How to GAIN weight on lowfat diet?

[caw1964]

I need some suggestions on how to GAIN weight when eating low-fat, low sugar diet.... I was diagnosed just over a month ago and have drastically changed my diet to a healthy one.

I have never been much of an eater so getting used to this fruit, veggie, fiber diet and eating so often has been quite challenging. I have always been very thin but with being so sick for the past year I am way too thin and desperately need to gain some weight. I have read alot about anti-inflammatory foods and everything else out there about nutrition but I just can't figure this one out.

I am not willing to even think about MS injections until I put on some weight, but I cannot figure out how to get the calories in with eating mostly fruit, veggies and lowfat, low sugar foods. It seems impossible. I add protein powder to a fruit smoothie everyday to increase my protein intake, but how to I increase calories when most low fat, low sugar foods are usually low calories???

[caw1964]

Oh and on an added note...if it matters....I do not have a gallbladder, a spleen and have 1/2 a pancreas.

[CocoH]

Nut butters? Natural ones are good for you, the "good" fats but are also high in calories.

[Sequoia]

For what it's worth, Tara does not recommend a low fat diet. She espouses a diet ample in good fats: extra virgin olive oil, flaxseed oil, and even some butter. Adding a tablespoon of high-quality flaxseed oil (the kind you buy from a refrigerator case in whole food markets) to a fruit smoothie gives you calories plus lots of the Omega-3 fatty acids we all need.

You can also use flaxseed oil for salad dressings, and of course olive oil is good for that purpose too.

Nuts are another good source of beneficial fatty acids as well as being high in calories.

You didn't mention whole grains as part of your daily diet. Generous servings of brown rice or other non-gluten grains are another good source of calories and nutrients.

I have trouble maintaining my weight, and I've found that the flaxseed oil really helps with that.

[caw1964]

Thank you for your responses. I am learning. I do eat nuts and am deligently working whole grains into my diet. I will try to increase the whole grain breads, rice, oatmeal etc.. and I will check out the flaxseed oil.

I am using extra virgin olive oil on my daily salad (and putting nuts, chicken, lentil, chickpeas etc.. on it as well)

It just gets confusing. I go way over the recommended sugar intake everday (for anti-inflammatory diets) just with fruit alone (no refined sugar). I 'assume' the natural sugar in fruits is ok but I dont know.

Same question with 'good fats'.... do 'good fats' not count in your fat content for the day?

I have been eating better and more then I have eaten in years and the scale is just not moving....its frustrating.

Again thanks for all your help

[Sequoia]

It just gets confusing. I go way over the recommended sugar intake everday (for anti-inflammatory diets) just with fruit alone (no refined sugar). I 'assume' the natural sugar in fruits is ok but I dont know.

Same question with 'good fats'.... do 'good fats' not count in your fat content for the day?

As for the sugar intake, it depends on what diet you're following. Some limit (or eliminate) added sugar but permit generous amounts of fruit. Others do count the natural sugar in fruits as part of the daily allowance. Sorry not to be of more help on that one!

"Good fats" do count in your fat content for the day, I'm afraid. Many low fat diets I'm aware of don't make a distinction as to what kind of fat you're consuming. Tara simply disagrees with the whole low fat diet approach (as do I).

Keeping fat intake relatively low is a good idea, but the good fats are an important part of a healthy diet. Please bear in mind that that's just my opinion, and I'm not a professional nutritionist.