eating disorder recovery and eating enough

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typicallystrange
typicallystrange Posts: 29
edited November 2014 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
i've been trying to eat 3000+ calories a day (following the minniemaud guidelines: www.youreatopia.com/blog/2013/3/31/minniemaud-guidelines-for-recovery-from-a-restrictive-eating.html), but i've had a lot of trouble with actually eating 3000.

in the two and a half years that i had my disorder, i maybe only managed to eat 3000+ calories on my worst binges (very rarely), helped along by extreme hunger.
i also managed to eat 3000+ calories when i again experienced extreme hunger early in recovery. however, now that my urges to eat everything and sight, to the point where i'm bursting but still hungry are gone, i find it very hard and actually inconvenient to eat that much.
On a regular day i eat to my hunger cues (but trying to eat calorie-dense foods) and ingest about 2000 calories. that extra 1000 calories i just run out of time to eat (i still do it....but eating an extra 1000 calories before you go to bed is not fun). my main concern is i just do not feel hungry enough to eat that extra 1000 calories that i know i need, and the only way i manage to eat that amount is to eat large plates of pasta, icecream, pizza, nutella, cake, a lot of bread, supplement drinks like sustagen, nuts. i go a bit overboard on the sugar, which is probably not a good thing.

my weight gain is also slowing, and i'm concerned that in order to gain more i will have to eat more, which is difficult!

do any of you eat 3000 or more calories a day (what do you eat?), or know of any not very filling high-calorie foods?

i feel like i should also mention that i have never eaten a lot of meat since i was a very young child, became a vegetarian before my ed.... so any recommendations to eat X or Y of which a big portion is meat (including seafood), although appreciated, would not be 100% helpful

Replies

  • doingthisfortheboys
    doingthisfortheboys Posts: 35 Member
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    could you make your own smoothy / protein shakes whole milk and add everything to it so its really high cal. Cheese is a good way to add cals if you havent tried it already, granola in full fat yogurt with toppings such as nuts x
  • GymRatGirl13
    GymRatGirl13 Posts: 157 Member
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    I do shakes, too when I need to get in some extra calories. It is especially convenient right before bed, if you are short on calories. Rather than making those calories up in sugar, do it with fat sources, such as peanut or almond butter (2 tbsp is 200 calories) and avocado. Avocado makes your shakes really creamy, but is pretty much flavorless. Here is an example of a calorie dense, delicious shake: 1 scoop of whey protein (any flavor), 1 banana, 1.5 cups of milk (almond, rice, coconut, cow's or whatever you prefer), 1/2 avocado, 3 tbsp peanut butter. Add in 4-5 ice cubes and add extra milk until you get it to your desired consistency. You can also use pumpkin, or cooked sweet potatoes instead of banana for a less sweet shake. If you do, add some cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. Delicious. Top it with some whip cream and you basically have a healthy, high calorie, nutrient dense shake. Total calories are around 700, depending on what you use for milk. Whole milk will obviously be around 3x higher in calories than almond milk. Hope this helps. Also, adding olive oil to your cooking will get you some quick calories, without adding any fullness. Whole eggs are easy, too. 70 calories each. Mix them with some veggies and cheese, and you have a quick, fairly light calories dense meal. Good luck!
  • typicallystrange
    typicallystrange Posts: 29
    edited November 2014
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    Thank you so much you two! More cheese and granola and protein shakes for me :) (oh my god those shakes sound really cool)
  • ucabucca
    ucabucca Posts: 606 Member
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    Eating granola on yogurt is great idea as well as adding some nuts. Peanut butter or hazel nut adds a lot of calories but also good source of fat which we do need. Cheese is good and can be used to help with veggies. I use shakes a lot they are also easier on system to absorb. Making your own shake you can have one for 200-even 1,000 calories depending on your needs and what you add. I use almond milk or seltzer water a lot but when I started recovery I was using cream recommended by team. Things I add alone or in combination are: ice cream, fruit, peanut butter, cereal, oats, flax seed, squash, yogurt, Its easier with a good blender. I can also double protein powder. At present I am using evolution powder but tried and liked Matrix too. The ones at wal mart taste terrible to me It is worth spending more to get better taste and one that can be easily digested. Good luck
  • doingthisfortheboys
    doingthisfortheboys Posts: 35 Member
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    oh yes flaxseed is awesome, have it on my porridge every day tend to be 170 cals for 30g
  • typicallystrange
    typicallystrange Posts: 29
    edited November 2014
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    doingthisfortheboys wrote: »
    oh yes flaxseed is awesome, have it on my porridge every day tend to be 170 cals for 30g

    that is indeed awesome, i'll try it!


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