Need to gain weight FAST!!

I ate Bryers full ice cream to gain weight fast. It is noting but milk, cream, sugar. Taste is not too heavy sugary (I am very sensitive to that....used no sugar for sweetening before cancer). Bryer's has no preservative junk. Also, ate fruits like bananas and drank 100% juice fruit drinks. I gained in between chemos....Mark is lucky, after surgery I had lost 30 pounds from pain, etc. I dropped to lowest weight I'd been since college. Tell him to find foods that taste good, even if its little bites, many times a day. I felt like I was always putting something into my mouth. But it worked. Now I have to reverse gears.....not worried about weight loss any more, done with everything, now worry about too much gain! I send the hope to him to soon have this problem. He's lucky to have a great caring friend like you to watch over him.
Kathi

Hi there -
I am so sorry that your friend is having a hard time gaining....but, please, don't even think about filling him with junk food (Ensure, etc.)
Here is what I would do: concentrate on high quality foods. If he is a confirmed vegan, you can still have nuts, legumes and whey powder. Purchase whole grain pastas and brown rice and sprouted grain breads. Also add avocado daily. Nut butters (I use almond butter a lot) are also helpful (and not the junk-laden brands like Jiff). I know that you can make a concerted effort to create healthy meals which are calorie-packed. When I was needing to gain weight, I asked the trainer at my health club who had played football in college what he did to keep weight on. He mentioned eating frequently and not waiting until one is hungry. Every three or four hours, have a meal (or something nutritious and calorie driven). The nice thing is that your friend will also gain lots of strength from good food.
There are great soups (Westbrae, and Amy's is very good, I haven't tried Whole Food's 365 brand) which would work into his vegan lifestyle: black bean and lentil. You can also add cut up tofu to these soups for added bulk and protein. The whey powder can be added to yogurt smoothies (with fresh fruit) - there are great brands of yogurt (plain, organic) which have full-fat varieties. Just think outside the box right now. Cook whole grain pasta anad add it to soup. Add eggs or soybeans or chicken (if he will eat meat). Make tofu wraps with whole grain tortillas bean and rice burritos with avocado for snacks. I remember having almond butter on toast and then having it again as an afternoon snack and then having it again - you got it - before i went to bed. I used at least three to four avocados per week. I would hard boil eggs for salads and then make whole grain croutons and use olive oil on everything. I added soybeans to just about everything. I didn't rely on junk and I have gained...and I have a high metabolism.

Don't be discouraged. This will take planning, but it is possible. Try to have something ready for Mark every two hours or so. Hope this helps...and don't forget salads and veggies - he needs everything. I also added a glass of unsweetened soymilk with every one of those almond butter toasted sandwiches...on great raisin bread - and heated soymilk at night before bed. I tried to guesstimate protein intake as well as calories and it does pay off.
Keep your faith in a healthy process and in his ability to beat this thing. If at all possible, go to a Whole fFoods, pick wisely and generously (and try not to look at the bill). All the best to you - Maura

CAMaura said:

Hi there -
I am so sorry that your friend is having a hard time gaining....but, please, don't even think about filling him with junk food (Ensure, etc.)
Here is what I would do: concentrate on high quality foods. If he is a confirmed vegan, you can still have nuts, legumes and whey powder. Purchase whole grain pastas and brown rice and sprouted grain breads. Also add avocado daily. Nut butters (I use almond butter a lot) are also helpful (and not the junk-laden brands like Jiff). I know that you can make a concerted effort to create healthy meals which are calorie-packed. When I was needing to gain weight, I asked the trainer at my health club who had played football in college what he did to keep weight on. He mentioned eating frequently and not waiting until one is hungry. Every three or four hours, have a meal (or something nutritious and calorie driven). The nice thing is that your friend will also gain lots of strength from good food.
There are great soups (Westbrae, and Amy's is very good, I haven't tried Whole Food's 365 brand) which would work into his vegan lifestyle: black bean and lentil. You can also add cut up tofu to these soups for added bulk and protein. The whey powder can be added to yogurt smoothies (with fresh fruit) - there are great brands of yogurt (plain, organic) which have full-fat varieties. Just think outside the box right now. Cook whole grain pasta anad add it to soup. Add eggs or soybeans or chicken (if he will eat meat). Make tofu wraps with whole grain tortillas bean and rice burritos with avocado for snacks. I remember having almond butter on toast and then having it again as an afternoon snack and then having it again - you got it - before i went to bed. I used at least three to four avocados per week. I would hard boil eggs for salads and then make whole grain croutons and use olive oil on everything. I added soybeans to just about everything. I didn't rely on junk and I have gained...and I have a high metabolism.

Don't be discouraged. This will take planning, but it is possible. Try to have something ready for Mark every two hours or so. Hope this helps...and don't forget salads and veggies - he needs everything. I also added a glass of unsweetened soymilk with every one of those almond butter toasted sandwiches...on great raisin bread - and heated soymilk at night before bed. I tried to guesstimate protein intake as well as calories and it does pay off.
Keep your faith in a healthy process and in his ability to beat this thing. If at all possible, go to a Whole fFoods, pick wisely and generously (and try not to look at the bill). All the best to you - Maura

Here are a few more random thoughts: I do not know where you are geographically, but any change of scenery might help boost Mark's spirits as well as appetite. A short drive with a car-picnic if the weather is bad just to see different sights. Renting a funny movie with a great meal to pair with it. Flowers in the house. Just mood lifters, but I think you get my point. He has been through the ringer...and might be a little or a little bit more depressed.
And in the food direction again, you can add and vary nuts to many meals for both calories and nutrition; to salads, to top soups, in hot cereals, and mixed with dried fruits for in between meal snacking.
Maybe a shsort walk in the brisk air will also heighten his mood and appetite. Wishing you all the best and hoping that these little thoughts jog your imagination to think of others. Don' think that because he would like to stay vegan that this is not possible. Wintery root vegetables which are roasted together with garlic and sea salt and topped with nuts and good oilve or walnut oil and a salad or soup with beans or lentils added is just an example of healthy yet power-packed start. Don't give up - and let this be an avenue of nutrition to fight cancer as well. All the best to you - Maura