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Weight Gaining Shakes

Hello,
So I'd love to find a shake to gain weight that is pretty natural, no perservatives or soy, that tastes good, and doesn't break the bank.

I do TPN every night and I've currently maxed out the concentration of calories. My doc suggested I do 6 days, but I just can't get those extra days in. I currently do 5 days 10 hours. Even with the tpn im down almost 8 pounds.

I work 830 to about 6 daily and would still like to have some what of a live, and he gets this. I can't do solid food for the most part. I'm sick to my stomach alot and throw up most of what I eat (currently trying to figure this one out, I have a sticture from ulcer scaring my pylorus).

I was hoping maybe I could keep a shake down and hopefully absorb something from it? I also have chronic diarrheah.

So yeah, does anyone know of anything?
 
My GI recommended BOOST and it's pretty good. I find it much more drinkable than ENSURE or other milk since it doesn't taste like 'baby milk'. I think kelloggs has some new shakes too. Cost is lower than other brands, but I've never tried yet. :) Hope that helps!
 
I would forget the ensure or really any other store bought garbage-they are a poor source of quality carbs and proteins. Personally, I make my own in 5lb batches using proteinfactory.com. If you truly plan on using shakes as a food source on a daily basis I would want something I can trust and know exactly whats in it so if problems do arise you can substitute offending ingredients out. Using this approach I know that I can not handle whole milk proteins but do just fine with clean whey. I would also stick with more of a meal replacement drink and not just protein using ratios around 40/40/20 for protein/carbs/fats. The reason I use this company is that they have a very nice wide variety of listings and so you are bound to find a set of ingredients that work well with you after a little trial and error.
 
We use Orgain here. It's not horribly expensive, tastes good and keeps my IBD kid happy since it's portable and he can take it to school and activities. I think it's better than Ensure and Boost.

www.drinkorgain.com
 
Location
Birmingham
I was put on Fresubin Energy milkshakes to try and build up my weight again, 200ml bottles at 300 calories each, 400 if they were the 2kal ones. But drinking so many a day made me gurgly as all hell. That much liquid travelling through my gut... I did a 2 week only milkshake diet cos the dietition and docs said it can cause remission. No such luck for me sadly. But they do have 300kcal a pop and come in a variety of yummy flavours :) chocolate, banana, cappuccino, vanilla, strawberry, neutral and then a bunch of fruity milkshakes I wouldn't touch with a barge pole XD.
I'm currently searching for a way to help me gain weight still, protein shakes/bars have come to mind, but they're stupidly expensive in the UK...
 
I'm currently searching for a way to help me gain weight still, protein shakes/bars have come to mind, but they're stupidly expensive in the UK...
Don't you get them on prescription? I'm in the UK have had various weight-gain drinks prescribed.
 
Thanks Jasper. I'll look into making my own. The thought didn't even occur to me. Ensure and Boost are full of pretty awful ingredients when you research them. I really don't need the nutrition. I get that from TPN I just need the extra calories. Probably about an extra 400 a day.
 
Location
Birmingham
Don't you get them on prescription? I'm in the UK have had various weight-gain drinks prescribed.
I have fresubin milkshakes prescribed, but even those don't seem to be helping alot. I haven't gained anything since getting out of hospital. I need protein too...which I literally cannot eat enough of in a day... not sure if you can get protein powder stuff prescribed though... like those stupidly giant tubs...
 
jlm,

if you are sticking whatever you want to eat in a blender, keep in mind, you don't need any of these pre-made shakes with all kinds of filler and potentially poor ingredients.

take what doesn't cause flares (i know solid foods bug you, but things that were net-neutral for you to eat previously) and throw it in the shake. generally this means low fiber, low sugar stuff.

it may consist of the following:

1. a carb you can eat
2. protein powder that you can eat (try isolate protein, hemp protein, pea protein etc. whatever doesn't bug you)
3. if you can eat fruit, throw it in
4. rice milk/almond milk? or water

if you want no filler protein powder, and i mean NO FILLER, NOTHING, look into whey isolate protein. it is very different from whey protein which contains all the bullsh*t in it.


I buy my protein here.Its the lowest price ive ever seen at reliable quality. It has no filler in it and doesn't bother my stomach. It might yours though so make sure whatever powder you are adding is clean (no filler) and you tolerate it nicely. This stuff is extremely protein dense and good for you.

