Suggestions please to help my underweight son

cardbucfan

Hey all,
I have a skinny teenage son (15) with ADHD (takes meds) who desperately wants to gain weight (he has some idea that mixed martial arts is his destiny!). Because of the ADHD meds he has no appetite for lunch and to top it off he's incredibly picky. He has started lifting weights but really needs to increase his calories as well and with the pickyness I have a hard time finding healthy, high calorie foods he will eat (that I can afford-he's not getting filet mignon every day!). He is starving after school every day so if I can find some tasty, calorie dense, good nutrional stuff that would be the best time to get it in him. His doctor makes suggestions like "let him have ice cream!" which isn't setting him for a lifetime of healthy eating.

Can anybody give me some guidance on some good weight gainers or nutritional supplements or even some good links so we can educate ourselves. My problem is the opposite of his so I tend to look at all foods in the opposite way he needs to and I'm not cooking high calorie foods for dinner either.

Thanks!

EuroReady

Nuts, seeds and olive oil? What's great (for him but bad for us) is that it's hard to stop eating cashews and the like once you start!

EuroReady

Oh and I have heard that many organizations will feed malnourished kids lots of ovaltine to gain weight. My friend drinks it constantly to keep her weight up since her metabolism is freakishly effective. It's supposed to have vitamins and whatnot, I think.

But it sounds like, along with a healthy diet, ice cream wouldn't hurt! I'd say go for it.

Vavalabrian

i would suggest starting with a supplement like muscle milk 3 times daily with an avocado or a peanut butter sandwich that is what i eat for pre and post workout most of my friends eat chicken and broccoli with almost every meal however i have not tried it as i am a vegetarian and can not vouch for it from my own experience. since he is picky you might want to explain to him that lifting weights and mixed martial arts both require allot of discipline and sacrifices. it is not so much to ask that you eat things you do not like if reaching your goals are more important to your happiness.

cardbucfan

He does drink a lot of chocolate milk (I'll have to check out Ovaltine) and believe me he eats ice cream I just don't want him exchanging one problem for another either. He also comes home from school daily with "mom, I want to get ______ (insert product name here) so I can gain weight" that he heard about from this one guy and school. That's why I'm looking for some knowledgeable advice.

He has been drinking regular muscle milk for awhile now but it's not having the effect he wants. And he's that weird kid who doesn't really like peanut butter and forget avocado! Luckily, he's a huge fan of Greek yogurt and makes smoothies with it as well as eating it by the cupful.

albinogorilla

in highschool i had the same problem, protein shakes with all the goodstuff thrown in are the cure, whey protein powder, ice cream, peanut butter, etc...........

they are tasty, and can easily be anywhere from 300-800 calories. I used to make one that tasted just like a reeses peanut better cup, it had half a jar of peanut butter in it...........

cardbucfan

Any recommendations for a good tasting protein powder? I have one that I like but he's not fond of it (BioChem chocolate). I want to steer clear of the crud that's out there as well as not waste my money. I do realize that taste is subjective but maybe something that tastes similar to muscle milk but has more in it? (I personally don't like muscle milk!)

albinogorilla

none of them are regulated, so there nothing to say what is in a $60 jug isn't from the same pile of powder as the stuff thats $15 a jug

I use walmarts body fortress, its cheap, and i dont care what it tastes like. Its medicine as for as I am concerned. Although i find it tastes fine. You take any powder and toss in some frozen fruit, peanut butter, or ice cream, and it will taste great.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

lots of oil
whole milk
olives
seeds
nuts --in and on EVERYTHING
cheese
whole eggs
potatoes
veggies cooked in oil
peanut butter--sandwiches, in smoothies, with bananas/apples
thick/hearty bread

LovesGG

I'm "underweight" and in Florida too. Go to a Walmart and grab some Equate Plus (350 calories near the protein powders) and 2 dollars cheaper than Ensure plus. Have him start drinking a couple a day to easily add 700 calories to each day. But only use it as a supplement not a meal replacement. Those things have surely changed my life AND they're delicious as well

UponThisRock

Give him fruit. I hear the sugar makes you fat.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

if ensure type drinks are too expensive then buy something like this...it's $51.00 but 1/2 a serving is 475 calories...the tub would be 38 servings (if you 1/2 the serving instead of using a whole serving).... that's $1.35 a serving. make it with 1.5 cups whole milk and 2 tbsp peanut butter and that's 475 + 190 + 225 = 890 calories total for a shake and that's like $2.00 which is incredibly affordable.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Nutrition-Muscle-Chocolate-167-5-Ounce/dp/B000GJZVEK

cardbucfan

These are great suggestions, thanks. I'll look into that Walmart shake and protein powder as well as the Amazon stuff. Gosh, I love this site!

pdworkman

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/03/01/my-high-calorie-diet/

sevenminaya

1. 6 meals a day (eat a lot! HIGH PROTEIN! Every 3 hours)
2. Lift heavy weights
3. Sleep more than 7 hours
4. Drink a lot of water

cbirdso

I had this problem with my son, too. It didn't help any that he would NOT eat any meat -- mostly because of the taste rather than an effort to be vegetarian or for ethical reasons. He is ULTRA picky too, but I also encouraged him to try new foods - this was hard but I was a determined mom - I usually got him to take a few bites of something then he would realize it wasn't so bad.

These things were successful: I "forced" him to engage in high cardio, like cross country, gymnastics, etc. This really helped to increase his appetite (and eat more than he burned actually) and retain muscle mass. Guess it helps that I am a good cook, but I made a LOT of comfort food like macaroni and cheese, gnocchi, omelets, breads, granola, quinoa, oatmeal, etc. and always put in lots of nuts and seeds and butter or oil in everything he ate. Also, he likes fruits and veggies, but I only had him take a protein supplement every once in a while - didn't rely on it. I didn't want him to eat junk, so even though he was underweight, I never encouraged him to eat sugary, processed foods or soda. He is still slim, but very healthy but now that he has been in college he has lost some weight because he misses my food. I just encourage him to workout in the gym and that has helped.

cbirdso

lots of oil
whole milk
olives
seeds
nuts --in and on EVERYTHING
cheese
whole eggs
potatoes
veggies cooked in oil
peanut butter--sandwiches, in smoothies, with bananas/apples
thick/hearty bread

Yep, this is what I did and it worked!

the_other_kitkat

Any recommendations for a good tasting protein powder? I have one that I like but he's not fond of it (BioChem chocolate). I want to steer clear of the crud that's out there as well as not waste my money. I do realize that taste is subjective but maybe something that tastes similar to muscle milk but has more in it? (I personally don't like muscle milk!)

Optimum Nutrition has good word of mouth but the price has gone up a lot recently. I like their Natural Chocolate Whey a lot, and they also have two other natural flavors - vanilla and strawberry - in addition to a ton of artificially sweetened flavors. You can find their stuff on Amazon if you're interested.

I also like the Whole Foods brand vanilla whey and am about to try their chocolate.

ShannonD13

Check out www.neocate.com for their splash boxes.