How To Gain Weight?

[Lakme]

Hey. It's me again with another thread. I am still in the diagnostic process. Visited a GI at a University hospital and he said that if I were a celiac I would probably be deficient in electrolytes. I was deficient in Chloride at one point but my levels returned to normal after a few months. I got that blood test when my symptoms were at my worst and my chloride was only a couple points below normal. I had another (painful, the nurse missed my vein and had to look around for another. Ouch!) blood test at the hospital. They weighed me and my weight remains stable around 131, but I'm still underweight at 5'11. I'm still going on the gluten free diet, despite the fact that I have been glutened several times, both by my grandmother who is trying  to keep gluten out of my diet and by restaurants. I did manage to gain a couple pounds a couple weeks ago but dropped back down to 131 again

I have typically been eating 1 meal a day since at least high school, with maybe a couple of snacks throughout the day, like ramen or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I never really bothered to weigh myself, but when I first weighed myself last year when my problems started I was 145 pounds, so I'm going to assume that I've always weighed around 145. The glutenings tend to mess with my appetite which goes away after a while and then I start to feel hungry again. I ate a protein bar which didn't say if it contained wheat, just that it may contain traces of wheat. I'm not feeling any drastic effects yet but I'm starting to hope I don't go back to square one again.

The doctor wants to test me for H Pylori, so I have to bring that in later this week. I hate breakfast food, so I hardly ever ate in the mornings, even if I was hungry, and lunch was definitely out of the question, because I always hated school food. 

My question is, how does one like me gain weight back? I have a feeling that if I didn't already have such poor eating habits i'd probably be at least 10 pounds heavier with more weight to lose. I actually just spent the last hour trying to pile on the rest of the calories i needed for today. I spat out that protein bar as soon as I saw the warning. Like I said. I typically weigh 145, but I did cut a lot of chips and other crap out of my diet, however, I was 130 pounds before I started a gluten free diet and my dad insists that it's because I "don't eat" and even though I reply and say "I've always only eaten once a day" I wonder if he's right. I doubt a sandwich or a bag of chips could even make that much of a difference? it's certainly healthier. I've heard of people having trouble losing weight, but I just hate being so damn skinny.

Can I borrow any pounds from you guys?

[Ennis-TX]

I consume 3-4 meals a day, mostly egg whites, nuts, seeds, veggies, vegan protein powders, etc. I also snack through out the day on nuts, seeds, and find sipping on a shake of almond milk, vegan protein powder, almond butter, and coconut yogurt helps to keep weight on, I also take BCAA (Branched Chain Amino Acids) in pill form at night and sometimes between meals to keep my body from breaking down muscle mass.  I have a much more limited diet due to my allergies and intolerance issues.    Gonna love eating meat again if I every can lol. I find taking pumpkin seed protein at night before bed helps me sleep and keep weight on, stuff is wonderful for this..

Thoughts 1. DO NOT eat a bar or something that MIGHT contain wheat that is a huge risk you do not need to take with this diet. If you get glutened the effects internally will persist for weeks even if you do not notice it damaging your insides.   Only eat gluten-free certified bars if you must have a snacks.  

2. When starting off we normally suggest a WHOLE Foods only diet meaning avoiding processed foods for the first few weeks along with dairy and oats to jump start your healing process.

Meal wise I might suggest going with crock pot meals, steamed veggies, and baked meats. Using a crock pot liner minimizes CC and makes for easy clean up, you can add chopped veggies, gluten-free seasoning (CHECK THEM), gluten-free certified, stocks, Fresh meats (careful of seasoned or sausage check for gluten-free)  and make all kinds of glorious meals.  One of my old favorites used to be doing a roast or chicken in the pot then taking it out and shredding it. you can make some great dishes with either the meat or add it back in for a stew. Got a old glorious recipe I used to use to make the best BBQ in a crock pot lol. (check your sauces and condiments) Baking meats in a foiled lined dish for easy clean up is great, Only meat I can have is salmon and crab now days and I love a good baked salmon.  From here you can fix meal prep containers etc. for easy quick meals.

Now I will share some links with some wonderful info, about brands you can trust, information for people new to the diet, etc at the end of this. Now if you looking for good snacks a lot of people swear by some gluten-free bars, Rice cakes with peanut butter on them. gluten-free chips,. I personally just love whole pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, almonds, various other nuts. freeze dried veggie snacks.

In prepping meals I still to this day always use freezer paper and gloves, laying out a sheet of freezer paper makes sure you have a safe clean working surface, and you just throw it away for easy clean up with all the crumbs, etc.  There are a whole lot of areas that need to be addressed for CC if your new to the diet or in a shared house like crumbs in drawers, old pots, pans, utensils, gluten residue on knobs, handles, in the kitchen etc. Need to do a good scrub down and replace a bunch of cook ware, YES pots and pans utensils can hold gluten in scratches etc. Some can be cleaned some can not. Replacing toaster and power scrubbing your microwave and oven are also suggested, using foil in your oven and lining  stuff with it helps in regards there.

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/91878-newbie-info-101/

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/117090-gluten-free-food-alternatives-list/

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/116482-supplement-and-foods-you-take/

 

[Jmg]

You mention not liking breakfast foods, there's no law that say you have to eat 'breakfast' type foods at breakfast! If you follow Ennis's good suggestion above of making a big slow cooked stew or soup you could have a portion of that. My own favourite is omelettes, I have one each morning and vary the fillings, could be bacon, avocado, spinach, mushrooms, onions, chicken, whatever is in the fridge and I fancy. The eggs are packed with amino acids and protein. Breakfast of champions!

if you can find something you enjoy at the beginning of the day that will help you eat more, you do need to up your total calorie intake if you are to put on weight so eating more than one meal a day is a must. Spreading your diet out through the day will also help reduce the load on your digestive system. in regard to putting on weight, eat good quality protein and do some resistance exercise. don't go overboard on carbs because you'll add fat rather than muscle. As you add muscle your appetite will increase as you will need more energy.

best of luck and hope your diagnostic journey goes well.

[TexasJen]

You've had some great advice so far.  I am wondering how you got in the habit of just one meal per day?  Maybe you don't have a big appetite? Or maybe you've been feeling sick for years? Or is it a time issue - you need to eat on the run or at work and don't have time to cook? I think understanding what the issues are might help you get into better habits.  

If you are trying to gain weight, adding some easy to eat, calorie dense food like nuts, peanut butter, avocado can be a good place to start......

Depending on the person and situation, grazing all day can be good or bad.  For some people, it's a way to help add calories, but for other people, it leads them to be "sort of" full all day. They never really are interested in eating full meals because they have been eating all day. Also, when you are "sort of' hungry, healthy food becomes less appealing and it's easier to grab something quick that might have extra calories from sugar, or fast food etc.  Just some thoughts. Hope they help. Good luck!