Stuggling to gain or keep weight on

Comment by Paula G on September 28, 2010 at 12:10pm

I have tried moving to a whole foods based diet many times but it always gets to the point where I have to add back in the processed stuff just to keep the weight on. Eating a bowl of salad is filling but just doesn't give the calories that a Big Mac and fries does. So here I am again and I know that there are others out there. I have been carrying the THRIVE book around for a couple of weeks now and it is giving me a road map to try again.

Comment by Paula G on September 29, 2010 at 9:12am

Last night I was going to prepare my lunch for today and found that I was out of lettuce for my salad - big disappointment. I find that if I plan my food intake in advance for the day I eat much better. If I don't have a plan it becomes a "whatever happens to be available day". At least I always have fruit and I am finding that the longer I do this the more I choose fruit for a snack over a candy bar or cookies.

Comment by Paula G on November 3, 2010 at 3:36pm

Still struggling but not losing at least. Can't say that I am following a vegan diet though but am feeling good about adding more high quality foods to what I do eat. I have a smoothie for breakfast with plant based protein which seems to keep me satisfied much longer than the previous cereal and milk routine. Sometimes I have the Toasted Apple Cinnamon Cereal with hemp milk and I enjoy that.

Comment by Karen Scheuermann on November 4, 2010 at 2:43pm

Hi Paula! I'm glad you are hanging in there. Me too, but no good results yet. My latest strategy is to double up on hemp seeds and ground flax seeds and make sure they are in all 5 meals. I think you can tolerate a certain amount of acid food. Sometimes I try an acid food and then check my urine pH the next morning to find out how much damage it did. I just heard about another study called the metabolic effect. You can find it on Google. You and I are probably "muscle burners" who burn muscle rather than fat and sugar.

Comment by Karen Scheuermann on November 14, 2010 at 6:29pm

I'm starting to gain a little weight. What worked for me was eating more than 60 gm of protein a day, staying alkaline, and doing strength exercises only if I gained weight (hopefully muscle mass). It's really hard eat that much. I used a Tablespoon each of hemp seeds, and ground flax seeds, a quarter cup of quinoa every meal, and some other protein like beans, hummus, almonds, tofu, whole wheat noodles, buckwheat, sesame seeds, split pea soup, nutritional yeast, greens twice a day and energy bars if necessary. Dipping apples or dates in almond butter helps also. How are you doing?

Comment by Paula G on November 15, 2010 at 3:50am

Karen - I am holding. Have gotten a little off track because I have been busy. Planning and making all this food takes so much time. I am getting in more whole foods which makes me feel better though. A good quality smoothie for breakfast seems to work well for me. Congrats on your success, I understand how hard it is to get down all that bulk to get enough calories.

Comment by Shannon Wallace on January 10, 2011 at 8:00am

Karen and Paula - I have food allergies (wheat, soy) and food sensitivities (quinoa, apples, bananas, some nuts) and have struggled with keeping weight on for a long time.  Menu planning has helped a lot in making sure I get everything I need....but I'm struggling with new ideas.  Would you share any of your weekly menu plans?

Comment by Karen Scheuermann on January 10, 2011 at 2:43pm

I have had most success by concentrating on protein, especially the easily digested kind (seeds), 6 meals/snacks a day, and not doing weight bearing exercises unless I have gained back lost weight. I usually have buckwheat pancakes with quinoa and raisins for breakfast, variations of Brendan's pizzas for lunch and dinner plus a spinach-carrot salad with sesame and nutritional yeast, lots of energy bars, lightly fried sliced sweet potatoes any time, and smoothies in between. I dip dates in almond butter for an after dinner snack. I don't bake the pizzas. I make them like pancakes and add the veggies on top, then flip them.

Comment by Paula G on January 10, 2011 at 6:58pm

Shannon - I am short on time right now and will post more later in the week but I have found that the smoothie in the morning gives me a good start.  Some kind of alternative milk - almond, rice or occasionally soy, frozen fruits (about 3/4 - 1 c), good oil - hemp and olive are the usuals, some honey or agave nectar if I want some added sweetness and a mix of protien - usually hemp and pea.  Sometimes I put sprouted buckwheat or leftover rice in it.  It comes to about 400-450 calories and it takes me about an hour to get through it.  I love my Vita Mix blender.  Pricey but worth every penny.  You should be able to make a smoothie using foods that you can tolerate.  Also try this website: cookingallergyfree.com.  You can register and tell the site what foods you need to avoid and it will then give you the recipes that you can use.   Although I am not 100% plant based yet I am finding that working on improving one meal at a time is improving my nutrition, calorie intake and energy.  Also - how about larabars? Can you tolerate dates?  They can be made at home using a food processor.

Comment by Paula G on January 11, 2011 at 5:43pm

Hi Shannon - I was wondering what you have been eating.  Sounds like you have a bunch of things to stay away from.  Do you like to experiment with foods and different types of flours?

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