Needing weight gain ideas.

[AnnaSpanna]

My son aged 20 is incredibly skinny.
He eats a mixed diet of the healthy stuff we buy and the junkfood he pays for.

At 20 I have to let him be responsible for his own health but I'd like to continue steering him in the right direction.

Junkfood-wise he eats far less than his peers so that is less of an issue.

He takes after me in that neither of us can tolerate much dairy. We seem to have an intolerance to it. We can drink a little bit of milk in our cuppas but too much gives us a queasy stomach.

Building him up with dairy (I know we're anti-dairy here but he's not on this diet) isn't an option.
I've tried milk powder based products and he just can't stomach them.

Any thoughts on foods that are both healthy and will promote weight gain.
He really needs at least another 20 or so pounds on him, as a guesstimate.

[RockNRoll]

Hey, I can relate to the weight gain issues your son has. I've been slim all of my life, regardless of what I ate. Then I was diagnosed with cancer, and I lost 15 pounds from radiation and chemo, leaving me with a 6 foot tall, 130 pound frame. I need an additional 7-10 pounds to gain for me to be at the lower end of the healthy BMI range. So I'm working on it.

For me, I'm trying to gain weight in the healthiest way possible by adding more higher fat whole foods. Naturally higher fat condiments (like hummus or guacamole for your wraps/ sandwiches), sunflower seeds for snacks, and adding more starches and beans with your meals can certainly help.

You're already ahead of the curve in regards to feeding your family with healthy foods as a staple. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. You're a product of your environment, as they say Best of luck-

RockNRoll*

[jamietwo]

Anna,

I would continue to encourage him to eat healthy whole foods. Check out Jeff Novick's part of the forum to learn more about calorie density. Obviously feeding him more whole grain flour products will be higher in calorie density than just the whole grain.

Also, you said you were estimating how much your son needs to gain. Have you checked his BMI? Here's a link to a BMI calculator: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bmi-calculator/NU00597 . It will tell you if your son is underweight based on his height and weight. My family is all tall and thin and a one pound fluctuation in weight is sometime the only difference between us being "normal" or "underweight". As long as we fluctuate into the normal range regularly, I don't worry about it! : )

[Burgess]

If he is skinny and if he wants to gain "weight," then he should lift weights. To do that properly, he needs a weight-lifting program, Try Crossfit -- or the New Zealand equivalent -- if there is one in your neighborhood. It is all-around conditioning, not merely lifting iron barbells. Or, you might ask about muscle-building programs -- in Lani Muelrath's subforum ("Ask a Fitness Expert") here in the McDougall forum.

If he doesn't want to gain by building muscle, then my suggestion is to leave him alone. Someday he will see what poor diet and lack of exercise are doing to him.

[AnnaSpanna]

Thanks for your replies.

I admit I don't see him exercising any time soon so it will have to be diet alone.

He doesn't have a problem with his weight but I do.
He is several inches taller than his sister and the same weight.
On her she looks slim but healthy, on him not so much.

A lot of it may be genetics.
My father was slim until his mid to late twenties.
I just need to be sneaky and slip in some calories when he's not looking.

[carolrn]

Please stop feeding him milk, the last thing he needs is the diarrhea that this can cause. I know NZ is big on dairy, I used to live there, but no-one needs It. Did you know that humans are the only animals that intentionally drink the milk of other animals? It is meant for their babies, not us.

[TerriT]

Hi Anna

Here's an article from the McDougall newsletter you may find useful:
http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougal ... weight.htm

And some tips from the article:

1) Eat more whole grain flour products like breads and bagels. Flour is more fattening than the whole grain because the change in physical properties that comes with milling causes faster and more complete absorption of the calories and a great rise in insulin response.

2) Eat more simple sugars in the form of fruits, dried fruits and fruit juices. This will cause a greater rise in insulin in your body.

3) Eat more high-fat plant foods, like nuts (and nut butters), seeds (and seed spreads), avocados, and olives. Fats are concentrated calories.

4) Add high-fat soy milks and tofu products. These are higher in fats.

5) Eat more high-fat soy foods. However, in general, these fake foods (like burgers, hot dogs, lunch meats, and cheeses) should be kept to a minimum because they are not very nutritious.

6) Eat more food – this is often difficult because most people already eat to the full satisfaction of their appetite. Making more delicious meals and taking more time to eat may help accomplish this.

7) Eat a greater variety of foods – new kinds of foods stimulate interest, which increases food intake.

8 Add salt, sugar and favorite spices to the surface of your foods. If they taste better to you then you will eat more. Plus sugar adds calories (empty calories).

9) Use salad dressing, barbecue and steak sauces (made without oils and animal products) over your dishes to make them taste better so you eat more. Many sauces also contain simple sugars that provide calories and raise insulin levels.

10) Exercise less. We all know people who are exercise fanatics and they burn 3000 to 5000 extra calories a day – making it very difficult for them to eat enough food to fully replenish the expenditure. One simple way to gain more weight, and in some ways improve your overall health, may be to exercise more moderately.

[blueberries]

What is his BMI? Is he really too thin or just he just look thin to you?

I think these days there is a tendency to see "thin and healthy" as "too skinny", because the average out there is actually too large. So everything is skewed.

All my male family members in teens through very early twenties did look "skinny", though. They didn't need to do anything special, it evened out and they eventually they became just like the rest of us and couldn't eat like horses anymore.

[AnnaSpanna]

I don't actually know what his BMI is but cross my little black heart if you saw him you would say he was too skinny.
No one in our family is large.
Even I, though I want to lose weight, would be lighter than average and I'm the biggest in the family.
My main reasons for this diet are health related. The weight loss (3 pounds so far) is a bonus.

His dairy intake is limited. He knows that dairy doesn't agree with him.
He, like me, only has it in cups of tea or coffee.
Any more and we feel queasy.

I need to be more creative with the food.
He does like avocado and since he doesn't need to avoid that I can shovel that down him.
I'll also be on the lookout for dressings and so on to tempt him.