Unable to Gain Weight!!!!

First of all, contact your doctor! It sounds like there's something going on that shouldn't be. When I had hyperthyroidism, I couldn't gain weight either. The not getting hungry thing isn't a symptom I had though (I could eat everything in sight and not gain weight... and if I didn't eat every two hours I felt sick). In any case, discuss with your doctor and get some blood work done.

Hi M.,

First question is...are you nursing your 10-month old son? If so, I'd say there's reason to be really concerned, since you are also his food source (in addition to the other baby foods he's probably getting at his age)! But most importantly, you need to make sure YOU are okay, so I would suggest first and foremost to go to the doctor. Good luck with this! ~Rae

Nobody should eat only once a day. You can't loose or gain weight this way. You need to first find out how many calories your body needs a day. Then you need to at the least eat that amount.

Eat 5-6 times a day. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack dinner and snack if you want. Eat every 3 hours. Hungry or not. This is good that you aren't actually hungry. But the reason you aren't is your body has adjusted to what you have been taking in - one meal. You will loose muscle, if you aren't already.

I highly recommend seeing a nutritionist. You need to start feeding yourself and if you aren't already, start exercising to build muscle.

Best wishes to you,
M.

try increasing your intake of zinc... they use that with anorexics to increase their appetite. Also, try increasing your activity.l.if you ar expending more energy you will need more nutrients. In addition, put yourself on a schedule of eating every 3 hours. For a while it will feel like you are forcing yourself to eat, but that will change. You have trained your body to go into starvation mode. I don't know how tall you are, but in order to gain weight you need to increase your caloric intake by 3500 a week.

It sounds like your big issue is getting your appetite back. The best way to get your appetite back is by eating. I know if I get in the habit of skipping breakfast, that pretty soon I no longer have an appetite in the morning. However, once I start forcing myself to eat it every day, then I quickly get my appetite back in the morning. If time or motivation is an issue, try drinking a pre-made protein drink/shake such as Carnation Instant Breakfast. I personally am always needing to lose a few pounds, so I drink a diet meal replacement drink like SlimFast and while the drinks don't taste great, their really not bad and since they are so convienent I have no reason to skip breakfast. After drinking those for a few days you should get your appetite back in the morning and may be more motivated to make the time to have a bowl of cereal or eggs or whatever. The same thing goes for getting your appetite back at lunch or dinner. Find something quick & easy, even if it's a frozen meal of some sort, that you have no excuse not to eat. Force yourself to eat it for a few days and then your appetite should return along with your desire to eat so you'll have more motivation to make/eat healthier options. Good luck!

The less you eat the less hungry you get . Try to eat something sweet in the AM , High in protein and fat at lunch , and sweet and fat at night.
Don't snack too much as this increses your metabolisim. If you do snack make it very fatty. Avoid foods that are "bad for you" , but don't worry about calories at all.

New moms often lose their appetites, forget to eat, or are stressed constantly , wearing their bodies down. Thyroid problems are not uncommon after having a baby but they are usually hypothyroid. Hyperthyroid has a variety of other symptoms such as dry skin , bulging eyes, brittle hair, palpitations, excessive thirst , menstrual changes , trouble sleeping etc.. If you are experiencing other symptoms aside from weight loss or don't gain any weight in 2 weeks by eating as I described see your doctor immediately. Otherwise just get your annual checkup and try to slow down a bit in the meantime, you're probably burrning through your calories and then some !

Good luck and let us know how it goes,
J.