Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Gaining Weight and CF

Despite losing a lot of lung function I have somehow managed to gain most of the weight I lost when I got the flu despite breastfeeding a 14 month old. I was recently asked by a fellow CF mama how I successfully gained the weight back. I feel like I am slightly cheating by giving advice on gaining weight because although gaining weight has always been a struggle for me, I have always been able to get close to my goal weight. I have never been close to needing a g-tube so I know my struggle to gain weight is not nearly as hard as some CFers. If you are need of an extra 5-10lbs this may do the trick!

I gained the weight back by adding one small change into my life. Before I let everyone in on my secret I have to throw out this warning- although I find this trick to be delicious and work like a charm just the thought of what I ingest to gain weight makes my husband nauseous so I guess it is not for everyone. 

I have been drinking two Ensure Plus on and off for years and years. However, recently I started drinking both my Ensure Pluses in the evening with a little addition: 3 Tablespoons of Coconut oil. This is what makes my husband woozy, but I actually find it tastes pretty good! You do have to stir vigorously before each sip so that you don't get a mouth full of oil, but that is a small price to pay in my opinion.

Why do I use coconut oil you ask? First, it is the only oil that I could possibly bear to stomach in a drink. Could you imagine chocolate olive oil?? Gross! But chocolate coconut? Sounds kinda good. Second, coconut oil is easier to digest for CFers because it is digested by the liver rather than our damaged crappy pancreas. Now I have been cooking with coconut oil for years (and even add a little in my coffee), but I have never taken it in such large quantities. Let me do some math for you:

Three tablespoons of coconut oil has about 42 grams of fat and 390 calories. Add this to two Ensure Plus and you have 1,090 calories and 64g of fat. It seems really hard not to gain weight when you add so many calories and that much fat to your diet! Taking them at night means I am less likely to fill up on the Ensure during the day so I maintain my fat/calories intake throughout the day.

So there you have it, my little tip on gaining weight. Let me know if you try it and if you enjoy it like I do.



4 comments:

  1. I love coconut oil. I have been eating just about everything covered in peanut butter and coconut oil since Kate was born - I 100% credit that huge load of healthy fats for keeping me from losing too much weight! (I lost a TON at first so I've been really careful since.)

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    1. Peanut butter is great too, but I seem to go through phases with it. I am obsessed with it for a few months and then grossed out by it for a while. I am the same way with oatmeal...weird, I know!

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  2. Thank you so much for your secret:) I will try this too. I really do not like Ensure at all, but make my own shakes with whole milk, Liberte Med Yogurt (natural)..different from Greek Liberte as it has more calories, frozen berries, peanut butter, wheatgerm, honey, and banana. I think this has about the same or even more calories than Ensure and tastes better for me. I will definitely add the coconut oil. I didn't realize it had so many calories! Taking it at night is smart too, as I find I get filled up during the day. It is so nice to be able to talk to other Cf Moms. Thank you again and I will let you know if this helps!

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    1. Wow! Your smoothies sound 1000x healthier than Ensure. My insurance covers them and they get delivered to my front door every month so it is super easy. I think I am going to try your smoothie though- much healthier and sounds much more delicious! Thanks for sharing! I love learning new things from my readers :)

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