Calorie/Protein Rich Foods to Improve Diet/Gain Weight

[Anonymous]

For any number of reasons (stress; too much travel etc.) I haven’t been eating well for several months and my body is starting to feel the effects as it has probably depleted stored nutrients every time I skip a meal or eat a minimal amount of calories between flights/meetings etc. I need to make a change and my starting to focus on what I’m eating -- to give myself more calories and protein, instead of just empty carbs, coffee etc. For meals, I am focusing on getting some meat and/or eggs in. While I don’t like it, I think I may start supplementing with Ensure at least a few times a week. What other foods would you recommend? Things that can be eaten in the office/on the run would be great. All I can think of for snack foods are things like string cheese and raisins. Is there a food you make sure you include in your diet to keep yourself feeling healthy?

[Anonymous]

Keep cashews, almonds, pistachios on hand...they are good portable snacks

[Anonymous]

I have this issue with my son so I read running magazines on how to add healthy calories.

Here are some ideas I picked up for him.

We have started using Ensure because there is just so much food you can consume in a day.

For Fat: Real Butter, Peanut butter, Olive Oil, ice cream, 4% milk, full fat cream cheese, Full fat yogurt, full fat cottage cheese and full fat real cheese.

Snacks: Cereal with real milk, Trail mix because straight nuts can get boring. Granola - especially on the yogurt.

Exercise will build muscle and you will actually want to eat so I am not saying go to the gym but a 20 minute walk feels good and then about a 1/2 hour later you will be hungry.

You need to get 8 hours of sleep a night.

[Anonymous]

OP,

Ensure was invented to feed the elderly in nursing homes with dental and swallowing problems. It's mostly sugar:

http://www.foodfacts.com/NutritionFacts/Shakes/Ensure-Creamy-Milk-Chocolate-Shake-8-fl-oz/34264

There are definitely better ways to gain weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have this issue with my son so I read running magazines on how to add healthy calories.

Here are some ideas I picked up for him.

We have started using Ensure because there is just so much food you can consume in a day.

For Fat: Real Butter, Peanut butter, Olive Oil, ice cream, 4% milk, full fat cream cheese, Full fat yogurt, full fat cottage cheese and full fat real cheese.

Snacks: Cereal with real milk, Trail mix because straight nuts can get boring. Granola - especially on the yogurt.

Exercise will build muscle and you will actually want to eat so I am not saying go to the gym but a 20 minute walk feels good and then about a 1/2 hour later you will be hungry.

You need to get 8 hours of sleep a night.

OP here - this is helpful but why does sleep matter? Serious question as I'm trying to figure out how to consume enough to start to feel "stronger."

[Anonymous]

Sleep is always important. Lack of sleep can mess with your metabolism. It may not help you directly gain weight, but it will make you feel better.

Also, OP, you may want to check with your GP to make sure that there's not something going on medically. Probably not, but just to cover your bases.

[Anonymous]

I agree that sleep is really important, not sleeping messes with your metabolism and your hunger cues.

I also travel a lot and find it hard to eat normally-my big issue is finding foods that aren't super high in sodium while on the road. I always bring a bag of food when I travel (gallon ziplock). My usual might be lara bars, granola bars, nuts, apples/ or oranges/ or a banana, crackers, cheese. If I get sick of those foods, I just go to Whole Foods and pick some different snacks to try. You can also get stuff like single servings of peanut butter that you should be able to take through screening at the airport. I agree that finding protein rich foods that travel well is hard, and I would love to hear the suggestions of others.

The other thing I try to do is plan out my eating. It's not that hard to figure out what will be available at the airports you will travel through or near your meeting sites. Figure out in advance how much/how often you should be eating, and then check out your available options, and, of those, what foods are appealing to you.

[Anonymous]

Quinoa, Hard Whole Milk Cheese, Whole Milk Yogurt with Granola, Nuts, Avocados

Why not try a powdered mix instead of Ensure, it's really mostly sugar. You throw a few spoons of the powder into a smoothy, milk, juice, or whatever and they can be nutritious if they are whole food based.

Fresh sugar free juices are great too.

Be sure to consume plenty of healthy liquids!

I had great success eating oatmeal every day at some point in the day. It definitely helped me bulk up a bit, and I am just skinny naturally and have a fast metabolism. I agree with the previous posters about sleep and meal/snack planning. They are essential!

[Anonymous]

Buy a really dense grainy bakery bread. Doesn't take anytime to slice a few pieces and top with peanut butter and honey for breakfast.

Make some smoothy kind of things ... google recipes ... they can be very high calorie if you want them to be and filled with vegetables (you need the nutrients), fats (avocado, peanut butter, dairy), and protein (you can buy some protein powder).

[Anonymous]

Hemp protein shakes for breakfast always make me feel better.

[Anonymous]

I think if I travelled a lot for work, I'd transform into a giant Cinnabon.