How To Gain Weight Back After Being Sick In Healthy & Safe Ways 2024?

Getting ill can cause us to lose more than just weight. Diseases and chronic illnesses^[1] can easily cause you to feel down, not yourself. 

The stress and frustration of waiting to feel better, losing time with friends, and the loss of energy to do the activities you love can drain you. Maybe you can’t work, have medical bills to pay, or you feel the pressure to earn money now. 

No matter what happens, your road to recovery can get a jump start with proper nutrition. Eating more will help strengthen your body and mind, making it easier to move on. 

This article will teach you how to gain weight back after being sick and reach a healthy weight, helping you not to recover just your figure but your physical and mental energy levels, too. 

Healing takes time, and the more compassion and patience^[2] you offer yourself, the more likely you will have an easier time. Self-compassion is also one of the most important mindsets you can develop to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety^[3] from being sick. 

Having more self-compassion can also reduce stress hormones and make you less likely to get sick again. 

Depending on what you are suffering from, you can start by trying to add around 500 extra calories to your day. While this might sound like a lot, it’s not too hard to achieve through healthy high-calorie foods. 

Think raw nuts, seeds, and dried fruit — a handful of trail mix can easily add 200 to 500 calories with 20 grams of fat or more. For example, macadamia nuts and raw peanuts are some of the highest-calorie nuts and legumes available. 

Keeping a bowl of these around to snack on throughout the day can easily pile on more calories. 

Suppose you suffer from any stomach or gut health issues like malabsorption, irritable bowel syndrome, or side effects from chemo. In that case, it’s best to speak to a registered dietitian about foods that will specifically work for you. 

They’ll be able to give you detailed recommendations to make your food tastier and life easier. Be sure to ask your doctor about any food-related requirements due to the illness or medications. 

The Risks Of Using Calorie-Counting Apps

Many people find it useful to use calorie-counting apps when first starting to change their eating behaviors. It definitely has its advantages and can be very helpful for allowing you to see just how much, or little; you eat in a day. 

It can also help you to notice what external factors, such as emotional stressors and busy work schedules, can lead to you eating more or less in a day. This can, in turn, encourages you to keep extra snacks with you or plan meals ahead of time too. 

However, it’s also straightforward to get sucked into tracking every morsel of food and become obsessive about how many calories you eat in a day. Humans are wired to go after a goal, which can be a wonderful thing. But in the case of calorie counting, it can lead to disordered eating behaviors.^[4]

Unfortunately, many people don’t even realize they have disordered eating patterns,^[5] so these are some signs that professional guidance and support for your weight gain journey is necessary:

• Obsessively thinking about what you eat or how you look.
• Feeling excessive guilt and regret after eating certain foods. 
• Binging — eating large amounts in short periods of time or purging. 
• Using food or exercise as rewards or punishments. 
• Hiding how much you eat from others. 
• Stress and emotional eating. 

If you have a history of yo-yo dieting or disordered eating, calorie counting may not be for you. 

5 Tips To Gain Weight After Illness

It can be easy to lose weight and become malnourished while you’re sick. You might have lost your appetite or have had a hard time keeping food down. 

If you’re getting better but noticed you’re underweight, adding more nutrients can help you restore your energy levels and get back to your usual routine more easily. 

An easy measure to determine if you’re underweight is by using the BMI scale – less than 18.5 is considered underweight.

Here are some simple science-backed tips^[6] for healthy weight gain: 

Snack On Healthy High-Calorie Foods

If you still don’t have much of an appetite, snacking throughout the day on energy-dense foods is going to be a game changer. 

Whether you’re at home or the office, prepare and leave out bowls of snacks on your desk and throughout the house as a friendly reminder to nibble away whenever you see them. 

Here are some great foods to keep around to make gaining weight easy:

• Raw nuts and seeds.
• Dark chocolate.
• Dried fruit.
• Homemade muffins or banana bread. 
• Nut butter — great on bananas, whole grain toast, muffins, or crackers.
• Regular fat dairy-free yogurts and add fruit, granola, and honey.
• Hummus with whole grain toast, crackers, or vegetables.
• All-natural protein bars.
• Hard-boiled eggs.

Keeping these nutritious favorites in easy-to-reach places in your kitchen will remind you to eat them regularly.

