2000 calories a day - still not gaining

T1DCarnivoreRunner

I only read through half of the comments, but here are my thoughts (which have been repeated, except for 1):

1. Get yourself a Fitbit, then sync with MFP and turn on negative calorie adjustments to get a more clear and accurate picture. I really think you may be "exercising" more than you think just walking around the house and climbing stairs and such.
2. Seek counseling. This has been repeated, but it sounds to me like you will never be happy with how you look until you take care of yourself mentally. Gain, lose, whatever... none of it will make you happy until you find peace within yourself and see yourself accurately.
3. If you really want to gain weight, eat pizza (restauraunt made with regular crust) and drink soda. I know you mentioned that dairy is tough for you, so see a dr. about that and see if there is a pill or something that can make the cheese on pizza tolerable. Seriously... pizza is very calorie dense, so I would shoot for 2-3 pieces at each meal and drink nothing but soda (lemon-lime is best - try Mountain Dew) all day. If you eat 2 slices of pizza each for 3 meals daily, and 5 cans of Mountain Dew each day, you should be over 5,000 calories.

Owlibee

Peanut butter. On everything. All the time. That would be my plan.

This is great advice. 3x a day eat a tablespoon of PB. That's an extra 300-350 cals a day right there and can be sneaked in between meals without a problem. Snacking on some dried fruit and nut mix can easily add another 200-300 a day without much in the way of actual eating.

That's 500-650 cals a day extra without trying or bulk eating. It can be done!

I think I might combine the two and make peanut butter fruit and nut bars. I have done it before with nutella Its getting the calories in easy to eat chunks. PB seems to be the way to go!

jimmmer

Peanut butter. On everything. All the time. That would be my plan.

This is great advice. 3x a day eat a tablespoon of PB. That's an extra 300-350 cals a day right there and can be sneaked in between meals without a problem. Snacking on some dried fruit and nut mix can easily add another 200-300 a day without much in the way of actual eating.

That's 500-650 cals a day extra without trying or bulk eating. It can be done!

I think I might combine the two and make peanut butter fruit and nut bars. I have done it before with nutella Its getting the calories in easy to eat chunks. PB seems to be the way to go!

Actually, that sounds delicious. May have a crack at it myself!

llamajenn

Hi there,

I read this thread for the first time today. There are lots of good suggestions as far as nutrition goes (nut butter, liquid calories with meals or in between, healthy sources of fat i.e. avocado, guacamole, hummus, nuts). If your pictures are current, please realize that you look very healthy to others. There are probably many people on here who are heavier and would LOVE to look like you.
That being said, I realize it's a psychological issue. Honestly, I've never met a person who former suffered from anorexia or another eating disorder who is trying to achieve the opposite now (gain weight despite being at an apparently healthy weight). Maybe you were so traumatized for being that sick that you are trying to overcompensate(??) Again, a therapist or counselor could help you get to the bottom of this.
Consider that possibly if your weight is lowish, you may not have a whole lot of muscle mass, as this weighs more. So try not to fixate on the number. Someone had suggested doing strength training to increase your weight in a healthy way, by adding muscle. I realize this isn't what you are trying to achieve aesthetically, but for health reasons, it is good for women to build muscle (helps increase bone density, which you may need considering your history of anorexia).
I hope you are able to take the feedback that has been offered by people here. For the most part, it seems like they are truly trying to help you. I am a personal trainer with a background of as a mental health therapist....honestly I believe what would benefit you most right now is finding a good therapist that you could work through these issues with.
All the best.
Jennifer