HOW TO GAIN WEIGHT, EVEN IF YOU HAVE IBD

Some Crohnies and UCees (those with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) need to gain weight. They may have had a flare or smoldering disease that never quite gets completely under control. The presence of inflammation increases the calorie needs, so Crohnies and Ucees need to take that into consideration when trying to gain weight.

Getting the Extra Calories You Need

If you are trying to gain weight, you have to eat an extra 3500 calories to gain a pound. If you eat an extra slice of bread each day (at 100 calories), you will generally gain a pound in 35 days. Add 2 tablespoons of peanut butter to the bread (200 calories), and now it will only take you 12 days to gain a pound. What you are doing is making each bite count for more—by loading on the calories.

You can increase calories in many easy and healthy ways:

• Add cheese, seeds, and nuts to your salads (great boost in protein and fat)
• Eat plenty of baked potatoes (sweet potatoes too!) and load them with meat, cheese or whatever you'd like
• Add extra oils (like olive or canola) to your vegetables or potatoes when you cook
• Snack on handfuls of trail mix (1 oz gives you at least 170 calories) and dried fruit (6 dried apricot halves is 120 calories)
• Don't have a cracker without something on it (peanut butter, cheeses, etc.)
• Make a smoothie with Greek yogurt added
• Eat tropical fruits (bananas, mango, papaya, etc) or add them to smoothies
• Drink a protein shake or nutritional shake in the evening (if you do it during the day, you may fill up so much you can't eat dinner)

But remember to cut back once you've gained the weight you need. Your doctor and a dietitian can help. You'll also want to discuss your difficulty gaining with your doctor, because it may mean that there is more that needs to be done to control your disease.