This site is also EXCELLENT for customizing protein needs, but can get pricey so i never use it.


In summary:

My shake diet cost me less money than eating regular food, got me triple the calories, and took almost no time to prepare and eat. try it and gl
 
I have fresubin milkshakes prescribed, but even those don't seem to be helping alot. I haven't gained anything since getting out of hospital. I need protein too...which I literally cannot eat enough of in a day... not sure if you can get protein powder stuff prescribed though... like those stupidly giant tubs...
I need to gain weight, and the drinks don't help me either because I find them as filling as food - i.e. the more I drink, the less I can eat. But I thought they were a good source of protein? I've had Fortisip/Fortijuice (which taste disgusting), Scandishake, and Ensure on prescription.
 
Location
Birmingham
I need to gain weight, and the drinks don't help me either because I find them as filling as food - i.e. the more I drink, the less I can eat. But I thought they were a good source of protein? I've had Fortisip/Fortijuice (which taste disgusting), Scandishake, and Ensure on prescription.
Yup... that's a problem I find aswell... and they don't supply as much protein as I'd hope... or that I need. If I'm eating and drinking fresubin, I just feel awful, and can't eat as much and get gurgly & and uncomfortable from the fresubin anyways. And I need to gain weight and consume alot of protein, which is meant to help with the gaining weight... gah XD
Fortisip was gross when I tried that too. Not had the others though.
 
Yup... that's a problem I find aswell... and they don't supply as much protein as I'd hope... or that I need. If I'm eating and drinking fresubin, I just feel awful, and can't eat as much and get gurgly & and uncomfortable from the fresubin anyways. And I need to gain weight and consume alot of protein, which is meant to help with the gaining weight... gah XD
Fortisip was gross when I tried that too. Not had the others though.
Scandishake is actually a children's one, but I got given it in hospital because I couldn't stand Fortisip and that particular hospital didn't have Ensure (I've no idea how anyone could like Fortijuice!). They sent me home with a prescription for it even though it's for kids. The Scandishake is a powder you mix with milk - it would probably work with soya milk or some other alternative if lactose is a problem for you - and it provides more calories per drink than Ensure or Fortijuice/sip.
 
Location
Birmingham
Scandishake is actually a children's one, but I got given it in hospital because I couldn't stand Fortisip and that particular hospital didn't have Ensure (I've no idea how anyone could like Fortijuice!). They sent me home with a prescription for it even though it's for kids. The Scandishake is a powder you mix with milk - it would probably work with soya milk or some other alternative if lactose is a problem for you - and it provides more calories per drink than Ensure or Fortijuice/sip.
I was given fortisup the first time I was in hospital, then tried on the fresubin juices(also awful, milkshakes much more palatable) told that fresubin works better with children too... but decided to try the fresubin only diet for 2 weeks to see if it would help. I don't know if milk/lactose bothers me for sure yet... but I have a feeling it might, my stomach reacts more aggressively after I've had it recently. But I've had a milk free couple of days, so I'm going to try a glass and see... I will google Scandishake to have a looksie though :) I'm considering some kind of soya protein isolate powder thing if I can't eat enough protein. There's only so much ham and eggs and stuff you can eat in a day without wanting to crawl into a hole lol
 
that sounds like a sweeping generalization.

many of the weight gainers and protein powders can give a normal person stomach aches..let alone a person with IBD or crohns. That said, if you find a clean protein powder (whey isolate, hemp, or something else), I'm sure you'll be fine. Just don't go overboard or buy crap, and you won't feel like crap. Often these powders are full of junk.

If you can get the nutrition through food, go for it. If you are a bodybuilder or someone putting on a mass, doing it all through food is just flat out tougher. Pounding a high calorie shake with foods you can eat is far easier and healthy.

Im not really sure what you're referring to when you mention supplements (fish oil, multi-vitamin, glucose, lysine, leucine, arginine, vitamin d, calcium, vitamin k, iron, etc), so maybe be more specific. I think these are fine, if you are deficient and the pill form you are taking doesn't have something that meshes poorly your stomach (gluten or dairy free pills are nice if you can't have those things, for example).

you may also find that doctors dont know a goddamn thing about diet, because they deal very little with nutrition. they certainly wouldnt know about some of the developments in protein powders..


hope this helps.
 
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