help! Very Underweight.

Try drinking boost 3-4 x a day along with 2,000 calories in your diet. I am working towards a 3,000 cal diet a day for myself. I have severe acid reflux and don't always keep my food down so I have to re gain some weight. Good luck!

miss2skinny wrote: »

Hi, all.

My name is Kayla, and I'm 26 years old. I have always been built small. I hovered around 105 , and I looked healthy. Believe it or not, I even had a butt and some meat on me.

However, 3 years ago I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. I have lost so much weight. I am 85-88 pounds. 90 if I'm doing "good". I look pretty bad. I don't even fit into 00s. As a 26 year old woman and mother, I am NOT happy at all with my body.

My doctor okayed me to do resistance training with little to no cardio. I'm cool with no cardio. I am, however, kind of a dummy about working out. I had my own little routine a few months back, but fell off when I got sick.

Any advice? I really want a butt and nice legs. I want to gain muscle (obviously) and also maybe a flat belly. I'm not too concerned with the belly yet. Squats? I know. What else? How much? How many reps?

What food? I've been drinking Ensure, bit I'm clueless and so ready for a change. Please help. Thank you!

IRT weight training programs - look into strong curves or New Rules of Lifting for Women. Following a structured program will provide you the best results, especially if you are new.

IRT food - eat whatever foods that you can tolerate with your condition, but if possible concentrate on higher calorie foods to make it easier - nuts, butters (either cooking foods in butter, adding them on top or eat things like nut/peanut butter), oils (either cooking meats in them or using them in salads), avocado, ice cream, bagels (i do a P28 protein bagel with peanut butter daily), protein bars (especially higher calorie ones), protein shake, etc...


I would set up your account to gain .5lb per week. Monitor that for a month and if you aren't gaining add another 250 calories until you start gaining.

Hey Kayla,

I also have Crohn's disease and am a young mom. I understand not being able to gain weight. Trying to increase calories just hurts my stomach, so I've been struggling to get in enough calories a day, while nursing and walking/running 1-6 miles every day. It's a big struggle and when I'm not having a flare-up I can handle more food and calories and my weight will increase to more healthy levels. To avoid dropping weight too low, I found that eating lots of eggs (I do duck eggs, since I am allergic to chicken eggs) and keeping my protein/carb levels in balance is super important. I also try to eat all my big meals in the morning and early afternoon and then eat frequent small meals the rest of the night. This allows me to get in more calories and eat later in the evening, without hurting my stomach and making digestive issues worse. I was given 3 months to live at the age of 17, because of Crohns Diseae and I did a complete lifestyle and diet change. I haven't taken medication since being diagnosed and have controlled my Crohns by diet, knowing my food sensitivities and allergies, and changing my lifestyle. It's been six years and I am the healthiest I've ever been. I just had a baby in February and ran my first 5k in June . I still get flare ups, but I have a plan on how to get back on track. I hope you are able to find what works good for you! I'd love to help if you have any questions!

horsecrazygirl92 wrote: »

Hey Kayla,

I also have Crohn's disease and am a young mom. I understand not being able to gain weight. Trying to increase calories just hurts my stomach, so I've been struggling to get in enough calories a day, while nursing and walking/running 1-6 miles every day. It's a big struggle and when I'm not having a flare-up I can handle more food and calories and my weight will increase to more healthy levels. To avoid dropping weight too low, I found that eating lots of eggs (I do duck eggs, since I am allergic to chicken eggs) and keeping my protein/carb levels in balance is super important. I also try to eat all my big meals in the morning and early afternoon and then eat frequent small meals the rest of the night. This allows me to get in more calories and eat later in the evening, without hurting my stomach and making digestive issues worse. I was given 3 months to live at the age of 17, because of Crohns Diseae and I did a complete lifestyle and diet change. I haven't taken medication since being diagnosed and have controlled my Crohns by diet, knowing my food sensitivities and allergies, and changing my lifestyle. It's been six years and I am the healthiest I've ever been. I just had a baby in February and ran my first 5k in June . I still get flare ups, but I have a plan on how to get back on track. I hope you are able to find what works good for you! I'd love to help if you have any questions!

If you still struggle to get calories, it might be beneficial to switch cardio to resistance training so you burn less calories.. cardio = greater burns = higher TDEE = more food required to gain weight. Also, there are plenty of ways to increase calories without increasing volume as I mentioned above. The one thing I didn't mention is drinking calories... smoothies are a very easy way to add a lot of calories with little volume, especially if you add in peanut butter.