“Sara, you really need to eat more,” my doctor told me. My insides rebelled at the thought. Don’t freak out, I don’t have an eating disorder. I have a healthy relationship with food. But being chronically ill for years didn’t encourage a lot of eating or help a growing teenager gain weight. When you’re nauseous nonstop for three years, you don’t feel like eating. When your stomach is distended and bloated from your illness a lot of the time, the thought of putting something more in there sounds miserable. When you’re on the AIP diet you can’t have much variety either, so food just wasn’t exciting. Between that and the nausea, there were times I would dread forcing each meal to stay down. Not to mention, with all the supplements I was taking, I didn’t have much more room for food!
So I honestly haven’t eaten a lot in the last few years. I ate enough to survive. I ate enough to take my supplements and keep my stomach settled. But as my body used up all my nutrients and my muscles atrophied and my mold slowly tried to kill my body, I lost weight. I was almost literally just skin and bones and organs.
Not good.
So as I’ve gotten better, my doctor told me I needed to gain weight. So far I’ve gained five pounds, which I’m very proud of. It took a lot of work, some tears, and I still have a long way to go, but I’ve learned a few things along the way.
1. Take Advantage of When You’re Hungry
At first, being hungry didn’t happen much. I kinda had forgotten what it was like to feel hungry. But on the few occasions that I was hungry, I took advantage of it. And slowly, as I was able to increase my food intake, I was hungry more and more and it got easier and easier to get food down and even enjoy it. So take advantage of the moments when you’re hungry, even if it’s at 10 o’clock at night.
2. Pre-Make Things
This has been super helpful for me. Since I’m still on an AIP diet, I can’t really have prepackaged food, so it can be even harder to eat more when it takes so much time and energy to cook it. If you premake some energy balls or something that’s easy to stick in the microwave, it can help you eat on the go or simply eat more without having to sacrifice a lot of spoons. (Not literal spoons, the spoon theory. ;))
3. It’s Okay To Graze
When I was first told to gain more weight, I simply tried to eat bigger portion sizes (as in, portion sizes bigger than a child’s XD). But that was so hard, and I often just felt sick. So instead, I took to eating small portion sizes, just more frequently. I intentionally tried to eat more snacks and things like that. It was much easier.
4. Make High-Fuel Foods
Piggy-backing off of the last tip, something I found to be helpful was to make foods that had high nutrition levels but were smaller in portion size. For example, I started making pea protein shakes with goat milk. That way, I could fit some protein, fat, and a little bit of sugar in something that was a lot less “heavy” to eat. Being able to pack nutrition in without having to eat large portion sizes was much easier on my digestive system, especially at the beginning of trying to gain more weight.
I hope those tips help! If you have any of your own, share them in the comments. I’m still trying to figure this out myself, so tips and tricks are appreciated. Please note that I am not a nutritionist or doctor or anything of the sort. The things shared in this post are not meant to be medical advice, and I would encourage you to check with your doctor about implementing them.
I know gaining weight can be hard and you can feel like you’re not making any progress. But give yourself some grace and keep working at it. It may take a while, but in my experience, it does tend to get easier.
You are an amazing young woman! Your journey has been both incredible and heartbreaking to hear. I just wanted to say that you are a huge encouragement to me, pushing me to a stronger faith in God and a life full of joy complete even in the hardest of times.
Thank you!
Aw, thank you so much Laura! That means a lot. I’m so glad God has used my story to encourage you. Keep fighting, warrior!
These are great tips that I really need to use right now, and I love the infographic!
Hope they help! Lol, thanks! It is the first one I’ve made without a template, I’m kinda proud of it. XD
Thank you for sharing this. I’m in the same boat right now after having lost a lot of weight from pain nausea and lack of appetite from ME/CFS. I’ve also found it helpful to try eating more calorie-dense foods like nuts/nut butter, dark chocolate, and avocado since they take up less room in the stomach. Good luck!
So sorry you’re having to go through this too. It’s not easy. :/ Yeah! I can’t do nuts, but all the rest you mentioned I’ve been eating a lot. Thanks! Same to you.
I feel you Sara. It’s almost unbearable to be under the stress of chronic illness when your still trying to grow up! Makes me feel like life is ssssooooo long and I must be at least thirty by now! And yet there is so much I feel behind on…it’s a paradox for sure!
And it’s hard to still desire food when anything that tastes good is off limits. Eating seems more like a chore now than a delight. 😛
Great post Sara!
It sure does. I struggle sometimes to connect with people my age. The things most of them have in common, I don’t. But I’m learning. 🙂 I’ve written so many posts about this dilemma. 😀 😉
Aw *hugs* You can make it! I know the food restrictions are so hard for you right now. But hang in there!