Help any ideas on gaining weight

There are powdered drinks, like Complan, which are fortified with various essential ingredients and which I believe are recommended for people who have low body weight.

It does seem odd that you have lost so much weight. I agree with those who say you should ask to see a dietician who may be able to pinpoint the reason for your weight loss and how to deal with it.

I've always had difficulty trying to gain a little weight but have had some success lately by adding the following to my diet:

Swedish Glace Non-Dairy Ice Cream (Vanilla is my favourite but they also do a raspberry flavour one) with sliced bananas + Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousses (ASDA) + Sesame Snaps (Packs of 4, each pack contains 3 bars). I've also been having a few ginger biscuits with coffee but don't think they contribute much to the weight gain. I did have a few fry-up meals for a few weeks (2 rashers of bacon, about half a dozen mushrooms, an egg, couple of fried and couple of fresh raw cherry tomatoes & a slice of unbuttered toast) and think they helped but don't think they would make a good permanent solution so now limit how often I would eat this as a meal. Similarly I ate 1-2 packs of Yum-Yums (doughnuts) for a few weeks (as there were 4 in a pack I guess it averages out to about 1 per day) but now don't have them every week - more of a treat than a staple.

This is the only time in my life I've ever managed to purposefully gain a few pounds. Good luck - I think a lot of people under-estimate how difficult it can be to gain weight (and I imagine many find it hard to lose weight)

In order to gain weight you need to add more calories to your regular intake every day. For most people, 2800 calories a day will do the trick, less than that if you're small to begin with.

If you can't eat large quantities, try eating smaller amounts, more often. Add a nutritious bedtime snack to your regimen and enjoy rich, calorie laden desserts as often as you can. Add a slice of bread to your main meals and choose menus with lots of gravy or dairy.

Have you tried adding a nutritional supplement with your meals? My own mother gained back all her weight thanks to a supplement (milkshake) called Ensure. I checked and it's now available in all kinds of formulations, sizes and flavors. You can order it on Amazon.

I solved a similar problem by eating a forenoon and an afternoon snack, plus more at breakfast.

I think it helped that I stopped worrying about my weight loss, which there was no medical reason for, and only weighed myself once a week.

Yes I have an app for next week to have one, I'm terrified of been Ill at the moment ,
Thanks for all your help and suggestions

I really hope it works...also, have you had a flu jab? I think it would be wise, given the circumstances.

My doc also gave me the advice that londongranny was given about getting the weight on and not to worry too much about how as that can be addressed later
I have already asked to see a nutritionist and have been informed that I don't really needs one !!!

Montezuma 100% cocoa chocolate is high-calorie and also healthy, as it contains useful minerals but no sugar. It certainly puts weight on to me when I don’t want it to! Available from Sainsbury’s. If you find that too bitter, small amounts of 85% cocoa dark chocolate might be good.

Nuts and seeds are also high-calorie and healthy.

When I gave my friend with MS's carers ideas for getting her weight up the GP had said, don't worry about everything being healthy, just get the calories in as much as possible. Also I had taken note that Jeanlizzie is keeping a food diary so the GP can veto anything they think is inappropriate.

For a close relative, we changed from semi skimmed to fullfat milk, added banana to ready brek for breakfast, and did little things like adding some custard to a piece of sponge so making it a simple pudding, which gradually did the trick, putting on about a stone. Hope you find whats right for you.

I read ages ago about someone who was stick thin and who couldn’t put weight on, no matter what or how much she ate. Turned out she had a tapeworm. Had it unknowingly for years, apparently. An appropriate anthelmintic sorted the problem out.

I recently saw a nutritionist advising rich fruit cake for people with dementia who have a small appetite as it contains lots of dried fruit so is more nutritious thatn other cake - so maybe that's worth adding to your diet too?

I don't think the loading up on unhealthy fats is good advice. I agree with an increase in fat intake but I'd go for olive and rapeseed oils as much as possible. Extra protein is best at the end of the day or it may suppress your appetite. Building muscle through exercise is always a good idea, too.

Agree LondonGranny. Professional help is required if a person is unintentionally losing weight.

I'm 5'9" and for years weighed 8stone, sometimes dipping to 7 1/2
Then I gave up smoking and am now a normal weight for my height 9 1/2 stones.
So, if you smoke give up and at first you'll eat all sorts of junk but eventually it will settle down.

I eat a healthy vegetarian diet but it is heavy on the fat I'm afraid, just love cheese, cream etc. I do add protein and collegen powder to smoothies too.

Do press your GP to find out if there's an underlying problem and then eat whatever you fancy, plenty of it.
Good luck and keep us posted.

You need to increase your protein ,you can buy protein powder to add to things too

I have another GPs app in the morning about it but feel bad as I hate taking there time up for something that's not an emergency
Jeanlizzie read the above again and then think about it. The vast majority of problems people take to their doctor are not emergencies. Whether it is diagnosed cancer, a broken leg, or a spot on the nose. A&E is for emergencies doctors are for people like you, with debilating and worrying conditions that need treatment and may be difficult to diagnose.

So screw up your courage, go to your doctor and keep going to him until he refers you to a specialist and a dietician. Ask him to do both of the above and if he doesn't, go and see a different GP in your practice who will. I suspect you are being discriminated against because you are old, slight and just another old woman with old lady problems. As another poster said. Go in and be assertive.

We had to do that when our GP's only response when DH kept coming to him with excruciating pain in his arm, was to fiddle around with pain killers, none of which worked. When I went to the GP with DH and asked for a referral, after grumbling he did. DH was found to have several crumbling vertibrae in his neck causing a trapped nerve. He was treated for that and the pain went.

wildswan16
You're right. It was mistakenly posted on the wrong thread but GN won't move it till tomorrow.

Not sure what Gabriella G54 running with weights in a backpack contributes to the OP's question.

Agree totally with GabriellaG54 fatty, sugary foods are not the answer. Think diabetes and high cholesterol. You need to increase your healthy carbs if you can.

An assertive discussion with the GP.

This is not about thin-shaming or fat-shaming. It's about someone who has, as a result of prescribed drug side-effects and the aftermath of coming off them is worringly underweight. Any answers should be about her and not grandstanding about personal fitness or food regimes. Give the poor woman a break.

Sometimes people find it okay to body shame both underweight and overweight people. I am under 5 feet tall (or should that be small) and weigh around 7 stone which is perfectly acceptable for my height and frame. We all have different body types some of it as in my case genetic. This is known as Ectomorph which means that you have a fast metabolism so burn up food and calories quickly and have trouble putting on weight. Try telling that to people who judge you! Comments I have received are: it is okay for you, you can eat anything you want, you need to put some weight on, you are so tiny, you must eat like a Sparrow. Actually I don't eat like a Sparrow I have a perfectly healthy appetite and enjoy my food. Let's celebrate who we are whatever shape and size and try to be happy in our own bodies. Yes I know that it is not always easy but we are so much more than our weight.

fatgy fatty

You do not need to overload on fatgy foods such as chips and icecream which do more harm than good . Ask your GP to refer you to a nutritionist who will give you proper advice. You can eat unhealthily and put the wrong sort of weight on, the sort that gives you visceral fat. Not a good idea.