how can i gain weight with all these restrictions?

[titania8]

im wasting away, and i don't know how to get a handle on it. i can't seem to stop losing, let alone gain the 10 lbs i need back on! seriously, how can a person gain weight without nuts, seeds, wheat, dairy, soy, beef, fish, lentils, eggs and more?? its it possible? im down to 113 (5'6" tall).


i don't know where else to turn. :

[Chinese Pistache]

Originally Posted by titania8

im wasting away, and i don't know how to get a handle on it. i can't seem to stop losing, let alone gain the 10 lbs i need back on! seriously, how can a person gain weight without nuts, seeds, wheat, dairy, soy, beef, fish, lentils, eggs and more?? its it possible? im down to 113 (5'6" tall).


i don't know where else to turn. :

Fats and grains are both calorie dense. You can't have wheat, but there are other grains. We regularly eat rice, qunioa, oats and millet. Not a grain, but potatoes are another easy starch. In my gluten free baking/cooking, I use rice, millet, gf oat, and sorghum flours, and tapioca, potato, and arrowroot starches, etc. I make quick breads, muffins, pancakes, waffles, wraps (for sandwiches or pizza) and so on. If you have a starch/grain at every meal, you'll definitely add up the calories.

You also need to make sure and get enough fat. I use lots of olive oil, safflower oil, and palm shortening (Spectrum brand), even sometimes regular shortening. Coconut oil and milk is another option if you're not allergic. Avocadoes are high in fat. Cook all of your food in plenty of oil. Fry or saute chicken, turkey, fish and pork instead of grilling (unless you baste with lots of oil). Put plenty of oil in your grain dishes as well.

There are plenty of dairy and egg substitutes for recipes. Let me know if you need suggestions on those.

Otherwise, some ideas...
Breakfast:
GF Pancakes or waffles and non-beef sausage
GF Muffins and bacon
GF Oatmeal with a flavorless oil mixed in

Lunch:
GF wrap with safe deli meat
Salad with higher calorie toppings like avocado, artichoke hearts, olives and sauteed chicken
Hummus without tahini and GF pitas (same as wrap recipe for me
GFCF Pizza (sauce, sauteed veggies and pork sausage on a gf crust; the wrap works here, too)

Dinner:
Rice pasta with meat sauce
Black bean chili over rice, millet or quinoa
Meat+grain/starch+vegetable (for example, pork roast with mashed potatoes and green beans or turkey burgers +oven baked fries+salad or chicken stir fry over rice)

The biggest obstacle for me is that all of this requires some planning and preparation. Try making a weekly meal plan so you don't have to stress at each meal time. Good luck!

[mamafish9]

Another vote for fats. Can you give us an example of what you ate on a recent day, and your not safe list, and we can suggest ways to add calories?

[kjbrown92]

Originally Posted by titania8

im wasting away, and i don't know how to get a handle on it. i can't seem to stop losing, let alone gain the 10 lbs i need back on! seriously, how can a person gain weight without nuts, seeds, wheat, dairy, soy, beef, fish, lentils, eggs and more?? its it possible? im down to 113 (5'6" tall).

i don't know where else to turn. :

I'm 115 and 5'7" but I'm not losing anything. I'm not gaining either. I think it's the weight I'm supposed to be since I've been stuck here for 5 years.

I am no corn, dairy, soy, gluten, chocolate. But there's a lot of things we don't eat because DS and DD2 have more intolerances than that.

When you roast a chicken, do you make the (fat-laden) drippings into gravy? To pour onto your potatoes? sweet potatoes? rice? And eat the nice crispy chicken skin? Then use the carcass and make some calcium/nutrient rich chicken bone broth.

Bacon, sausage. We use the bacon grease in a lot of different dishes.

