How to Gain Weight

If you can't manage to eat your usual quantities of food or you're trying to gain or maintain weight, there are ways to add more energy (calories) without having to eat more food. If you don't feel like cooking, quick meals or snacks can provide the energy you need. If you have trouble eating your usual amounts of solid food, food-type nutrition supplements can provide energy.
Adding more energy

You can increase your protein and energy intake by adding extras to your basic foods at meal times.

While you are underweight or struggling to maintain your weight, eating extra amounts of fat and sugar won't hurt you. It is only unhealthy when you eat more of such nutrients than your body requires.

The following tips may help:
Try to have a small snack and/or nourishing drink every two hours if your appetite is poor or you are unable to manage big quantities.
Treat food like medicine -- something you have to have. Try using a timetable to help you have frequent meals and snacks.
Make sure what you eat and drink is nourishing, e.g. milk rather than cordial, biscuits rather than lollies.
Use full-cream milk and dairy products. Use milk instead of water in porridge, soups and so on. Enrich milk with milk powder.
Add milk powder to cereals, sauces, desserts, mashed vegetables, soups, drinks and egg dishes.
Add cheese to sauces, soups, vegetables, baked beans, casseroles, salads and egg dishes.
Add barley, split peas, soup mix, dried beans and lentils to soups.
Melt butter or margarine, or drizzle oil, on vegetables, pasta or rice.
Spread bread or toast thickly with butter or margarine.
Put cream or ice-cream on puddings, pies, fruit or use in drinks.
Use sour cream on meat, potatoes and other vegetables, or in sauces.
Fry meat, chicken, seafood and vegetables in oil, butter or margarine; if tolerated.
Use mayonnaise on sandwiches and in salads. Try oil-based salad dressings.
Use sugar, golden syrup, honey or glucose powder on cereal, fruit and in hot or cold drinks.
Relax low-cholesterol restrictions. Eat eggs, full-cream milk, meat and cheese if you want them.
Eat what you like, when you want it. It's fine to have a snack at 2am, breakfast cereal in the afternoon or ice-cream at morning tea.


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Quick meals

Here are a few ideas for quick and simple meals:
baked beans on toast with melted/grated cheese
sardines on buttered toast served with fresh tomato
fried fish (bought prepared) or fish fingers with chips and fresh salad
canned creamy soup made with milk and served with buttered toast
grilled lamb cutlets, mashed potato with margarine, served with peas and carrots
crumpets or muffins toasted with cheese, followed by fruit
a sandwich with a glass of high-protein milk with flavouring such as Aktavite, Milo or Horlicks
toast with cheese or peanut butter, followed by sliced banana and yoghurt
salmon, tuna or egg with salad and mayonnaise, served with a buttered bread roll
scrambled or poached egg on buttered toast and a glass of orange juice
a ham and cheese omelette with salad and buttered bread
pasta with cheese or a ready-made sauce
take-away foods such as barbecue chicken, a hamburger, pizza or doner kebab.

If you have a freezer, prepare casseroles, soups and desserts and freeze them in individual portions. You can heat them on days when you don't feel like cooking.

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Snack ideas

Here are some suggestions for quick snacks:
Cheese and crackers
Celery and cream cheese
Cheese or peanut butter on toast or bread
Potato crisps or corn chips with dips
Jaffles and sandwiches. Good fillings are peanut butter, cheese, avocado, egg and mayonnaise, cold meats, salmon or tuna
Creamy soups
Hot chips
Hard-boiled eggs
Instant noodles
Leftovers from previous day
Milk puddings, such as junket, creamed rice, custard, mousse and instant puddings
Dried fruit and nuts
Fresh or tinned fruit. Serve with custard, jelly, ice-cream or cream
Fruit cake, muesli and health food bars, sweet biscuits, cakes and slices
Buttered pikelets, scones, muffins, fruit buns, finger buns, raisin toast
Yoghurt and ice-cream
Milkshakes
Nutrition supplements.

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Food-type nutrition supplements

If you have trouble eating your usual amount of solid food, drinks can provide nutrients. Nutrition supplements such as Ensure, Sustagen, Resource or Build-up are a meal in a glass if you aren't eating well. Most contain a good variety of nutrients, particularly energy (calories), protein, vitamins and minerals.

Nutrition supplements can be used to boost a small meal or snack or to replace solid food. Check with a dietitian or doctor about how best to use food-type nutrition supplements. They come in liquid or powdered form. There are many different products available. The powdered forms are usually the most economical.

When you first start using supplement powders, mix with water to make it easier to drink. Start off with a small glass and build up to 1-3 glasses a day. If you enjoy milky drinks, you could then try mixing your supplement powder with milk for extra nourishment.

There is also a range of glucose powder supplements, which only provide energy (calories), not protein, vitamins or minerals. These should be used to give meals and snacks extra energy and not as a meal replacement. Glucose supplements can be sprinkled on cereal and fruit, mixed into foods such as mashed potato, gravy, stews, casseroles, scrambled eggs, custard, hot and cold drinks and soup.