Tips for Weight Gain

Regular meals with regular snacks can help you eat more food. Remember, you are trying to add 500 calories a day to your intake.

Use the Food Guide Pyramid to get a balanced diet, but eat more servings, and add fat and sugar to increase the calories.

Pick energy-dense foods from each food group. Milkshakes instead of skim milk, a cup of grape juice instead of an apple, fried chicken instead of baked chicken, or a biscuit or croissant instead of bread.

Fat is not a four-letter word. Fats have twice the calories of sugar or protein, and do not add bulk. So, using healthy fats in a weight-gaining diet is a good idea. Try peanut butter, cheese, olive and canola oil, regular dressings, mayonnaise, whole milk, beef, and nuts.

Add extra portions — an extra slice of ham on a sandwich, a large bowl of cereal, or a large bagel instead of two pieces of toast. And go back for seconds.

Drink beverages that supply calories. Juice, milk and sugared drinks still provide water, but also contain lots of calories. Two extra glasses of grape juice a day add 300 calories.

Make use of snacks. If a snack is too hearty, it may interfere with hunger for the next meal. A well-chosen snack, eaten three times a day, can add 750 calories per day. Try a glass of whole milk and three cookies, pudding and graham crackers, or an energy bar and a glass of juice. Snack on dried fruit, nuts, peanuts, granola bars, half a sandwich or peanut butter crackers.

Slip extra calories into snacks and meals. Add cheese to sandwiches, salads and vegetables. Add beans to salads or pasta dishes. Add powdered milk to meatloaf, hot cereal and mashed potatoes. Use a French onion dip for vegetables and crackers. Add cottage cheese or cream cheese to baked potatoes.

Experiment with commercial high-calorie supplements. Liquid beverages are less filling, but can contain a bunch of calories — 300 to 500 calories a can. Try Carnation Instant Breakfast, Fruit Smoothies, Boost, Ensure, Sustacal, Metracal and other drinks available in the supermarket, drugstore and health food store. Energy bars are also nutritious, handy, and rich in protein and calories.

A little bit of sugar can help the medicine go down. Ice cream, doughnuts, cake and cheesecake are very calorie dense and easy to eat. While not a mainstay, adding sugar will help with the calories — so put a little jelly and margarine on the toast, spoon an extra bit of brown sugar on the oatmeal, or dip your fruit in honey for a treat. If healthy foods are the basis of your diet, you can use sugars and fats to gain weight.

Sample 2,600-Calorie Meal Plan

Breakfast
two scrambled eggs
two slices toast with margarine
one cup orange juice

Mid-morning Snack
bowl of cereal with whole milk, or a granola bar and yogurt

Lunch
ham and cheese sandwich on Kaiser roll, with mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato
potato chips
four sugar cookies
raisins
milk

Snack
protein milkshake
apple

Dinner
4 to 5-ounces chicken
one cup rice with margarine
vegetable medley, sauteed in olive oil
rolls with margarine
salad with blue cheese dressing
milk
apple pie with ice cream

Evening Snack
half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
one cup of juice

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