Re: Question for and Aspaysia

[Guest guest]

Hi Katy,

I have basically started to eat WHATEVER sounds appealing, regardless

of whether it is supposedly " cancer healthy " or not. At this stage

of the game, it is far more important for me to gain the weight.

There are those who say you should not eat too much sugar and/or

fat...or too much of this or that, but if I tried to follow all of

those restrictions I would STILL be losing! So instead, I tried

to think of all the stuff I really like to eat, and go with it. For

me, that means high calorie stuff like cookies, chips, nuts (but be

careful with the nuts if you have history of obstruction), etc. I

also like Ramen noodles -they have a lot more calories than I thought

with a high fat content(taste great, around 400 calories a package,

and they really taste more like a soup so shouldn't cause intestinal

problems). Also, I have found other high calorie soups to be quite

good (try homemade chili, if you make it yourself you can avoid

overseasoning with spices but put in meat for extra calories).

Pasta, Spaghetti, Ravioli, seem to go down well also, and with meat

sauce can really pack down the calories! But I don't find " heavy

meat " very appealing (e.g. steaks and other SOLID chunks of meat -

roasts, pork, burgers, etc), just because I don't feel it would

settle well. So I try to eat foods where the meat is already broken

up (like in the pasta sauce) to still get the benefit of the fat

content/calories.

For the cookies and sweets, go for a " soft bake " type if at all

possible(e.g., Pepperidge Farm Soft Baked Chocolate Chunk Cookies) -

makes them easier to eat. ALWAYS look for " moist " type foods like

this because it is SO much easier to swallow. " Crunchy " stuff (desert

or otherwise) tends to not go down as well, causes a bit of

coughing/choking and with a few exceptions I try to avoid if

possible. Warm pumpkin pie for some reason seems to be wonderful so

far as eatability goes...the filling probably has the perfect

consistency for a " good " soft, moist food (much more so than many

other types of pie/cake I have eaten).

But that's just me! Each of us will undoubtedly have our own

personal preferences on these things...what I like you may hate!

I guess if you are really dedicated, you could try drinking lots of

Boost, Ensure, etc. But I tried that route and just cannot stand the

taste of the stuff - so had to give it up! If you don't have a good

sense of taste/smell, you might be able to drink this stuff a little

better than I can lol!

Well, that's a few of my ideas...perhaps others have some too?

Best Wishes,

> OKdoke--how do you put weight on? I'm 104 lbs, 5'8 " . And not an

avid

> eater due to no saliva or sense of smell. Ice cream and

> milkshakes?

> Also getting a wry kick out of diagnosis/prognosis of recurrence in

> that one dot of good news offsets several big chunks of bad news.

> Last good news: radiologist's report of 5 lesions in liver (up from

> oncologists read of 2) but no involvement elsewhere (good news

> because surgeon won't do RFA if multiple sites.)

> Wishing you both the strength and support to hang in there--

> Peace,

> Katy

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi Katy-

I am in the same battle to gain weight.

Not making much saliva must be really frustrating. I have heard that

they make something that acts a bit like artificial saliva. Maybe it

would be worth checking into.

has good suggestions. Getting sufficient calories and protien

is the first goal.

I try to eat whenever I even start to think about being hungry, even

if it is 4 AM.

I have a pumpkin pie in my freezer right now to bake. Last spring I

ate one a week to gain weight for surgery. Besides, pumpkin is a

vegetable, right ?

I cruise the grocery stores frequently when I don't have a good

appetite, looking for things that will " set right " .

I like cottage cheese, also eggs. Yogurt is the right consistancy to

slide down well, except that I have always hated it. English muffins

toasted with tuna salad on top and a tomato with some cheese broiled

are a favorite, or just english muffins with cheese broiled are

good.

Having lost my sense of taste for sweets, and being cold sensitive

from chemo, ice cream no longer appeals to me, but if it works for

you, it doesn't sound like a bad choice. I guess I'd go for that over

cookies if you have a dry mouth.

I don't mind Boost. I like Boost Plus (chocolate flavor) better

than Ensure. It is too concentrated for me to drink straight if I am

nauseous. I mix it half and half with milk. I carry some in my car

so that if I am driving around and feel the least bit hungry I can

pack some calories in.

Home made soups, without all the seasoning that tends to come in

canned soups are good.

I keep a container of bland veggie dip in the fridge to encourage me

to eat my veggies.

I suspect that lots of others will have more suggestions.

Best wishes,

Kris

>