Need help GAINING weight

MamaNae
MamaNae Posts: 23
edited October 3 in Health and Weight Loss
No tomatoes please

My husband is Type 1 diabetic and just had a kidney transplant. He's super high on the list in our state (Iowa) to have a pancreas transplant but since they'll be starving him (tube feeds only) for 3-5 days it's recommended that he gain between 10 and 30lbs between now and surgery.

He is currently 5ft8in and weighs 126, ideally they want him at 150 but they'll settle for a 15lb gain.

I have tried nuts...he doesn't care for them (he'll do peanut butter but just a plain nut...not so much). He hates avocado with a passion and all the 'fun' sugary food (ice cream, etc) he cannot eat because of his diabetes!!


We've tried the Boost shakes and they are nasty nasty nasty...

To make matters worse I'm trying to LOSE weight so I'm short order cooking...grrrr

Replies

  • bottlecaps
    bottlecaps Posts: 21
    My roommate adds walnut oils to all his food. It is fairly high in fat and doesn't have to much of a taste.
  • lor007
    lor007 Posts: 884 Member
    I am sorry I do not know much about diabetes, so some foods I suggest may not be feasible..

    If he likes peanut butter, you can also find almond butter, hazlenut butter and sunflower seed butter to give him a variety so he doesn't get tired of it.

    Add olive oil or canola oil to vegetables you cook him.

    Pasta dishes tend to be high in calories.

    Full fat dairy (whole milk, cheese, etc.)


    ETA: I know you said he doesn't like Boost shakes, but have you tried making your own protein shakes? Add in some peanut butter and whole milk they can be very calorie dense and nutritious.

    Good luck with everything!
  • MamaNae
    MamaNae Posts: 23
    Thanks! I'll for sure check that out.

    I told him I'd start fixing eggs and bacon and toast in the AM for breakfast and he now says he doesn't like eggs, they didn't agree with him once so he won't eat them.

    My husband is the worlds most picky eater!!

    And he very very rarely takes his lunch break so this is all breakfast and supper I have to fit in his calories (did his work up here, he needs almost 2,400 calories...that is double what I get in a day lol)

    All those foods are doable.

    He CAN eat most anything he just has to take the insulin to cover it...even ice cream and stuff. My grandma gave me a blender so maybe I can whip up an ice cream/boost/protein/something shake....
  • lor007
    lor007 Posts: 884 Member
    Thanks! I'll for sure check that out.

    I told him I'd start fixing eggs and bacon and toast in the AM for breakfast and he now says he doesn't like eggs, they didn't agree with him once so he won't eat them.

    My husband is the worlds most picky eater!!


    That sounds like my husband, but he only likes the unhealthy stuff.
  • Articeluvsmemphis
    Articeluvsmemphis Posts: 1,987 Member
    maybe ask his doctor/or just google how to gain weight via exercise/food choices.
  • MamaNae
    MamaNae Posts: 23
    Thanks! I'll for sure check that out.

    I told him I'd start fixing eggs and bacon and toast in the AM for breakfast and he now says he doesn't like eggs, they didn't agree with him once so he won't eat them.

    My husband is the worlds most picky eater!!


    That sounds like my husband, but he only likes the unhealthy stuff.

    LOL! Mine won't eat ANYTHING...


    His doctor just said boost shakes...and the he says "And ice cream...oh wait...diabetic...uhhhh forget I said that last part hahaha"
  • significance
    significance Posts: 436 Member
    How about chips (fries) fried in duck fat? Scotch eggs? Grilled lamb chops? Sausages with fried eggs and hash browns for breakfast? Pine nuts and seeds mixes to munch on between meals?

    If he doesn't like plain nuts, maybe nuts dusted in spices, curry powder or wasabi would go down well?

    Chicken in walnut or cashew sauce? Spaghetti carbonara?
  • MamaNae
    MamaNae Posts: 23
    I googled and got all the foods he won't eat...nuts, avocados, sweet potatoes...he won't eat any of that stuff. I've tried and tried a thousand different ways.

