Gentle Foods To Bulk Up The Calories
Lady_Clarington
Posts: 76 Member
Morning all,
I'm still on my "elimination / recovery" diet of vegetables (that aren't spicy), fruit (that aren't acidic) and chicken. No wheat / gluten / yeast / dairy / alcohol / anything that is likely to trigger me while my stomach has chance to recover and reset before we start reintroducing foods to see what my triggers are. Today marks the start of week two and I'm meant to be doing four weeks of this.
Yesterday I had 337 calories, I've only managed to get over 1,000 calories (by a whole 67 calories) once in the past week - I'm probably averaging 800 at best. Unsurprisingly I can't help but think this isn't healthy, especially if I'm to do 4 weeks of it! (For those interested I lose 2lb on the first two days and haven't lost any weight since).
What I'm struggling with is that I don't feel hungry. Aside from the weekend where I was working hard in the garden I live quite a static life (work on a computer all day) and don't go to the gym at the moment as previously I've always been too tired (for those interested despite the low calories I'm feeling great!) If I don't feel hungry I get nervous of forcing food down in case it triggers an upset stomach (said stomach is prone to throwing its toys out of the pram at every opportunity).
I don't want to start adding things like soya milk or gluten free bread to bulk my meals up as it seems counter-intuitive to be adding new foods I've never tried before when trying to "cleanse" my body of any previous reactions.
I'm going to make some home made sweet and normal potato crisps tonight with home made humus to increase my snacking ability but can anyone suggest any other things I could be eating to bulk my meals up?
I'm still on my "elimination / recovery" diet of vegetables (that aren't spicy), fruit (that aren't acidic) and chicken. No wheat / gluten / yeast / dairy / alcohol / anything that is likely to trigger me while my stomach has chance to recover and reset before we start reintroducing foods to see what my triggers are. Today marks the start of week two and I'm meant to be doing four weeks of this.
Yesterday I had 337 calories, I've only managed to get over 1,000 calories (by a whole 67 calories) once in the past week - I'm probably averaging 800 at best. Unsurprisingly I can't help but think this isn't healthy, especially if I'm to do 4 weeks of it! (For those interested I lose 2lb on the first two days and haven't lost any weight since).
What I'm struggling with is that I don't feel hungry. Aside from the weekend where I was working hard in the garden I live quite a static life (work on a computer all day) and don't go to the gym at the moment as previously I've always been too tired (for those interested despite the low calories I'm feeling great!) If I don't feel hungry I get nervous of forcing food down in case it triggers an upset stomach (said stomach is prone to throwing its toys out of the pram at every opportunity).
I don't want to start adding things like soya milk or gluten free bread to bulk my meals up as it seems counter-intuitive to be adding new foods I've never tried before when trying to "cleanse" my body of any previous reactions.
I'm going to make some home made sweet and normal potato crisps tonight with home made humus to increase my snacking ability but can anyone suggest any other things I could be eating to bulk my meals up?
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Replies
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When I am flaring, I drink a lot of Carnation Instant Breakfast shakes made with milk (almond or soy works fine if you can't do dairy) and a banana. This morning I had a left over baked sweet potato, so I scooped it out into the blender, added a scoop of vanilla whey protein powder, a half cup of milk and some cinnamon. Then I heated it in the microwave. It was delicious. I do not force food down, but I try to eat as much as I can all day long when I am in a flare.0
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Thanks. I'll definitely remember this for once I'm allowed to eat a little more! (Yesterday was 360 calories and I didn't feel at all hungry so struggled to eat any more than I did). I think finding something like shakes and foods I can graze on is the way forward in the long run.0
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When I am flaring, I drink a lot of Carnation Instant Breakfast shakes made with milk (almond or soy works fine if you can't do dairy) and a banana. This morning I had a left over baked sweet potato, so I scooped it out into the blender, added a scoop of vanilla whey protein powder, a half cup of milk and some cinnamon. Then I heated it in the microwave. It was delicious. I do not force food down, but I try to eat as much as I can all day long when I am in a flare.
That sweet potato concoction sounds yummy!0 -
It was soooo good. I even added a couple of chopped pecans because, hey, I'm on the prednisone and if I can eat it without problems I'm going to!0
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I wouldn't eat enough, either, on a bland diet like that.
How about Ensure? That's what I drink when flaring, and the simple sugars seem to do a good job at building energy & appetite.
Mashed carrots are pretty innocuous & tasty for real food.0 -
I wouldn't eat enough, either, on a bland diet like that.
How about Ensure? That's what I drink when flaring, and the simple sugars seem to do a good job at building energy & appetite.
Mashed carrots are pretty innocuous & tasty for real food.
Thanks. I'm really struggling because its such a bland diet! I've found home made hummus that I can make in a batch and freeze until required useful (after all its just just blended chickpea with a spot of garlic, lemon juice and in my case either cooked beetroot or cooked onion) with sweet potato "crisps" (thin slices coated slightly in olive oil and microwaved for 4 minutes and allowed to crispen up) but not something you want to eat every day and of course things you only normally eat in small portions!
Another one I've found is home made egg fried rice - plain rice cooked and left to stand for 15 minutes (amazed at the amount of water it soaked up!) then "stir fried" (in my case heated in a non stick pan) with egg and vegetables (pepper and broccoli seem to work well). It feels like a proper meal (I added chicken breast) but it seems very gentle. Because I'm not hungry I'm trying to focus on foods with "taste" that I'll enjoy eating because otherwise nothing is motivating me to go into the kitchen!
I'll have a look out for Ensure - I just said this morning that I needed some kind of shake that I could drink a little at a time to get some proper nutrients into me (especially in the morning when my body is in too much pain (back injury) to even consider food. It seems to be lactose, gluten and caffeine free - a good start in my books
Tomorrow marks the start of week three. I'm hoping to speak to my doctor about bringing the re-introduction of food sooner than the four week mark (and not just because I'm craving fish and chips!)0 -
I'm on a really restrictive diet too, I just try to think of what would usually eat and try to find substitutions (egg friend rice and sweet potato crisps are two of my favourites!) For example I've been making fruit crumbles with rice flour and vegetable margarine (I use Vitalite), its basically stewed fruit with crumble topping (rice flour, vitalite and sugar).
Nothings going to work 100% because its not what you are used to but the most important thing is to vary the way you cook/ eat things (trick your mind into thinking it is different) So for example with sweet potato I do mashed, chips, crisps, wedges, cubes, fried, roasted, baked, blended into a soup etc.
I've been slowly adding foods into my diet so its slightly more varied now but feel free to add me and look at my diary for inspiration
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Hi great suggestions here and hope to be add some real soon
Sue :-)0
