New here, a little desperate

herinclifford
herinclifford Posts: 1 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Hello everyone! To get to the point, I'm lazy when it comes to food and horribly underweight. I don't think I qualify to have ARFID but I think eating is a hassle and a lot of the time nothing "sounds good" so I just chug an 8oz strawberry plus equate shake (Walmart brand knock-off Ensure, 350 calories). I'm 5'8", female. My goal is 130lbs. I'm currently 109. 2 years ago I was a healthier 120 at least.

I miss being pregnant when I effortlessly got to ~140, but then I lost all the baby weight and then some. I have a doctor's appointment early August where I'm going to ask them to run a thyroid panel because 109 is ridiculously skinny for me, but figured I could use some solid data to show how much I'm actually eating every day so that's why I redownloaded MFP after years of not using it.

I'll be reading the other posts in here. Please give me all your tips and tricks please 🥺

Replies

  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,755 Member
    Taking a look at what you're actually eating is a good start. I would highly suggest you work at challenging yourself to try more foods as you can. Even when you don't feel like it. Sometimes, you just have to eat so you're fueling your body, not because it "sounds good". I know that's much easier said than done. Maybe that means keeping protein bars around instead of just relying on shakes. Maybe that means a peanut butter sandwhich. Don't try to go all in and overwhelm yourself, but do try to find something that's "good enough" even when you don't really feel like it.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    edited July 2023
    herinclifford wrote: »
    Hello everyone! To get to the point, I'm lazy when it comes to food and horribly underweight. I don't think I qualify to have ARFID but I think eating is a hassle and a lot of the time nothing "sounds good" so I just chug an 8oz strawberry plus equate shake (Walmart brand knock-off Ensure, 350 calories). I'm 5'8", female. My goal is 130lbs. I'm currently 109. 2 years ago I was a healthier 120 at least.

    I miss being pregnant when I effortlessly got to ~140, but then I lost all the baby weight and then some. I have a doctor's appointment early August where I'm going to ask them to run a thyroid panel because 109 is ridiculously skinny for me, but figured I could use some solid data to show how much I'm actually eating every day so that's why I redownloaded MFP after years of not using it.

    I'll be reading the other posts in here. Please give me all your tips and tricks please 🥺

    Calorie dense food for you. On the healthier end eat foods with oils in them. Avocado, salmon, etc.
    I'd even have you eating fried chicken, fries, and burgers just to get some weight on first.


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  • jilliephillips
    jilliephillips Posts: 1 Member
    edited July 2023
    Me too. My PTSD had me unable to eat so I am 5’9” and also 109. Trying to gain 20 lbs in a healthy way instead of fast food. 2000 calories is SO MUCH when you’re trying to be healthy about it. Ugh, it’s hard when you don’t have the energy to cook healthy and EAT much of anything. If you need to talk to someone going through it, feel free to say hi.
  • Buburuza73
    Buburuza73 Posts: 1 Member
    Hi ! to answer the first post, i think you're on the right track by first investigating if an underlying medical condition is contributing to your eating difficulties? I'd also be curious to understand what food means to you. Sometimes past traumas contribute to some false deeply rooted beliefs that coukdshow up as "lazyness".... Eating/apetite/digestion are automatic functions of our nervous system so not always entirely in our control despite all your best intentions and efforts to eat...
    Some dieticians practice a cognitive behavioral approach to eating so maybe that might help?
  • wishiwasyou333
    wishiwasyou333 Posts: 1 Member
    Hiya! I am in a similar journey. I have always been underweight since my twenties. I'm 46 now. I totally get the pregnancy thing. I gained a bunch of weight and was super excited about being curvy but after I stopped breastfeeding it all dropped off again. Currently 5'9" and 118lbs right now and my goal is 130.

    I'm tired of the constant low energy and achy body. I've been checked for thyroid issues but everything was negative. Being underweight runs in my family on my dad's side which I physically take after. No health issues like blood pressure or cholesterol.

    Crossing my fingers and hoping for an awesome outcome for you!
  • ghcwr9zv5r
    ghcwr9zv5r Posts: 1 Member
    i would say start adding things into your shakes. if you have a blender then this works perfectly. you can put fruits, cookies, syrups, ice cream, really anything you want that will give you more calories without the nasty tasting stuff. this is what i personally do.

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