Need to Gain Weight

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Need to Gain Weight

Postby Lzs » Tue Jan 18, 2022 2:37 pm

I need to gain weight - I follow an wfpb diet but lost too much weight. I added more calorie dense foods like corn tortillas but I’m still at 17% - would raising my fat intake over 10% with flaxseed be okay?
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Re: Need to Gain Weight

Postby Lyndzie » Wed Jan 19, 2022 7:48 pm

17% of what?

McDougall’s general recommendations for increasing weight would to eat more calorie dense foods like dried fruits, dates, nuts, seeds, nut butters, crackers, breads and smoothies.
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Re: Need to Gain Weight

Postby Dougalling2 » Thu Jan 20, 2022 12:12 pm

Hello

Check out Dr McDougall's Color Picture Book.
Under foods in the yellow category, he tells you which foods are good for weight gain.

Also, if you are gluten intolerant, eating gluten can make it hard for you to gain weight.
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Re: Need to Gain Weight

Postby Mom+Me » Thu Jan 20, 2022 7:37 pm

Lzs, this post from michaelswarm is helpful:

Re: Too thin
Post by michaelswarm » Wed Sep 04, 2019 11:25 am

European man wrote:
I've been WFPBNO for four months and I've lost 24 pounds even though I wasn't overweight to start with. I'm getting comments/'jokes' about my being so thin now. In the last few weeks I've been trying to put some weight back without success. This is despite stuffing myself with as much starchy food as possible. I'm beginning to think that unless I resort to allowing myself foods with oil I'm not going to be able to put weight back on using the diet. I don't like the way my face looks now with sunken cheeks.

It's beyond me how some people say they've gained weight with the diet.


Dr McDougall has newsletter article about gaining weight:
http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougal ... weight.htm

Possible suggestions to gain weight.
- Strength exercise to build muscle
- Food attractive and available. Make food interesting.
- Higher calorie density: bread, dry fruit, nuts, etc.
- Fruit, dry fruit and fruit juices
- Eat starches first
- Larger portions
- Extra meals
- Liquid calories: smoothies

I am thin myself. At 6’ and about 145 lbs my BMI is around 19.6. Also shop and cook for 3 growing children. I use these suggestions all the time. For example, I don’t mind if the kids snack, have an extra meal, or enjoy a smoothie. Significant habit changes should show results over time.
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Re: Need to Gain Weight

Postby michaelswarm » Fri Jan 21, 2022 10:56 am

Appear link did not copy-paste correctly.

How Do I Gain Weight on the McDougall Diet? I’m Not Joking! (Newsletter July 2003)
https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2003nl ... weight.htm
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Re: Need to Gain Weight

Postby ETeSelle » Sun Jan 23, 2022 7:09 am

First, I would ask what is your weight and height? Remember that we live in a fat country and a fat world. Fat is now the norm and people have adjusted to that. So you may look "too thin" to others without BEING too thin. It's also possible (probable) that many of your friends are envious of your success. They won't admit it--they claim to "embrace" their size--but they do. So subconsciously they want you to be heavier so you are like them.

I definitely have experienced both of these issues. But the fact is that the majority of the health benefits of weight loss accrue at the low end of the normal BMI spectrum. If your BMI is over 18, you are fine.

If it's not, try to avoid adding in added fats at all costs. Oil is just bad for you and that's true no matter your weight. Consider a small amount of nuts (SMALL--it doesn't take much), avocado, etc., and just eat more. Keeping the same types of foods but adding in a small extra meal will go a long way.

And considering using the Cronometer app. It has been a huge help to me in understanding how much energy is in a serving (and what a serving size really IS LOL). If you give it your weight and tell it you want to maintain that (and log in your exercise and food), it will keep you on track.

But first, make sure you really are underweight. You may very well not be. :-)
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Re: Need to Gain Weight

Postby Lzs » Fri Feb 04, 2022 2:39 pm

I have added a little weight by increasing flaxseeds. Not sure what to add now because my ldl seems to go up if I go over 15% of my calories from fat. Is dried fruit okay even if it raises triglycerides?

