Don't Be Jealous of The Girl Trying to Gain Weight

As I mentioned in my last post, I lost a lot of weight while I was ill over the course of 4 months. Since I've been looking for weight gaining diet plans, I've come across a lot of rude remarks on the internet. There are so few people that understand that gaining weight is just as difficult as losing weight and that being underweight is also just as unhealthy.

I've read comments like: "Just stuff your face with McDonalds or a bunch of donuts," or "Yeah, yeah. You've got it so easy. I wish I had to GAIN weight."

It's incredibly frustrating and I wanted to raise awareness about this. Being underweight isn't a fun experience. I encountered months of dizzy spells, nausea from my stomach having shrunk, fatigue, weakness, constant headaches; you name it, I experienced it. I have a naturally fast metabolism which I've been trying to work with for years. Last August, I didn't expect to get food poisoning along with a parasite and stop being able to eat most food for four months. I didn't try to crash diet and I most certainly, didn't want to lose any weight. But I did. I lost 8 very significant pounds. That might not sound like a lot but for someone like me, that's the difference between feeling normal and feeling sick 24/7.

Contrary to popular belief, I can't just gain weight by eating a bunch of donuts. First of all, I'm allergic to gluten. Secondly though, and most importantly, gaining weight from eating junk food isn't healthy either. After a round with antibiotics to treat the parasite, I experienced an allergic reaction that led to hives all over my body for a week. After that, I was finally able to start eating. So what did I do? I did what everyone online thinks is the natural way to gain weight when your "lucky enough" to be skinny. I started having loads of sugar. My body soon told me that I had enough sugar when I ended up with oral thrush, candida, which is also a reaction that can be triggered after antibiotics. For those who've never heard of candida, it's an overgrowth of yeast in your body, and yeast feeds on sugar.

Suddenly I felt hopeless. I had tried gaining weight and then I ended up with candida. If you look up the candida diet, you'll find that there is no way to gain weight on this diet. You not only have to cut out candy, but you have to cut out every sugar on planet Earth (fruit, rice, breads, etc). If it's a processed food, it's eliminated. I tried this diet for two weeks to treat myself and I experienced a lot of horrible reactions. First of all, if you ever have this, do not try to fight it as quickly and as fast as possible. You will experience a horrible reaction called "die-off". Basically, the yeast fights back while you're killing it and you can get severe reactions. The worst I had was depression. Yes, depression is a side effect of this treatment. Most days it was so bad that I couldn't leave the house. I spent nights just trying to find the will to be alive. My sweet husband even ran home from work mid-day just to check on me.

Eventually, I decided I couldn't continue on this diet. Gaining weight was too important. However, this time, I decided to do it right. I added back in fruit and the occasional bit of rice (sushi!). I'm still avoiding items with processed sugars. I've been following a weight gaining diet, with the help of my husband. I've been calculating my calorie intake to make sure that I'm actually getting enough on the MyFitnessPal app.

I've only been on this new diet for a few weeks and I haven't seen myself gain any weight yet. Most importantly though, I haven't lost any weight and I no longer feel dizzy. I'm hoping I will begin gaining weight in the next few months but at least I'm eating healthy. I hear it takes time for the body to actually start building the weight.

I still walk around and get comments from people like "You need to eat lots of cake!" or "You need to gain weight? That's easy. Keep eating! Finish your meal! Order more!"

I can assure everyone that I'm doing the best I can. I don't need to eat cake and I can't just keep eating because my stomach is still expanding.

I'm sure it's really hard to lose weight but don't for a second think it's easy for us trying to gain. We all have different body types and our own challenges that come with that. Neither one is easier or harder than the other. They're both difficult, time consuming, unhealthy, and mind-numbingly challenging. The best advice I can give is to just eat healthy and take care of yourself.

For those looking for tasty meals that are low on sugar and high in calories, here's my menu that's in the works! The meals are being created by my husband, who is a professional chef.

Lamb Leg with parsnip chips, butternut squash puree and celeriac puree (682 calories)
Created by my amazing husband, Gwithyen Thomas.

My Menu

These are my dietary restrictions: Gluten Free, Pepper Free, Milk Free, and Processed Sugar Free

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