dealing with a lack of appetite

[hushpiper]

I know some of you people here are trying to gain weight, as I am, so this is a question for you.

Problem: I'm about 20 pounds underweight. When you've only got 5 feet to work with, 20 pounds is a lot. (And this past week has demonstrated very clearly that if I, say, get sick and can't eat, I'm in big trouble very quickly. Especially if I also try to keep to an exercise routine.)

Problem: Eating more than (at a guess) about 800 calories per day has a tendency to make me ill. I just don't have enough of an appetite.

Problem: Over the past couple of years I've developed pretty harsh intolerances to most of the foods I would turn to in order to get more calories--eggs, fish, wheat, sugars, dairy, and so on.

Problem: I like the idea of eating lots of calorie-rich and low-carb foods--nuts and veggies especially, yummm--because I've generally felt a lot more clear-headed and alert when I do. Unfortunately, calorie-rich low-carb foods have a tendency to fill you (read: me) up faster and lookit that, now we're back to the same problem as before.

So give me the down and dirty, folks. What cheap tricks do you use when you need to get more food? How do you wheedle yourself into taking another bite?

[krj]

I can't say I've ever had a problem gaining weight, but I do find that liquid food doesn't satiate me as much as solid foods. Have you tried coconut milk smoothies? A couple of bananas and a can of coconut milk is a pretty hefty calorie bomb while also being tasty and probably not as filling as, say, steak and potatoes.

[Kewilson]

Coming from the other end of weight control, I can say that bacon can be a calorie budget buster. For instance the brand that was on sale this week has ~100 calories per slice (mostly from fat, obviously). I don't find bacon hugely filling for the amount of calories it has and if anything have had to watch how much I put on the side with my breakfast. A few pieces of bacon, calorie-wise, are practically a meal in and of themselves.

Anyone else have similar such foods?

[Pat G]

Query: what types of work does the Basic Training program you're doing have you on?

krg has a given a good idea with liquid calories, while they don't fill you up as much, they'll help you hit your target daily. If you can't do dairy, perhaps protein shakes (if you can't do whey, try soy or hemp).

The food you do eat, is much of it cooked? try cooking with a added oil (olive or coconut are good options) to once again add the extra calories in (just like fast food).

You could try a short period of having one or two absolutely monolithic meals a week, where all you do is force yourself to eat (alongside all your regular intake). But that is slightly Lift Big Eat Big mentality and might not fit in with your views of health.