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Re: Need to Gain Weight

Postby Trinity » Fri Feb 04, 2022 2:49 pm

Lisa, what is your BMI currently? And yes dried fruit is fine, better than flaxseeds. It only raises the triglycerides of some people.
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Re: Need to Gain Weight

Postby Lzs » Fri Feb 04, 2022 6:27 pm

To the comment about gluten intolerant. In fact I have celiac so I do not eat gluten at all. My BMI is currently 16.8 according to an online BMI calculator

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Re: Need to Gain Weight

Postby MikeyG » Sun Feb 06, 2022 4:04 pm

Lzs wrote:To the comment about gluten intolerant. In fact I have celiac so I do not eat gluten at all. My BMI is currently 16.8 according to an online BMI calculator

Lisa


A 16.8 BMI definitely seems a little low. I believe the McDougalls commented in one of their YouTube videos that Mary tends to be a little below 18.5, but she's otherwise healthy and feeling vibrant. A BMI of 16.8, especially if you're experiencing other health issues, definitely seems like something to try to address.

Based on Dr. McDougall's "How To Gain Weight" newsletter that was shared previously:
https://www.drmcdougall.com/articles/in ... ot-joking/

... and what I recall hearing on these forums from Jeff Novick, increasing calories by incorporating higher calorie density starches is probably the healthiest way to go about gaining weight (or stalling weight loss).

(Novick made a recent post on that very issue in his forums, found here:
https://www.drmcdougallforums.com/viewt ... 21#p629421 )

One of the easiest (and cheapest, it seems,) ways most people find to do this is by using less water when preparing their whole grains. Even easier is if you're using some type of rolled whole grain (like gluten-free, rolled oats). As rolled grains are pre-steamed, we can consume them without any additional cooking (which makes them both very convenient and conveniently high in calorie density for your weight gain needs).

So, if you're already eating some type of rolled grain, like gluten-free oats, just start eating them uncooked, without any extra water, like any other dry cereal. According to the cronometer, dry, rolled oats are 1700 calories/lb, and much higher than cooked oatmeal which is around 375 calories/lb, depending on how much water remains in the oats after cooking them in the 2-4 cups of water people typically use.

So that right there should get you enough extra daily calories, without having to stuff yourself or spend all day eating, to stave off weight loss and regain some weight.

As I believe has been mentioned in the thread, though, a little bit can go a long way. As a rough estimate, I believe just eating 10 extra calories per day, every day, should cause that individual's weight to be consistently 1 pound higher. So please do keep that in mind if you start pushing the upper end of the 18.5-22 BMI target, or move into the overweight or obese categories due to a very high calorie-density McDougall diet.

Other potential options would be:
- Air-popped popcorn (1750 calories/lb) [I would just pop up a bunch and eat it throughout the day as a snack if I were a high-performing athlete and needed the extra calories. ]
- Preparing whole grains with less water (so instead of using 3 cups of water per cup of brown rice when you prepare it, use 2 or less, and just add as much water as necessary to get the whole grain edible, but not more water, as using more water would lower the calorie density.)
- 100% whole grain pasta (675 calories/lb cooked normally, higher with less water. One might consider cooking them with just enough water to get them edible, not boiling them in excess, to keep the resulting calorie density as high as possible.)
- 100% whole grain tortillas (corn tortillas = ~1000 calories/lb)
- Thinly-sliced, roasted tubers (potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc. By cutting them thinly and allowing more water to evaporate in cooking, we increase the calorie density.)
- Any of the 100% whole grain, no-added-SOS [SOS = (S)alt/sodium, (O)ils/fats, (S)ugars/sweeteners] cold cereals (although many of these seem pretty expensive. For non-celiac people, 100% shredded wheat is usually readily available, but for those who are celiac, I'm sure many gluten-free, no-added-SOS, 100% whole grain cold cereals are available.)
- Homemade, no oil, no added sodium-or-sugar flatbreads (just 100% whole grain flour and water. Calorie density would vary depending on how much water was used during the cooking process and how much remained in the finished product)
- Unsalted, 100% whole grain brown rice cakes (~1755 calories/lb)

Any of those options, while still getting in sufficient non-starchy vegetables, legumes, and fruits to maintain a nutritionally-sound diet, should easily get you out of any calorie deficit and back up to a healthier BMI, based on the evidence.

