Weight Gain Advice For My Thin Friends

A couple of months ago, I started a thread about my anxieties on losing weight and feeling too thin (I have IBS-D and every time I get D, I lose weight). A number of you with the same situation responded to the thread and to me personally. I said that I would keep everyone informed on any information I came across about gaining weight. I am now working with a dietician, and she has given me a brochure on how to increase calories and protein with having to eat too much. The key is to eat high calorie foods. The following is from the brochure. I hope it helps. To increase calories:For those people, like myself, who are lactose intolerant, I suggest using Lactaid milk or any other brand of milk that has had the lactose removed.*Add butter or margarine to foods, such as soups, vegetables, sauces, cooked cereals, rice, eggs and mashed potatoes.*Serve breads warm so that more butter or margarine can be spread and melted into them.*Blend whipped cream into flavored gelatin and puddings. Use as a topping on desserts (such as pies), fruits or hot chocolate.*Use sour cream on vegetables, potatoes and meets. Try using it as a base for dips, salad dressings or to make a rich sauce or gravy. As a dessert idea, add brown sugar or honey to sour cream and serve with fruits.*Spread cream cheese on breads or add to dips, flavored-gelatin salads, sauces, casseroles or sandwiches.*Use peanut butter or other nut butters on crackers, toast and fresh fruits, such as apples.*Add bacon to sandwiches, casseroles, vegetable dishes and salads.*Add avocado and olives to salads and sandwiches.*Use honey or sugar as a sweetener in coffee, tea, cereals or on fruit.*Add raisins, dates, chopped nuts and brown sugar to foods, such as hot cereals and puddings.*Add marshmallows to fruit or hot chocolate.*Use mayonnaise in salad dressings, meats and egg salads or as a condiment on sandwiches. Dip vegetables in mayonnaise.*Use cream in place of mild when making soups, sauces, hot cereals and puddings.*Be generous with the amount of sauce and gravy you pour over rice, noodles, potatoes, and meats.*Use breading on meats, poultry and fish.To increase protein (Warning: Eggs are on the list, and my doctor has told me that egg whites are one of the hardest things to digest. If you�re having problems with diarrhea, you might want to stay away from eggs for awhile.):*Add extra chopped or pureed meats to soups, stews, casseroles, vegetables, potatoes, rice or noodles.*Add chopped eggs to sauces, casseroles, potatoes, rice, noodles, salads or sandwiches.*Select recipes that contain eggs, such as custards or eggnog. Avoid eating raw, uncooked eggs.*Add grated cheese to sauces, casseroles, potatoes, rice, noodles, vegetables or salads.*Try fruit and cottage cheese for an easy, nutritious food.*Add chopped nuts to salads, sandwiches or desserts.*Use nut butter on celery, apples, bananas, crackers or toast. Try adding nut butters to cookie recipes or frostings. Even try spreading it on chocolate bars for a delicious treat.*Add powdered mild to a variety of foods, such as hot cereals, soups, casseroles, puddings, sauces, gravies and scrambled eggs.*Boost the protein in whole milk by adding 1 cup of powdered mild to 1 quart of whole milk. Blend well and chill. Use this "Double strength" milk in cooking and for drinking.The brochure also suggests eating frequent small meals instead of 3 big meals a day.------------------