Hello Jow Forums I'm at my wit's end here and desperately need your help. I used to be an active person that was quite buff. But since I got an inflammation in the esophagus my appetite has gone down and my body has deteriorated. I can't work out and I desperately need to gain weight. I need help managing my diet and I need food that is "nice" to my stomach that can Still help me gain weight.
Right now my diet consists mostly of rice based meals usually with chicken and tuna. I also try and snack alot on cookies and milk but nothing seems to happen.
I would just vomit it all up again. I need some meals, preferably recipies that won't make my stomach worse that can help me gain weight. Also I appreciate the memes, feels like old times when I used to browse this board back in 2014.
William Martinez
Start by telling us what foods you CANNOT eat, we'll take it from there.
Also, unironically weed brownies.
Hudson Wright
stop eating snacks and start making your meals bigger than you think you can handle. It doesn't matter what food it is at first, just up your portions. grow that stomach and feel the hunger between meals, your appetite will come back.
Noah Turner
I have a problem with fatty meats like steaks and hamburger. Stuff that makes you feel "full" fast. Like cream, cheese and yougurt.
Should I go for more meat or try to up my carbs? Or perhaps both?
Isaiah Bell
So does this mean your only restriction is the fat content of a meal? Does this include non-animal fat like olive-oil or avocados?
Justin Gray
Also are you lactose intolerant?
Ryder Gray
both. start with more meat and then add more carbs. and don't fall for the mass gainer meme, everyone regrets it.
Zachary Diaz
Those are usually fine, some animal fat is fine like chicken and tuna which I mentioned before. Would it be possible to add a few pounds by increasing the amounts of carbs I take in? Or should I go for the non-animalistic fats like you mentioned + some nuts as snack? Should also probably mention that the only exercise I currently get is by going on walks. Can't really go to the gym, because of illness.
Josiah Roberts
No, I can handle milk products fine, its the upper stomach that's usually my problem.
Jose Baker
Pulse based stews are good for carbs and protein, look at greek cuisine for ideas. It's mild on spices (which would aggrevate your stomach), big on olive oil and cheese as it's sources of fat and uses herbs, lemons and garlic/onions for flavour and they're super easy/cheap to make.
Serve all of them with pic-related, they're barley rusks. Nutrient dense, calorie dense, lots of fibre and easy to digest (served to patients often). If you have trouble finding them just google how to make double-baked barley bread.
Stews are good because you dissolve lots of ingredients in side and as a result they're quite densely packed with food, brothy soups on the other hand are bad for your case because you fill up on liquid without having eaten much "real food".
Also go for grilled meats/fish etc, salads and brown rice or baked potatoes/sweet potatoes in between stews to keep it interesting.
This is a list of cuisines that most likely won't suit you: Indian and most southeast asian cooking: far too many spices and a lot fried stuff, ghee etc. Chinese food: almost everything is fried and a lot of it is spicy - Congee (rice porridge) is a big exception and can help you gain weight fast, it's often served to sick people Mexican food - spicy af Spanish food - a lot of heavy animal fats, especially pork based fat French food - cream, butter, lard everywhere
Suitable cuisines: Anything Mediterannean (except Spain): So Italy, Greece, Lebanese, Egyptian etc. Olive oil as main source of fat, lots of lean, grilled meats and veg. Big on nutrient-dense grains like barley and bulgur wheat too.
Japanese food: low on fat, heavy dairy and spices. Big on fish, rice and good macros all round.
Some Persian food. A lot of it is VERY heavy and full ghee, but if you search you'll find recipes that are full of nutrient-dense herbs, veg, pulses and LOT of nuts.
If you google recipes for the above cuisines or check out YouTube (Food Wishes is a good channel), you'll get a good range of recipes to rotate and not get bored.
Leo Morales
Thanks alot for all the help guys, I really appreciate it. So so far I'm going to try the following: Eat bigger portions and try to add in some other fats(avocado, nuts, oliveoil, greek yougurt). Go longer between meals so my appetite will be stronger, when I actually eat. And find Greek recipes and try to cook Chinese rice porridge. Did I miss anything?
Xavier Sanders
You're good to go. If you really want to increase your appetite weed may be good but be careful as it's been known to cause nausea in some cases. If you cannot visit a gym, some static bodyweight exercises for your core like planks, sideplanks, bird-dogs, bridges etc could be good to retain core strength and some callisthenics if you get a pull-up bar. It won't do anything ground-breaking together with some bodyweight squats and lunges they will help you retain some muscle in the main groups until you can go to the gym again.
Jack Taylor
Try estrogen pills, astolfo cosplay, and a pink wig. You'll be really cute OP
Connor Martinez
Cut the cookies from your meals, especially if you have inflammation problems. Sugar is no good. Stick to milk, eat lots of egg whites and whole eggs, eat a lot of rice because it's easy to cook and fast carbs, eat a lot of meat and last and most importantly take creatine. Creatine will really help you fill yourself out. Try fatty nuts too like walnuts and cashews
