Need to gain weight

[Zoe]

I've been vegan for the last ten years or so but over the period of the last year or two I have lost quite a bit of weight. I saw my GP last year and after doing the blood tests he said there was nothing wrong with me and that I should just eat more. I told him I was vegan and so he said look on the internet for high calorie vegan foods which I did. I used to eat a fair bit of vegetarian mince but as discussed in another thread this is no longer available so for my main dinner I tend to use either lentils, black beans, kidney beans or chickpeas as a meat substitute and combine this with either potatoes, brown rice, pasta or other grains. I will also combine this with various vegetables including green beans, carrots, broccoli and peas. For breakfast I will eat a bowl of muesli with soy milk and a banana and later in the day another bowl of museli this time with oat milk and three crumpets. For lunch I have been eating a tin of baked beans and three slices of wholemeal toast and an orange. Throughout the day I will snack on various nuts and have one Nakd bar each day. I also take a Holland & Barrett multivatimin and minerals tablet each day. Despite all this I still seem to be loosing weight. Since 2009 I've had various other symptoms like muscle twitches, inability to distinguish beyond the basic tastes, and intolerance to heat (I don't feel heat like I used to, when it's a warm day I just have this dull burning like feeling). I also often have poor concentration and this can be worse after I eat and often get belching/flatulence but it doesn't seem to matter what I eat. The doctors seem to think this is all psychosomatic and not related to the weight loss. I don't seem to feel either hungry or full like I used to, I tend to time my eating by the clock rather than feel hungry but I could also eat quite a lot and not feel full.

I'm certainly not expecting anyone here to have answers for the health issues but does anyone have ideas on what more I could be eating to gain weight? I have also tried Trek bars recently but I have been doing a bit of research recently and have discovered that for a lot of the food I have been eating there is a risk of aflatoxin contamination which has got me quite concerned about eating a lot of food like nuts although I haven't at this time stopped eating them.

[Risker]

Avocado
Roast potatoes (lots of oil)
Mashed potatoes (full fat marge)
Flapjacks (really easy to make yourself)
Burgers, chips, sausages, dairy free cheeses etc.

[Blueberries]

Smoothies with silken tofu or vegan protein powder? Easy to digest calories. I find nuts a bit hard on my stomach sometimes.

[Egesa]

Smoothies generally are a much easier way to consume more calories than eating the same foods. I actually avoid them to keep my figure but you can drink blended foods to gain weight if that's your aim.

[Andy_T]

Egesa, just put the right stuff into your smoothies ... i.e. whole, fresh fruits and wholesome greens (like spinach).
Those certainly do not add too many calories.

Best regards,
Andy

[Egesa]

True Andy, but it's much quicker and easier to drink for example a banana puréed in a smoothie than it is to eat one. Spinach doesn't contain many calories, but isn't it nicer eaten anyway? Maybe I need to try some other smoothie recipes.

[Andy_T]

Hello Egesa,

you really need to try out a nice green smoothie!
Yes, spinach is nice if it is eaten "the normal way", but it is VERY nice in a green smoothie. And there's lots of other great greens ... I like to put stinging nettles, radish greens, carrot greens, arugula and others into my green smoothies.

Best regards,
Andy

[Egesa]

That would be very healthy. I've wanted to find a better way to eat stinging nettles - very nutritious - I'll give it a go. Its taste reminds me of seaweed, but not in a good way. What do you blend with it to balance the flavour? Any particular fruit or juice?

[Andy_T]

Hi Egesa,my "basic green smoothie recipe" is ... use whatever fruit is at hand! One apple, one pear, one banana, with some water and greens. The higher the fruit content, the less "strange" it tastes for a new adopter. I love to use pineapples as basis, they give a nice smooth consistence and have a nice, not too sweet, not too sour taste. Add bananas for a sweeter taste. Watermelons - when in season - are also a great base.You can also use fruit juice (e.g. orange juice, grape juice) instead of water to have a 100% fruit smoothie (also gets sweeter that way), but I like that basic version (less calories, as well). I have used green tea instead of water with great results, as well.Best regards,Andy

[SteveAllen]

For gaining weight high calories food is good to eat. Eat protein for weight gain. We can get protein by eating fish,egg,potato and protein shake is also good for weight gaining.

[Barry]

For gaining weight high calories food is good to eat. Eat protein for weight gain. We can get protein by eating fish,egg,potato and protein shake is also good for weight gaining.

Umm, yeah.

Are you a vegan? I can't understand why you'd recommend fish and eggs as a protein source if you are.

Also, eating a lot of protein will not make you gain weight. I've been on a high-protein diet for the past year and have lost over 40 pounds.

Finally, potatoes are only 2% protein.

[Blueberries]

I've been on a high-protein diet for the past year and have lost over 40 pounds.

I'm assuming that that weight loss was your goal, so congratulations

(Sorry for sounding silly but I don't like to just outright assume)

[Barry]

Haha, thanks Blueberries!

Weight loss was one of my goals indeed. I also started doing weights quite seriously, and wanted the extra protein to help build muscle. I wouldn't recommend a high-protein diet to everyone, but it definitely suits my needs at the moment.

[mini_mi]

Thinkin SteveAllen just another bot


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[CarsonH]

There are various vegetables and fruits which can help to gain weight. The only thing is to identify these vegetables and eat it. You can eat various stuff like white rice or oatmeal, pasta-based dish , Beans and nuts , soy milk, peanut or almond butter, and a handful of frozen fruit , Olive oil and vegetable oils, Avocados, seeds, and nuts etc.

[dropscone]

I know this is an old thread, but I gained weight when I first went vegan, and I largely attribute it to discovering milkshakes made from coconut milk (canned, not the milk sub carton stuff) and strawberry jam with a few ice-cubes. Delicious. Plus I found a lot of lovely cake recipes.

[khadagan]

I once needed to gain weight as well and ate lots of olives, I had a huge craving for them, they worked well. Also dried fruits, such as dates are very calorific and tasty. Like yourself, dropscone, I added coconut to smoothies, I used dried and made lovely creamy green smoothies.

[veggiegirl3]

I know this is an old thread, but I gained weight when I first went vegan, and I largely attribute it to discovering milkshakes made from coconut milk (canned, not the milk sub carton stuff) and strawberry jam with a few ice-cubes. Delicious. Plus I found a lot of lovely cake recipes.

That sounds good! I like smoothies made with coconut milk (the canned kind). That actually makes me think that I should add some to my food repitoir again.

[DaniSwede]

I went vegetarian several years ago, and lost ten pounds. I then went back to eating meat for several years, and it took me years to gain the weight back. I was finally at a good weight, then went vegan and have already lost three pounds! I should mention that even at my "heaviest", 114 lbs, I'm 5'7 and still underweight. This time I am sticking with not eating animals, and I am super happy I went vegan, but I hate that I lose weight so easily even though I love avocados, nuts, etc. I think I'll follow people's suggestions here as well, smoothies sound like a good idea!