    He would live off of Banquet pot pies if I allowed it (I don't because he's supposed to watch his sodium intake)
  • lor007
    lor007 Posts: 884 Member
    Do you have insurance that would cover seeing a nutritionist? That may be helpful seeing as he has special diet requirements.
  • lor007
    lor007 Posts: 884 Member
    Rice and beans are both pretty calorie dense as well.
  • taniastuart
    taniastuart Posts: 4
    It will be hared to gain weight without adding too much fat into his diet and thereby avoiding other issues (like liver/heart issues).

    If he wants the best chance he needs to commit to eating lunch... But if I think of my diet (to loose weight), portion size is the issue, so to create the opposite also supplement by increased carbs (choose white rice, potatoes with toppings, pastas, wholegrain breads, peas/lentils), pork and lamb are both high in calories(and unfortunately bad fats), make a big breakfast (high calorie cereals are are dime a dozen, bacon, hash browns, pancakes, full fat yoghurts, wholegrain toast etc.). Increasing his portion size will take him about 3 weeks to get used to, and you need to increase his desire for food by utilising complex carbs (ie white flour, sugars, white rice etc).

    For snacks - try buttered popcorn, crackers, muesli bars - all the stuff he has been avoiding his life. The flavours will really confuse him for a while. Shakes are a great way to hide food - bananas, avocado, cream,milk

    Good luck! (on both the weight and the pending surgery).
  • Jesung
    Jesung Posts: 236 Member
    Tell your husband to man up and start forcing himself to eat more. People eat upwards of 5k calories a day to gain muscle.

    I'm not sure what is and isn't allowed for diabetics but I would recommend potatoes, milk with whey protein, any meat with some fat, like steak, chicken thighs, ribs, etc.

    If he just needs to gain weight short term, eat junk food.
  • MamaNae
    MamaNae Posts: 23
    Tell your husband to man up and start forcing himself to eat more. People eat upwards of 5k calories a day to gain muscle.

    I'm not sure what is and isn't allowed for diabetics but I would recommend potatoes, milk with whey protein, any meat with some fat, like steak, chicken thighs, ribs, etc.

    If he just needs to gain weight short term, eat junk food.

    It's not short term, he needs to gain and maintain from now until the surgery. Since it's a cadaver (dead) transplant it could be today or it could be a year from now. We don't know...


    Any tips on good sack lunches for him to take to work? Something high calorie??

    Also, he's allergic to poultry (I know, could he have any more complications when it comes to eating!?!?!)

    He was up to around 148 but he got pneumonia twice in a row and it caused him to lose around 20lbs because he was so sick and wasn't eating right.

    Now MY task is NOT gaining 100lbs in an effort to help him gain weight...especially when we don't have the money to be cooking 2 different main dishes for supper *sigh*
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    At this point I think he needs to grow up and eat the foods he needs whether he likes them or not.
  • Colemanlo1
    Colemanlo1 Posts: 30 Member
    Bless your heart. I will be thinking of you and your family. Good luck!
  • RachelT14
    RachelT14 Posts: 266 Member
    My little boy was very underweight at one point, he has had some real issues with food and the dr advised me to give him lots of whole milk to drink and add small amounts of cream to some meals, ie/ i made soup for the whole familly and i added cream to his portion. It isnt a lot at a time but small and often should help with the weight and it is easy to avoicd adding the extra calories to your portion.

    Macaroni cheese is a good one as well and if he has access to a microwave at work can be reheated, you could have smaller portions with a salad. Salad dressings for adding extra calories.

    Good luck to you both
  • jgic2009
    jgic2009 Posts: 531 Member
    At this point I think he needs to grow up and eat the foods he needs whether he likes them or not.

    Exactly what I was going to say.
  • TateFTW
    TateFTW Posts: 658 Member
    He needs to eat a lot of fat. SImple as that. The good thing is that it's easy to add fat to things.

    1. Olive oil is amazing when it comes to adding calories to a meal.

    2. Take chicken, cut it into strips, wrap bacon around it, grill it, then put cheese on top. You've just doubled the calories for your chicken meal, and it tastes awesome too.

    3. Add cheese to everything, cook everything in oil, and put natural peanut butter on everything you eat that can have peanut butter on it.

    4. Whole milk! Some lifters use a diet called GOMAD to gain weight. That stands for Gallon Of Milk A Day. Drink whole milk at every meal while your eating your bacon wrapped steak grilled in butter.

