How to gain weight

[Sheepish1947]

Hello, can anyone come up with some ideas to stop me losing weight? I’m Type 2, got diagnosis in 2018 but had probably had it for 10 years before that. Was a few pounds overweight and lost weight fairly rapidly. Since then, I’ve completely lost interest in food and dread mealtimes. Also, I’ve always been a picky eater and don’t like fish, pulses, grains or anything strongly flavoured. I’m 122cm tall and weigh 43.8kg. The diabetes nurse says I’m not underweight but my family nag me all the time.
Any ideas?

 

[Eddy Edson]

Hello, can anyone come up with some ideas to stop me losing weight? I’m Type 2, got diagnosis in 2018 but had probably had it for 10 years before that. Was a few pounds overweight and lost weight fairly rapidly. Since then, I’ve completely lost interest in food and dread mealtimes. Also, I’ve always been a picky eater and don’t like fish, pulses, grains or anything strongly flavoured. I’m 122cm tall and weigh 43.8kg. The diabetes nurse says I’m not underweight but my family nag me all the time.
Any ideas?

With those numbers you have a BMI of 29+, which "officially" means overweight. So I can see yr nurse's point.

If you really do want to gain or stop losing weight, healthy high-calorie foods like avocado, nuts, seeds are what I use. On the other hand you could just tell yr family to go soak their heads 🙂

 

[Leadinglights]

Hello, can anyone come up with some ideas to stop me losing weight? I’m Type 2, got diagnosis in 2018 but had probably had it for 10 years before that. Was a few pounds overweight and lost weight fairly rapidly. Since then, I’ve completely lost interest in food and dread mealtimes. Also, I’ve always been a picky eater and don’t like fish, pulses, grains or anything strongly flavoured. I’m 122cm tall and weigh 43.8kg. The diabetes nurse says I’m not underweight but my family nag me all the time.
Any ideas?

Regardless of weight, how is your blood glucose management, if you still need to reduce your HbA1C then losing some weight would do no harm as you are indeed not underweight. Your body probably has to adjust to the weight loss you have had to make you feel comfortable.

 

[Bloden]

What’s 43.8kg in stones and pounds? I asked the Internet and the answer was just under 7 stone. Am I missing something here?
Sorry to hear you’re off your food @Sheepish1947. Have you had Covid or some other lurgy recently?

 

[Inka]

@Bloden Height?

I’m 122cm tall and weigh 43.8kg.

 

[Bloden]

@Bloden Height?

I’m 122cm tall and weigh 43.8kg.

What happened to feet and inches LOL? 122cm means nothing to me. 😉

 

[42istheanswer]

What happened to feet and inches LOL? 122cm means nothing to me. 😉

About 4 foot

 

[Sheepish1947]

Regardless of weight, how is your blood glucose management, if you still need to reduce your HbA1C then losing some weight would do no harm as you are indeed not underweight. Your body probably has to adjust to the weight loss you have had to make you feel comfortable.

Sorry. I’m 152cm, ie 5ft tall that makes my BMI (which I’m told they don’t take any notice of) about 18.4.

 

[42istheanswer]

Sorry. I’m 152cm, ie 5ft tall that makes my BMI (which I’m told they don’t take any notice of) about 18.4.

Ah that is a very significant difference and I can understand your family wanting you to gain weight, generally the recommended range is 18.5-25 though some people are naturally a little below that.

If you are wanting to gain weight then you need more calories. If you don't want to increase carbohydrates due to your diabetes management, then that probably looks like having more fat. (Fat is often the easiest way to increase calories as it has 9 calories per gram, whereas carbohydrates and protein have 4 calories per gram.)

So maybe think about things like spreading your butter a bit thicker on your bread; using a higher fat butter/spread if you currently use a low fat one; adding some cheese into your diet as a snack or on top of meals; adding some avocado or nuts in (they are both high in healthy fats) etc

 

[Eddy Edson]

Sorry. I’m 152cm, ie 5ft tall that makes my BMI (which I’m told they don’t take any notice of) about 18.4.

At 43.8kg, BMI actually 19 I think? So "officially" not quite underweight (because greater than 18.5) but getting there. Anyway, I can see why you want to turn that around.

I use avocados, nuts, seeds, soy milk to keep my BMI above 20. High calorie, very nutritious.

 

[Sheepish1947]

At 43.8kg, BMI actually 19 I think? So "officially" not quite underweight (because greater than 18.5) but getting there. Anyway, I can see why you want to turn that around.

I use avocados, nuts, seeds, soy milk to keep my BMI above 20. High calorie, very nutritious.

Thank you. I eat nuts, seeds and avocados but still seem to keep losing weight. Not enjoying eating doesn’t help!

 

[Eddy Edson]

Thank you. I eat nuts, seeds and avocados but still seem to keep losing weight. Not enjoying eating doesn’t help!

Talk to a dietician, maybe?

 

[Inka]

Thank you. I eat nuts, seeds and avocados but still seem to keep losing weight. Not enjoying eating doesn’t help!

Oily fish is good too, as are avocados (you can even whizz them up with lemon juice and a touch of honey and make a dessert out of them).
There are low carb desserts that you can make with mascarpone and flavourings (eg coffee or cocoa).
Greek yoghurt is nice too, as is cream cheese (just eat it by the spoonful out of the tub).
Peanut butter is nice and concentrated. Buy a good quality one and eat it with dipping veg eg celery and carrots, or, again, by the spoonful multiple times a day.

I struggle to stay a good weight as I’m naturally slim and have a fast metabolism, so I eat all of the above, and find that if I do it consistently day after day, then I can keep a reasonable BMI.

 

[Sheepish1947]

Thank you. I do eat several of those things (except fish) and I eat almond butter as I don’t like the taste of peanuts. I have to just include them in meals as even having a cup of coffee between meals seems to spike my blood glucose levels.