Eat Regular Nutrient-Dense Meals

It can be hard to get back to a regular eating schedule after eating less and feeling low on energy. To make it easier on yourself, see if you can buy healthy ready-made meals from the grocery store or a meal plan service.

Otherwise, buy frozen meats, fish, and vegetables that you can easily heat up. Canned foods, like tuna or legumes, can also easily be made into a sandwich for a quick lunch. Here are some great options to include in your meals: 

• Protein like fatty fish, chicken, or eggs. 
• Fiber-rich starchy vegetables like potatoes, squash, corn, and legumes. 
• Whole grains like oats, quinoa, and bread. 
• Lentil or chickpea pasta that’s ready in less than five minutes. 

Pro tip: set alarms on your phone to remind yourself to eat or snack throughout the day. They don’t have to be large meals, just something to ease your stomach and mind into eating regular meals again. 

Use Healthy Fats For Cooking, Dipping, And Spreading

Don’t be afraid to douse your pan or vegetables with a healthy fat like olive or avocado oil — they are incredibly heart-healthy and full of antioxidants. Here are ways to add more to your diet: 

• Use double the amount of recommended oil when cooking a recipe.  
• Drizzle extra oil on your raw or cooked vegetables. 
• Spread avocado mayo or sundried tomatoes in olive oil on your sandwiches.  
• Add coconut cream to your chicken or pasta sauces. 

Including these healthy fats in your meals easily bumps up the calorie content without having to increase the volume of your food.

Add Toppings To Your Meals

An easy way to sneak in more nutrition is to make additions to your meals and snacks using ingredients such as: 

• Raw nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. 
• Full fat dairy-free sour cream, yogurt, or cheese.
• Hard-boiled eggs.
• Nutritional yeast. 
• Avocado slices. 
• Sundried tomatoes in olive oil.
• Honey.

These simple additions taste great and are an effective calorie bump in a small portion.

Make Smoothies Your Friend

Gaining weight is easier if you drink your calories. Plus, you’ll gain a ton of vitamins and minerals to help you feel better. The internet has many healthy smoothie recipes, such as:

• Choco-banana: coconut milk, frozen bananas, nut butter, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and chocolate protein powder.
• Blueberry banana: nut milk, frozen blueberries, bananas, almond butter, and vanilla protein powder. 
• Red chia: mix of red berries, a spoonful of chia seeds, full-fat coconut yogurt, and vanilla protein powder. 

If you’re having trouble adding more solid food to your day, adding a daily smoothie can make it easier to get in those extra 500 calories.

Healthy Foods To Help You Gain Weight

Here’s a list of some of the healthiest energy and nutrient-rich foods to help you gain the weight back and feel yourself again:

Carbohydrates

• Starchy vegetables.
  • Potatoes.
  • Squash.
  • Green peas.
  • Corn.
  • Beets.
  • Turnips.
  • Carrots. 
• Legumes.
• Whole grain bread and cereals.
• Legume-based or regular pasta. 
• Wild and whole grain rice. 
• Dried or fresh fruit.

Protein

• Fatty fish and seafood.
  • Salmon.
  • Sardines.
  • Anchovies.
  • Mussels. 
  • Herring.
  • Tuna. 
• Dark chicken meat.
• Eggs.
• Protein powders and bars.

Fats

• Olive, avocado, and coconut oil.
• Ghee.
• Avocados.
• Nuts and seeds.
• Dairy-free full-fat yogurt.
• Coconut cream or milk.
• Dark chocolate.

All these foods are both nutrient-dense and calorie-dense, so with every extra calorie you’re taking in, you’re getting a big punch of nutrients simultaneously.

Summary

Working your way back to health after being sick takes time, patience, and plenty of self-compassion. It’s important to be gentle with yourself as you slowly start to build your energy levels back up. 

Snacking on energy-dense trail mix, setting alarm reminders to eat regularly, and making rich protein shakes can make the healing process easier on yourself. 

Finally, don’t expect weight gain to be a linear process. You might still have days where you don’t feel well or have no appetite or desire to cook, and that’s ok. 

Your best bet is to get online deliveries to keep your home stocked and full of ready-to-eat nutritious foods, like nuts, seeds, yogurts, fruit, and frozen protein and vegetables for a quick meal. Overall, keep your focus on what gives you energy and makes you feel good, both mentally and physically.

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