    5. Heavy whipping cream is PACKED with calories. 1tbsp has 50 calories. Use it in your coffee instead of creamer or milk. Also, you can get protein powder and make protein shakes with heavy cream and olive oil.

    Weight-gain protein shake-
    2 scoops chocolate protein powder
    4 tbsp heavy cream
    2 raw eggs
    1 tbsp EVOO
    2 servings natural peanut butter

    The peanut butter and protein powder mask the taste of the oil and eggs almost completely, and this shake totals out to over 700 calories, all while fitting in a normal size glass. 2 of these a day added to his normal intake will put on some pounds.
  • WiiFitFan
    WiiFitFan Posts: 156 Member
    First off, prayers for your husband and for you and your family! I think that adding in peanut butter to things he likes would be good. Maybe make some healthy muffins. Does he like cornbread and ham? You could make cornbread muffins with ham and cheese that would be easy to take to work for lunch. Try adding a healthy oil, like olive oil to his foods. I have two skinny boys that I am always trying to fatten up. They have a milkshake every night and the doctor agreed to that. Keep working at it and just work on increasing his portions. Hope this helps!
  • lildevil968
    lildevil968 Posts: 152 Member
    Can he have some kind of sugar free protein drink or something along those lines? You can try doing something like Muscle milk or something, those will make him gain weight pretty fast.
  • Jjdouglas219
    Jjdouglas219 Posts: 1
    I think I'm getting it more or less figured out LOL

    Breakfast will = sausage or bacon
    biscuits with jelly (the frozen pillsbury ones)
    hashbrowns (made with the bacon/sausage grease lol)
    or
    French toast or pancakes or waffles
    whole milk


    Lunch will = (some combo of) - those little take soups (not the Healthy choice ones, the full fat unhealthy ones), a pb&j, 1 snacky food (homemade cookies, homemade fried bread, homemade muffins or banana bread, pudding or crackers or store bought cookies), a small container of raisins or other fruit. Juice, a carton of milk or something to drink

    Supper is where I'm stuck...this is the meal I have to eat and I'd prefer not gain 800lbs because I tend to gain weight MUCH easier than him...so I think we'll have to go with high calorie foods (tonight I'm doing biscuits and gravy with bacon) and he'll eat a larger portion (I'm forcing him to eat 4 biscuits and 4 slices of bacon) and I'll eat a smaller portion. I'll serve some sort of bread with all meals (cresent rolls or dinner rolls or something)

    He eats away from home so at least for lunch I can eat what I normally eat...

    We do not have the money to be fixing me one supper and everyone else another so I dunno what we'll do there...


    Woops, I forgot to log out of his account, this is me (MamaNae) posting as my husband hahaha
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,993 Member
    I was a stick when I started lifting (5'7" 126lbs) and I ate EVERYTHING to start gaining weight. Pizza, fast food, pasta, etc. along with weight gainers. But I busted my *kitten* in the gym too and added a lot of muscle along the way.
  • MamaNae
    MamaNae Posts: 23
    Okay, now I have it right.

    If I figured right and add a snack in after supper that should put him around 200 calories OVER what he needs to be. AND I changed his activity level to 'active' just to be on the safe side.

    Since I'm trying to make it healthy-ish calories (soup, sandwiches on whole grain bread, peanut butter, homemade jelly, homemade snacks (with whole wheat flour), and struggling to keep the sodium and trans fat at a minimum it should be okay.

    We are keeping a very detailed diary for around 2 weeks and then we will see a nutritionist with diary in hand to see what s/he thinks of the meals and what tips or concerns s/he has.

    We'll also be getting some protein powder next payday since it's so high priced. That is next Thursday so if I can keep him eating peanut butter on everything and a decent breakfast I think we'll be good!

    We were gifted a weight bench so he's going to try to find time to lift...we just have to figure out someplace to put it. Our house is pretty small and we're lacking in extra space.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    At this point I think he needs to grow up and eat the foods he needs whether he likes them or not.

    Agreed. He's got to do this for his health, so preferences are secondary to that.

    Good luck to you both though. I hope he comes through it a new man and better than ever :)
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