# Ways to add more calories?



## christine09 (Dec 2, 2010)

I'm a college student with IBS-C, with chronic nausea and sometimes cramping so bad I can hardly walk.Based on what I've looked up, high-fat foods, high-insoluble fiber foods, dairy, red meat, fructose, caffeine, and carbonation are trigger foods.My question is, on bad days, how can you get enough calories?Today was a bad day... I woke up in pain, and all I've eaten today is a rice cake, some white rice, two plain bagels, a bowl of dry rice crispies, some soymilk, and a little bit of vitamin water. Which barely gets me up to 700 Calories.I know I personally am supposed to get 1800-1900 Calories, but I'm not really hungry... I know I need to eat more for the constipation to get better, but I can't.My doctor gave me some antihistamines for the nausea... sometimes they help, but it never goes away, and they make me so groggy that I can't focus (which is a problem in college...), so I don't take them as often as I probably should. Oh, and one of their many side effects is constipation... I don't know if it effects me (I don't seem any _more_ constipated, but I don't really want to risk it; I'm also on align, citrucel, and hyoscyamine for constipation and cramping)Does anyone have a safe way to increase Caloric intake on bad days, that doesn't involve foods that will trigger or worsen an IBS attack?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Do you tolerate Ensure? It tends to be fairly low on digestive irritants (some people still don't tolerate it). It is a high calorie supplement designed for people who have illnesses that make it hard to eat.A couple of cans a day can really up your total calorie count and it tends to be fairly well tolerated, and has a lot of vitamins and things so you could, if need be, get by on just Ensure for quite awhile (and some people have to for various reasons).


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## christine09 (Dec 2, 2010)

I have tried Ensure, but it usually exacerbates the cramping.Thanks for the suggestion, though.


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## nowandthen (Jun 17, 2010)

Do you like yogurt? It comes in so many delicious flavors now.What about soups? What about smoothies?


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## em_t (Jun 8, 2010)

I have exactly this problem as well! I also suffer from chronic nausea and when I am hungry I just fill up so quickly! I know I don't eat enough which is why most of the time I eat in secret so others don't remark on how little I'm actually eating. Most days I reckon I average between 800 - 1200 calories but still manage to maintain my average weight of 110 lbs (only 5'1" so this is healthy enough) - think the difficulty eating for so long has killed my metabolism!I agree with nowandthen yogurts, especially the probiotic varieties can be good, light on the stomach and nutritious. Soups and broths can also be good, just be careful of "cream of soups" which are loaded with fat. Even drinking soy milk instead of water or sipping fruit juice will increase your calorie total a bit!I'm not sure if you can get them in the States but there is a nutritional drink you can get in the UK called Fortisip and Fortijuice which are nutritionally balanced and contain all your vitamins, minerals and amino acids that you need. Each bottle contains 300 calories and can help you gain some weight if you need to. Perhaps ask your doctor about it. Just a note if you are going to go for these supplements you might want to try the Fortijuice - the Fortisip is very milky and heavy and quite sickening after a while whereas the Fortijuice is nice and light and just tastes like fruit juice!Hope this helps!


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## christine09 (Dec 2, 2010)

I can eat (drink?) broths, but I've been trying to stay away from dairy products in general (including yogurt) because I've heard they're usually a trigger for IBS and can often cause constipation.I don't think Fortisip/Fortijuice is available in the States, and regular fruit juices are usually too acidic for me.I have been drinking soy milk and Vitamin Water, but the downside to all the healthy foods is they're catered towards people looking for lower calories so they don't provide as much as I need.Also liquids (even just water) can really fill me up most times... but I think that's common?I am thinking maybe I'll try yogurt, though.


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## Guest (Dec 2, 2010)

em_t said:


> I have exactly this problem as well! I also suffer from chronic nausea and when I am hungry I just fill up so quickly! I know I don't eat enough which is why most of the time I eat in secret so others don't remark on how little I'm actually eating. Most days I reckon I average between 800 - 1200 calories but still manage to maintain my average weight of 110 lbs (only 5'1" so this is healthy enough) - think the difficulty eating for so long has killed my metabolism!I agree with nowandthen yogurts, especially the probiotic varieties can be good, light on the stomach and nutritious. Soups and broths can also be good, just be careful of "cream of soups" which are loaded with fat. Even drinking soy milk instead of water or sipping fruit juice will increase your calorie total a bit!I'm not sure if you can get them in the States but there is a nutritional drink you can get in the UK called Fortisip and Fortijuice which are nutritionally balanced and contain all your vitamins, minerals and amino acids that you need. Each bottle contains 300 calories and can help you gain some weight if you need to. Perhaps ask your doctor about it. Just a note if you are going to go for these supplements you might want to try the Fortijuice - the Fortisip is very milky and heavy and quite sickening after a while whereas the Fortijuice is nice and light and just tastes like fruit juice!Hope this helps!


I also eat in secret often, because I hate people commenting as well. Also, I eat so slowly and with some foods I have to cut them up to baby size because I feel it makes them easier to digest...but I wanted to comment on the metabolism thing, I am the same way and it is puzzling! The amount of food I eat on a daily basis would make a "normal person" lose weight like crazy...but I've maintained almost exactly the same weight for about 3-4 years now. I'm 5'7" and my weight fluctuates between 120-125. I try to graze at night instead of sitting down for one big meal, so sometimes in the evening it will seem like I'm eating something every 5 minutes, but when I really add it up I average under 1100 calories, when I really need quite a bit more than that. I got really into a jogging program to try to tone up, and ran every other day for about 5 months and didn't lose a single pound!Also, does anyone ever feel like their body temperature is just...off? Sometimes I get really warm, but 90% of the time I am so cold I can feel it in my bones. I layer on clothes and sit with a heating pad every night but I'm always freezing. I feel better when I move around a lot, but if I have to sit still in class, or to study, or just try to relax, I freeze. It's awful!


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## christine09 (Dec 2, 2010)

AliKaye said:


> I also eat in secret often, because I hate people commenting as well. Also, I eat so slowly and with some foods I have to cut them up to baby size because I feel it makes them easier to digest...but I wanted to comment on the metabolism thing, I am the same way and it is puzzling! The amount of food I eat on a daily basis would make a "normal person" lose weight like crazy...but I've maintained almost exactly the same weight for about 3-4 years now. I'm 5'7" and my weight fluctuates between 120-125. I try to graze at night instead of sitting down for one big meal, so sometimes in the evening it will seem like I'm eating something every 5 minutes, but when I really add it up I average under 1100 calories, when I really need quite a bit more than that. I got really into a jogging program to try to tone up, and ran every other day for about 5 months and didn't lose a single pound!Also, does anyone ever feel like their body temperature is just...off? Sometimes I get really warm, but 90% of the time I am so cold I can feel it in my bones. I layer on clothes and sit with a heating pad every night but I'm always freezing. I feel better when I move around a lot, but if I have to sit still in class, or to study, or just try to relax, I freeze. It's awful!


I'm exactly the same way; I'm around 5'6 and I've stayed around 130 pounds for the last few years. Eating in front of people is really stressful... in the past week I've had people comment on my food choices and amounts twice (trust me, I'd love to be able to eat all that fried greasy food you have on your plate).I usually feel really cold a lot of times, but I also have hypothyroidism which can account for feeling cold. Have you gotten your TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) levels tested?


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