New here, desperate to gain weight, meal plans/ideas anyone?

krustikrustikrusti

Hi, I've just joined today because I have had enough of my weight issue. I'm 19 years old and have a bmi of 15 I don't know how much I'm allowed to post about how much I weigh on here so thats as much as I'll say. I don't have an eating disorder just led a hectic drug-fuelled lifestyle until I left my previous partner. I am severely underweight and am struggling with appetite and to gain any weight. I want to ideally gain 30lbs as fast as possible then I will be back at the bottom of the healthy weight area on the bmi scale which is a good start. My doctor has said that if I dont start gaining in a months time then he will send me to a dietitian which I really don't need I just need ideas or meal plans of things I can prepare easily and eat quickly to gain weight.

I am vegetarian but have recently started eating tuna to help gain weight. I would be really grateful of any recipe ideas or daily meal plans if anyone would be kind enough to share. Please help me

KaraAlste

Hope you are doing better!

Spheee

Let's see. I would suggest going fully pescetarian, not just vegetarian + tuna.

There are lots of options in the morning. Eggs in any form. Stews. Leftovers heated up. Smoothies with a high proportion of nuts/seeds and fats, whether coconut milk or a liquid fat blended in and emulsified.

For lunch, leftovers are easiest. You can add a vinaigrette of some kind to jazz it up. Or again, stews.

For snacks, a half or whole avocado.

For dinner, there's stews, braised one pot meals, or roast fish with a lot of veggies drizzled with good quality fat. Be sure to eat shellfish, they are especially nutritious. Keep good quality canned sardines and salmon around for emergencies.

One approach is to cook large enough amounts to last about four days. If you've got two of these dishes at all times in your fridge, it won't be too monotonous.

The bottom line is, add healthy fats to everything. This includes coconut oil, olive oil, and avocado oil. With olive oil, be sure to get something high quality because there is a lot of olive oil fraud out there. I buy peppery olive oils made from immature olives because nobody is faking that, and it's super healthy and anti-inflammatory. I only cook with refined coconut oil (and animal fats but you don't eat those) because it has a high smoke point.

If you have trouble digesting large amounts, supplement with digestive enzymes.

Also take a magnesium supplement because our soils are depleted in magnesium, so it's hard to get enough from food. Magnesium glycinate is a good kind to take, it helps with sleep. Also be sure you are eating enough iron. Try to get iron from your food rather than supplements, because foods that are high in iron are also high in other micronutrients that, while essential, are not as widely known. If you're eating enough iron you're probably getting more or less enough of these other diverse micronutrients, as well. Shellfish is usually high in iron.