HealthInfo Canterbury
Healthy eating guidelines promote low-fat and low-sugar food choices. But if you're underweight, or are losing weight without trying to, you may need to eat more fat and sugar. These are good sources of energy (calories) and can help you gain weight.
To look after your heart and brain, it's best to use healthy fats (canola, peanut, olive, rice bran, sunflower or soybean oil, and margarine) rather than unhealthy fats (butter, lard, dripping, coconut oil or palm oil).
It is important to keep good control of your blood glucose levels while you try to gain weight. Eating more regularly and having more fat will help you to stop losing weight. You should check with your GP, practice nurse or dietitian before you have more sugar or sugary foods.
Eat more regularly
When you're underweight, you may feel full before other people do. Every day try to have three small meals with a nutritious snack in between, rather than two or three large meals.
Choose nutrient-rich foods
Include protein-rich foods – such as milk, cheese, yoghurt, meat, fish, eggs or nuts – in each meal and snack. Choose full-fat milk and milk products, such as dark-blue-top (whole milk) and Greek yoghurt, rather than green-top milk (trim milk) and low-fat yoghurt.
Add more calories
Add oil, margarine, butter, avocado, cream, cheese, dressings, sauces, sugar or honey to meals and snacks.
Enrich your milk
Add 4 tablespoons of skim milk powder to 2 cups (500 ml) of milk and whisk well. Use this milk in drinks, on cereal and in cooking.
Choose nourishing drinks
Have milky drinks (milky coffee, hot chocolate, milkshakes or smoothies), soups or fruit juice instead of water, tea or coffee (which have few calories and no nutritional value). Your doctor or dietitian may suggest you use a powdered drink product such as Complan or Vitaplan between meals.
Watch when you drink
Try not to drink a lot just before your meal as this could reduce your appetite. Drink plenty at other times.
Regularly have dessert, rather just occasionally
Keep active
Physical activity, especially strength training, can help you gain weight by building up your muscles. Exercise may also help to make you hungry. so you eat more.
If you can't follow these tips or your weight hasn't improved within four weeks, contact your doctor or dietitian.
On the next page: How to overcome a poor appetite
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed February 2022.
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Muffin images courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Review key: HIMWA-28082