Avocado (on sandwiches, with carrots/celery, on rice crackers)
Smoothies (coconut milk or coconut milk yogurt, banana, fruit)
Lots of oil (olive, canola, coconut) in stir fries, on sweet potato fries, roasted veggies, etc.
Carnitas (don't trim the fat off the pork, and it cooks in the fat)
Baked beans

[titania8]

thanks ladies! part of my problem, probably the biggest issue, is the planning. i am horrid at it. and food is so stressful for me i avoid it. not good, i know. : but time to work on that, right?

ok, so the wrap recipe looks great. but what can i use instead of xanthum gum? i'll need to find some non-dairy milk substitute.

yes i make broth, but no, i haven't made gravy. well, i did once, but i have forgotten to do it again, and as luck would have it, i have a jar of chicken drippings in my fridge right now! :

no potatoes for me though. right now avoid foods are:

dairy
soy
wheat
fish
beef
tomatoes
corn
peppers
potato
nuts
seeds
eggs
pineapple


i know there are a few more, i just can't think right now.

[lil_miss_understood]

There's a recipe for zucchini milk in The Allergy Self-Help Cookbook I can look up for you when I have a chance. There's also rice or coconut milk (not sure if you're including coconut in nuts/seeds).
Guar gum can be used instead of xanthan gum, though I don't remember the conversion (I *think* 1 tsp guar = 2 tsp xanthan?).
Not sure if it's been mentioned, but using broth to cook your rice instead of plain water may help pack in some extra calories.

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by titania8

im wasting away, and i don't know how to get a handle on it. i can't seem to stop losing, let alone gain the 10 lbs i need back on! seriously, how can a person gain weight without nuts, seeds, wheat, dairy, soy, beef, fish, lentils, eggs and more?? its it possible? im down to 113 (5'6" tall).


i don't know where else to turn. :

Although for the time being I'm only gluten free(waiting on test results forr IGg)I'm in the same boat. I'm still BF so they may also be why I'm pretty thin. Same height but around 109:

[mamafish9]

I had that experience the first month of eating this way (we were off everything on your list except nuts, and several more).

Adding fats everywhere really helped, as did focusing on nutrient rich meals. However, I think for us the biggest help has been focusing on addressing nutrient deficiencies and gut healing - we are gaining foods back now (after only 5 months). I got to the point where I could maintain my weight without problems, but it was easy to get in a boring food rut.

One thing I will say is that it takes a LOT more time and planning that eating used to. I make pretty much everything from scratch, and it's a serious time investment to try to keep track of our food, keep our nutrition reasonably balanced, etc. Especially if you're bfing though (and I am), it has to be a priority.

If you can do coconut milk, that's a good place to start, it's rich in highly usable fats, and I use a LOT of it (and coconut oil). Fish if you can do it, especially salmon - high fat and high nutrients. Slow cooker for safe meats/stews so that you have ready protein when you need it.

And use Kathy's recipes (www.kathysrecipebox.com) - she deals with TONS of allergens, and her recipes are yummy.

[titania8]

i forgot to mention it, but yes, i do coconut milk. i just got some mangos for my smoothies. i also have coconut oil, though i haven't used it yet. im not real sure WHAT to do with it!

i am taking digestive enzymes, but i now realize i need to spend some serious time figuring out all this gut healing stuff. and i think i need to get these mercury fillings out of my face. :


yes, im bfing. that's the problem! my baby is 8 months, and we've been eliminating since he was around 3 weeks. started with just dairy and worked up to practically everything!

anyone have a good quick bread recipe? im on the hunt!

[mamafish9]

I use coconut oil as my basic cooking/frying oil. And I fry a LOT more than I used to.

Coconut milk subs really nicely for milk - today we had pumpkin pie filling (just subbing coconut milk for milk, and I've done the flax egg sub in it as well, if you need that). Also works great in soups, and makes great yogurt (for you, and eventually your LO).

If you've been eliminating for months, then you're probably getting run down in some important nutrients - so it's worth taking some time to learn some new recipes and foods that really heal and fill you up.

I'm currently a fan of WhoMe's theory that we can easily end up deficient in minerals, and that can break a lot of things, so you might look for a good trace mineral supp...

Oh, and on the mercury - there are wiser mamas here than me on that front, but you definitely don't want to take them out while bfing, and you want to be careful about doing anything (ALA, cilantro, spirulina, chlorella, maybe others) that would mobilize mercury in you and pass it to your son.