'll probably weight again soon just to check that I'm not losing massive amounts eating like this...

Breakfast- SNB on WW bagel, nectarine, egg, porridge w/ pumpkin

Snack- Almonds, raisins and blueberrie

Haha, PORRIDGE! There's a British food section in my grocery store and I just had to buy it...

I start my internship today! Ah, I'm scared, I don't know what my schedule will be yet, or what sorts of food options will be around me, or if I can carry snacks, etc. I'm going to be so incredibly busy this semester I'm beginning to worry about how it's going to affect this weight gain since I usually eat every 2 hours. Oh well, this is how normal people live and I have to learn how to do it, plus maybe it will keep my mind preoccupied :)

I also feel ike I really need to exercise today! I know I canoed yesterday but it wasn't too strenous and I didn't work out at all friday and sat. I don't think I'll get a chance to because after work I'm going out to chili's for my cousins bday, and i already looked at the menu and have no idea what I can eat from it :(

Relena- you are doing so great!!! And good job on the brownies and pizza! Baking has been so helpful for me because I trust my own cooking more and this way I get myself to eat some treats every day, because you HAVE to eat your own baking!

charliebo- I second the congrats on full fat! it does taste sooo much better! What kind of pistachio frozen yogurt did you get? I love fro yo and I love pistachio :)

lala- I agree with psycho, your body is probably just loving you right now! and it will level off once it feels more stable, restricting will only set you back and you'll have to do this all over. Keep up what you're doing!

agru- psycho also had some great ideas, and don't worrya bout the pasta serving size! It is larger than you'd expect it to be, but either way, you can have more than one serving! one is usually around 200 cals, so what if you happen to have 300 calories of pasta? It's good for you! I'll make those packs of gnocchi that say they're 3 servings, and I'll eat it all myself for dinner, it's great for weight gaining.

And yes, I watched gymnastics yesterday! I used to be a gymnast so that's my favorite part of the olympics. I'm so amazed by what these girls can do! I want to be that strong again!

hey everyone!

GIBBIT-YAY for your internship! i interned this past yr full time and you know what, everyone has their own weird eating schedules and routines and no one pays attention to anyone other than themselves.  this wil lbe a great opportunity for you, just take a bunch of diff snacks and youll be fine!

AQUA-lol-porridge!!  is it diff from oatmeal?

PSYCHO- i used to hate having to eat other ppl's cooking, still sort of do, but now i wish my mother would cook at least occasionally!  your mother makes ravioli??wow!  i have no clue how to portion meats.  do your PT excercise so then later youll be able to be even better at sports!!

CHARLIEBO-youre doing awesome!! so if you have a portion of pasta, you then add a portion of protein, like fish or meat, and it fills you, it just looks so small!

butterflu, charlei- ill respond to you both later today i have to run and get ready for an interview and its thunderstorming all of a sudden !!!!!! yuck!

Lol, Aqua: Porridge is just oatmeal! XD

And blaaaah, if my body is loving me why is it piling on so fassst. D: I hate it. It makes me so antsy. I'm sitting about eating and I'll in an absolutely horrible mood with everything else. Dx

I found out I may not have free access to the gym weights after all if I am a part-time student |: Annoying. I really wanted to be able to use the pool and the free weights. Maybe I should consider buying a piece of home equipment and some bloody good weights (not the teeny ones we have) instead. Better investment than a membership? I don't know. Rargh Dx

EDIT: Oh god, Aimee, I just read your family dinners thing and now I want a Sunday roast SO BADLY! I generally didn't like the meats that got put out but my nan would always have some sort of alternative protein about too, and OH GOSH THE TRIMMINGS, THE TRIMMINGS! aaaaah <3

yesterday i had:

breakfast=English muffin(130)egg(70)2 oz avocado(90)chocolate-banana-soy shake: chocolate soy milk enriched(130)banana(90)macadamia butter(105)(130)Asian hot cereal(80)

Snack=40gr. yogurt covered raisins(180)dried mango(70)string cheese(80)cup of fresh carrot juice(90)

Lunch=dennys super bird sandwich=] (570) and I had a side of tomatoes about (30)

Snack= 2 oz brown sugar cinnamon pita chips(260)apple(80)odwalla soysmart chai(300)

 

Dinner=rice(150)chicken(about 200ish)avocado(45)veggies(30)1/2 cup cranberry juice(65)ounce of pine nuts(210)

 

Snack=2 eggo waffles(200)strawberries(50)maple syrup(200)cup of soy milk(120)

 

hey everyone

im still not posting food, will when i finish eating but i just wanted to say....i was having such a crappy day food wise, i felt too tiredto go to the gym and it made me feel guilty which scares me because i dont want to use exercise as control :/ but coming on here and just reading your posts makes me feel so much better :D thankyou all!

gibbit i watched the gymnastics yesterday too and i nver realised before how muscular gymnasts are, everyone stereotypes them as a group of people who are extremely thin and theres a supposedly high incidence of eds but those girls were so strong and athletic, made me feel so pathetic haha

psychoj oh yes i incredibly obsessed with sports too, ive really enjoyed the swimming today :) and thanks on the 200 extra for running, thats what ive been having so its all good :)

butterfly im glad your having a better day, youre very similar to me im a perfectionist too but, rather than trying to be the best anorexic, i try to be the best at recovery because that means im a stornger person, so next time, remember your better because your stronger! also, i know its a bit late but you wanted some healthy suggestions for uk supermarkets, well here goes:

dorset cereals: make oatmeal, museli and granola of various sorts, theyre all organic and tend to be high cal, the banana oatmeal (in a yellow box) is yummy!

eat natural: obviously theres the bars but they also do packets of trail mix which is really scrummy

green and blacks: ive recently found they make granola bars which taste a-ma-zing :P

stuffed pasta: all places sell it and when you want a quick meal that isnt ready made its ace because its carbs and protein in one, just add a veggie sauce!

crusha milkshake mix: not so healthy but makes a glass of milk a bit more pleasurable and adds some extra cals!

ambledown: an all natural company that makes veggie/vegan pies and nut-roast style things (what i had for dinner yesterday!)

hmm if i remember anyothers ill let you know ;)

Charlie-Glad I could help :] I love sports! They are my life.

Lala-I know that I would rather belong to a gym. But that is just me. I love the atmosphere. Being around people while I work out just makes me want to go and do better!

Agruskin-Yeah, you all are right. I am not going to the gym. I have a physical therapy appointment tomorrow and I get my ORTHOTICS (sp?) on Thursday!!! I am so excited. They are supposed to help incredibly. Yeah my mom made it homemade. It was so so yummy and filling. Glad I actually had some. A year ago I would have rather died!

Aquaev-Come on you can do this! Keep on going girlie!

I have added a LITTLE more and I am feeling good :]

Breakfast: Heart to Heart Original cereal w/ skim milk

Lunch: Peanut butter sandwich, few grapes, organic apple, and pretzels!

 

Psychoj: Heh... I'm in between. I like the competitive feeling but I also feel a bit let down in myself if someone does 'better' than me while working out. Which I think may be something that contributed to my over-exercising... though I also don't know where I'd store a machine at home. In my room might not go down too well with my parents, heh. We do have a stepper at home, but it makes way too much noise. Plus my posture always sucks on it. Hah.