Weight Gain Powders

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#1 Post by **chicago29** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 12:36 pm

Hi,

Does anybody have any first hand experience with weight gain powders that they used while they were on no-chew diets? I am worried about losing weight, and to be honest I don't have much to lose

I don't really consider myself a healthy eater, but I guess I was "blessed" with a high metabolism and weight gain isn't something I'm good at.

I'm going to try my hardest with liquids and purees, and I got the recipe book from Zip-N-Squeeze. Which, believe it or not, sounds like it has some tasty meals in there!!! And I have the Zip-N-Squeeze bags which will help.

Anyway I'd like to have a weight gain powder available just in case. If anybody has any recommendations I would appreciate it.

Thanks!
Chicago29

#2 Post by **R88** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 1:16 pm

Like you, I don't have any weight to lose, and I have a very high metabolism. I'm on a liquid diet right now, and quite honestly I have to be careful so I don't GAIN weight.

It's so incredibly easy to mix up a shake that has a LOT of calories. I don't understand how anyone actually loeses weight on liquid diets...

I don't really use "weight gain" powders exactly, but I do include a scoop of pure whey protein (chocolate flavor) into every shake I make. One scoop is about 125 calories and contains 24g of protein. Protein is important to me because I work out regularly and my body gets very upset with me if I don't feed it enough protein to recover. You can get this at any nutritional supplement store, or on Amazon.com. I like Optimum Nutrition's brand myself, but they should all be pretty similar. A 5lb jar of powder should cost between $40 and $50.

For shakes I mix up a scoop of protein powder, some milk and some combination of the following ingrediants:
- egg beaters
- cottage cheese
- dry cereal
- fresh or frozen fruit, jelly or jams
- yogurt
- peanut butter
- peanut or olive oil
- ice cream
- pudding
- sugar to taste

I can easily make a 500-600 calorie shake this way (and could make the calorie content much higher if I wished) and they taste very good... pretty close to chocolate milk. Playing with different fruits or different flavors of yougurt and ice cream is a great way to switch the taste up pretty dramatically if you're the type that gets sick of eating the same thing. However, I've found that you need to be careful with bannana as even 1/2 of a bannana will REALLY dominate the taste.

I have 3 of these shakes a day, along with 2 blended up cans of campbells chunky soup and a few glasses of juice. Overall that gives me about 2500 calories, which is about right for me to maintain my current 155lb weight since I'm not working out very hard right now.

I could easily drink 4 or 5 of those shakes a day without feeling "too full", or I could increase the amount of any of the ingrediants I mix up in my shakes if I needed more calories. Peanut butter and olive oil are especially high calorie ingredients.

I did lose weight for the first 3-4 days after surgery, and I'm not sure if my body was using more calories to recover, or if I needed to adjust to digesting the liquid diet, but once my body figured it out I gained the 5lbs I lost back and have leveled back off.

In short, you do have to pay more attention to make sure you're feeding your body enough of what it needs, but as long as you make it a priority to get enough nutrition into you, you shouldn't lose any weight.

Also, I'm completely wired shut, so a liquid diet for me means LIQUID I can't fit anything past my teeth that has any sort of solid particle matter in it at all. If you're lucky enough to escape being wired, or tightly banded shut you'll have a lot more food options than I do.

#3 Post by **emilio** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 4:23 pm

I got the braces last november (2 months ago) in preparation for orthognatic surgery about one year from now (probably 1.5).

Like both of you I have been blessed with a (SLOW IN MY CASE) metabolism so I don't gain weight. My all time high at age 45 has been 69 kilograms (kg).

Since I got my braces 2 months ago I have lost already 5 kilos which leaves me on my all time low and officially underweight according to the BMI. Like you, I don't have much to loose and need to gain some weight before my surgery but that isn't happening.

As a measure I have now started having one (probably up it to 2) drinks/shakes of ENSURE. ENSURE is used for people recovering from surgery as either a supplement or substitute for meals. It is not cheap but they are charged with proteins and calories.

I started it this weekend so I can't say yet it is helping or how much it will help. Will keep monitoring my weight.

#4 Post by **switchblades** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:50 pm

Try Boost powder with extra protein, I had to use it when I had my wisdom teeth extracted because I got infected and couldn't chew for 3 weeks. Also, switch from low-fat to whole milk if you don't already drink it, as it has a higher calorie and fat content

#5 Post by **blindboarder2008** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 8:25 pm

I to am blessed with a very fast metabolism and so if i gain weight its next to a miracle. I am having my orthognathic surgery in about 3 to 4 months. I really can't afford to loose weight myself. In fact i could probably gain a few pounds. anyways i use ensure as well just as emilo was talking about. it really does taste really good but it can be a bit expensive. We've managed to find a life brand of the ensure which pretty well has the exact ingredients list just a bit cheaper so if figured i'd pass along that messege to everyone on here. I use ensure after for a day after every adjustment because i really don't feel like eating (plus it generally hurts to eat a day or so after adjustments). I also used ensure after my wisdom teeth surgery. its wonderful stuff. My sis went through the same surgery as i have to go through. She to used ensure and had the same issue as me: she didnd't have to loose any weight and had a very high metabolism, so you could use ensure. boost is another good one to. i haven't tried it but i've known people who have and they said it tastes pretty good and works really well for keeping on weight and not loosing weight. wey powder is good as well.

hope this helps!

#6 Post by **Figamentation** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:08 am

The body is a pretty smart thing - if it knows it's not getting a lot of calories, your metabolism will adjust. I think the people that lose a ton of weight usually had plenty to lose OR had a poor diet beforehand and the people that don't, just don't. Not to say you won't lose any, but don't expect to lose 30 lbs if you weigh 110. I know someone that gained weight during her recovery (she was pretty thin). Just make sure you have your zip n squeeze bags, keep lots of ensure handy if you like them and eat often and you'll be fine. Once I got my zip n squeezes I was able to put away enough calories easily - the syringe method just did not work in my ridiculously swollen face. Also there's a sticky with food ideas in this forum, I used a lot of the liquid ideas (I was on completely liquid due to being so tightly banded) and I never once got sick of liquefied mashed potatoes.

#7 Post by **blindboarder2008** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:10 pm

what exactly are zip and squeeze ????? i've heard them mentioned several times on this board but never really understood exactly what they are?