I hope that helps. Please let us know which options you try and how they work :)

Happy Sunday, Everybody. Thanks for all the good that you do <3
Last edited by MikeyG on Mon Feb 14, 2022 8:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Need to Gain Weight

Postby Lzs » Sun Feb 06, 2022 4:27 pm

Thanks for all of your thoughts. I cook on the weekend for the week and am cooking my oats and polenta with less water to increase the calorie density. I also am going to do corn tortillas with beans for dinner. I will report back it this helps. I like the ideas because I want to add in a healthy way and not pickup bad habits that might be hard to break.

Best of health to all,

Lisa
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Re: Need to Gain Weight

Postby Lzs » Thu Feb 10, 2022 1:54 pm

Stupid question - do the Kempner charts or BMI charts assume 5 lbs for clothing?
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Re: Need to Gain Weight

Postby MikeyG » Mon Feb 14, 2022 9:04 pm

Lzs wrote:Stupid question - do the Kempner charts or BMI charts assume 5 lbs for clothing?


Not stupid at all ;)

I believe BMI is calculated based on naked weight (and is likely most accurate after voiding, since intestinal or bladder contents aren't part of us.) Our body height is independent of how tall our shoes are, so I would think our body weight would be most accurately measured without clothing, too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index

Regarding which one we should use, I would favor BMI, since I believe it has a much larger body of research that employs it, and it is constantly being reevaluated based on the evidence. This does not seem to be the case with Dr. Kempner's charts, although I believe they are considered to correspond fairly closely with BMI.

In addition, we have the thread Jeff Novick was kind enough to curate for us on BMI:
"Optimal BMI"
https://www.drmcdougallforums.com/viewt ... um#p625867

In terms of BMI vs. the Kempner charts, Novick seems to concur:
https://www.drmcdougallforums.com/viewt ... 83#p607783
(Nov 2019)
"The Kempner weight charts don’t apply to everyone. As Dr McDougall said in the newsletter he posted them, the main reason he posted them is not as goal weights but too offer some reassurance to those who think they are too thin.
...
The best evidence says aim for a BMI of 18.5 to 22"

For women, I believe a good indicator that you're going a little too low in terms of BMI is if your period starts to disappear (or disappears entirely). Still, in general, I believe not dropping below the lower bound of "normal weight" (BMI = 18.5) is probably a safe idea, since that lower bound is based on a wealth of peer-reviewed, published evidence.

In addition, based on what I recall from the Optimal BMI thread, staying at or below a BMI of 22.9 seems to be a health-conscious move. Thus, once our efforts to stave off being underweight start pushing us up past a BMI mark of 22, it might be a good idea to reevaluate our dietary patterns to try to stop our weight gain ;)

Furthermore, I would highly recommend reviewing the Optimal BMI thread if you have any other questions or want to delve more deeply into the subject.

As usual, I think Jeff Novick does an excellent job providing us with a comprehensive, evidence-based picture of the subject. (Thanks, Jeff :) ) I would highly recommend reviewing his forum and his previous posts for all your health questions. The forums are searchable, which means that this link:

https://www.drmcdougallforums.com/searc ... mit=Search

... provides all of JeffN's (Jeff Novick's) posts to date (9000+ right now), and those posts are all searchable by keyword from that page.

Here's the advanced search page for our forums in general, which I used to search for posts by "JeffN" and generate the above link with that information:
https://www.drmcdougallforums.com/search.php

I hope that helps.

Happy Monday, Everybody. Thanks for all the good that you do <3
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Re: Need to Gain Weight

Postby Lzs » Wed Feb 16, 2022 2:25 pm

Thanks - JeffN and Dr. Lisle are two people that I value with helping me get and stay healthy. I am going to increase every other week until I hit 19% then stick with whatever I am eating then. I’m like JeffN and prefer 3 meals a day and same/similar foods and proportions. Best to you MikeyG and your support
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Re: Need to Gain Weight

Postby Lzs » Fri Mar 04, 2022 1:56 pm

A quick update - after implementing the changes of increasing the caloric density of my starches by lowering the water content my weight has been increasing by a pound each week.

Next question is what is the best way to keep my bmi under 20 without having to diet. I want to be eating an amount that will have me maintaining a health bmi of 18-20 but I don’t know how to figure out how many calories or what caloric density I should eat for maintenance weight.

Lisa
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