How to help the "skeletal look"

naturenaw
naturenaw Member Posts: 26
edited March 2014 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Anyone have any good suggestions for weight gain besides the shakes?

I am 4 years out now and still struggle daily with the weight and with looking so bony. I'd love to have some meat on these bones. I find that it takes 3 or more tall glasses of water per meal just to get the food down and there's not much room for food when you're consuming that much water! That combined with lack of taste buds (although I can taste a couple things) and sore throat and avoiding hard to swallow things make it difficult to gain weight. I find myself dreading eating and finding it such a chore now! Most of the things I find go down easily are things that are not the most nutritious.

I do want to get back to where i would enjoy eating again. Anyone far enough out to know if that ever comes back? Or is this just another one of those things where I just have to re-adjust what "normal" is again?
Thanks!

Comments

  • oldejack
    oldejack Member Posts: 28
    #2
    weight gain
    one, well maybe two, words. .. CHEESECAKE!!
    a large cheesecake a week. from the frozen section of your local grocer. when you get tired of that theres plenty of variety in the same section. boston cream pie, chocolate mousse, etc, etc, etc.
    then you can move on to the "wafer thin mint".[hehehehe]

    i'm almost 7 years out and it still takes a couple of glasses of water to have dinner. you'll get used to it. and enlarge your bladder. kinda like lifting weights. ..
    i lost some 70 pounds during and after my tx and never gained back the last 30 pounds.
    i figure that it worked out just fine because my knees don't hurt like they used to.
    things will gradually get closer to what they were but taste will still be different.
    i spend more time smelling and anticipating my food now.
    ahhh the aroma of a blt made with fresh baked bread. the smell is the best part!!
    a light exercise program is always a benefit.
    other than that maybe a wild and wanton life as a stripper??
    becoming the beer bong champion at the local sports bar, there's another possibility.
  • SIRENAF42
    SIRENAF42 Member Posts: 202
    #3
    oldejack said:

    weight gain
    one, well maybe two, words. .. CHEESECAKE!!
    a large cheesecake a week. from the frozen section of your local grocer. when you get tired of that theres plenty of variety in the same section. boston cream pie, chocolate mousse, etc, etc, etc.
    then you can move on to the "wafer thin mint".[hehehehe]

    i'm almost 7 years out and it still takes a couple of glasses of water to have dinner. you'll get used to it. and enlarge your bladder. kinda like lifting weights. ..
    i lost some 70 pounds during and after my tx and never gained back the last 30 pounds.
    i figure that it worked out just fine because my knees don't hurt like they used to.
    things will gradually get closer to what they were but taste will still be different.
    i spend more time smelling and anticipating my food now.
    ahhh the aroma of a blt made with fresh baked bread. the smell is the best part!!
    a light exercise program is always a benefit.
    other than that maybe a wild and wanton life as a stripper??
    becoming the beer bong champion at the local sports bar, there's another possibility.

    Funny
    I have read several of your postings and you attitude and outlook is awesome, you crack me up!!

    Sirena
  • SASH
    SASH Member Posts: 421 Member
    #4
    Weight Gain
    There are cookbooks, "Easy-to-Swallow, Easy-to-Chew", "The Dysphagia Cookbook", and "The I-Can't-Chew Cookbook: Delicious Soft Diet Recipes for People with Chewing, Swallowing, and Dry Mouth Disorders" which can all be purchased at amazon. I only had the first one and it had some great recipes and they also include the calorie count for each serving. This might be a good way of adding additional calories to your diet.

    The first one was written by speech pathologists so they understand the anatomy and swallowing.

    There is also weight gain powder that you can add to juices or shakes to add even more calories beyond what is in the normal drink.

    You can also try adding a couple of Standing Rib Roasts tied around your own ribs to give you a more filled out look. LOL
  • victor53
    victor53 Member Posts: 97
    #5
    eggnog
    eggnogs out of season . but when its around and i was lucky i went thru treatment last eggnog season.
    i tried all the new flavors, but only like Garelicks Farms traditional one thats when my taste buds were really bad.
    But boy the eggnog can pack on the pounds.
  • naturenaw
    naturenaw Member Posts: 26
    #6
    oldejack said:

    weight gain
    one, well maybe two, words. .. CHEESECAKE!!
    a large cheesecake a week. from the frozen section of your local grocer. when you get tired of that theres plenty of variety in the same section. boston cream pie, chocolate mousse, etc, etc, etc.
    then you can move on to the "wafer thin mint".[hehehehe]

    i'm almost 7 years out and it still takes a couple of glasses of water to have dinner. you'll get used to it. and enlarge your bladder. kinda like lifting weights. ..
    i lost some 70 pounds during and after my tx and never gained back the last 30 pounds.
    i figure that it worked out just fine because my knees don't hurt like they used to.
    things will gradually get closer to what they were but taste will still be different.
    i spend more time smelling and anticipating my food now.
    ahhh the aroma of a blt made with fresh baked bread. the smell is the best part!!
    a light exercise program is always a benefit.
    other than that maybe a wild and wanton life as a stripper??
    becoming the beer bong champion at the local sports bar, there's another possibility.

    ice cream helping weight gain
    Thanks for the replies. I am currently maintaining by Heath Toffee Ice Cream - a giant bowl everynight before bed and in between meals when I can. I could not afford to lose 70 lbs.- was only 110 to begin with and now I struggle to keep it at 88! During treatments got dangerously low but this appears to be the new norm for me!

    I agree with what you said about enjoying the aroma of foods. Anything with cinnamon baking!!
    I just keep reading so much about sugar "feeding" cancer cells and hope all this sugary diet I am eating just to maintain weight doesn't come back to bite me with a return bout of the nasty cancer!

    Anyway,Thx for the laughs!

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