i don’t know how to gain weight as an autistic vegan

[heather0000]

this year i was diagnosed with ASD and ADHD which explained a lot of my eating habits. ever since i hit puberty ive been extremely skinny - max 130lbs at 6’1. used to be bigger when i was younger

i have no idea what to do now because sometimes i get sick and lose weight or run out of time to sometimes. but i have never changed my eating habits for an extended period of time, i always try to eat at least two calorically dense meals a day (2,500 calories usually). any more than that i feel too full and sort of nauseous. basically i cant “force myself” to eat more, which is what i’ve seen a lot of people suggest. right now i’m 120lbs, used to be 125 but it went down when i was sick recently and won’t go back up. this is concerning to me

i also have samefoods that i must eat every day. if you don’t know, samefood is a term in the neurodivergent community referring to foods that we feel most comfortable eating. for me, it’s almost exclusively pre-packaged foods. my brain loves having food that is guaranteed to taste good. my one mainstay is PB&J’s. i use lots of peanut butter, jelly, and even use vegan margarine too. they’re about 400 or so calories. then i have a heaping handful of potato chips, a good handful of almonds, and some celery with plenty of peanut butter. this comes out to around 1100 calories. for dinner i usually have another sandwich with tofurkey deli slices, vegan mayo, a slice of violife cheddar cheese, and lettuce. on the side i usually have a full serving of impossible nuggets and morningstar pepperoni pizza bites. sometimes i make some fries too. if i’m not eating that i’m usually eating an entire daiya pizza, morningstar cheezeburger, or like taco bell LOL. i also take a deva multivitamin if i don’t forget to lmao

so i guess my point is that i don’t think my eating is the problem lol (please prove me wrong if i am). what i don’t do anything of is exercise. i don’t own any dumbbells, i don’t go for walks or jogs, or anything. i love being on my computer and creating art. but i would be willing to do some exercise AT HOME (gym is a no go for my brains lmao). the most exercise i get is working a retail stockroom job and playing the drums (my most intense exercise definitely, i spend at least 2-3 hours playing drums)

so ,,, where do i start with home exercises ? or is there any other advice y’all could give me, because i just see how skinny my arms are and just wish that it were easier for me to gain weight. thank you !

 

[brenda10]

@heather0000 Also neurodivergent here. Are you able to make smoothies you enjoy? You can pack them with oats for some extra calories. Are you able to graze a bit more during the day if you can't add more bulk to the main meals? Or Would changing the size of the plate you eat on to a larger plate trick you brain into eating more? I'm not sure how confident you are you are with cooking, but some of the foods you have listed to me don't sound very hearty/filling(imo). would you be able to cook a basic beans and rice dish (for eg. Bean chilli: Beans with passata, little veg stock, nutritional yeast, soy cream and spices of your choosing with rice on the side, or in a burrito. You can also buy refried beans really cheap in a can, you just warm them up, I eat that all the time), ? You can cook it in bulk on the weekend so you don't have to go through the task of making the new thing every day. To me it sounds like you eat plenty of food for now (Pb&j sandwiches are elite lol) but perhaps you should increase a bit if you are going to try doing more exercise, that should be easy to do as if you work out more you tipycally get hungry more often, for example I'm always starving after football, so trying out some of the tips above might help. Drumming can be great exercise so if you love doing that I'd say go for it. Also there are loads of workout videos on YouTube, I'd say start trying different types of workout untill you find something you enjoy. I think it's more important you find something you enjoy and can stick to rather than worry about forcing yourself to do the optimum workout for cardio/muscle growth or what ever your goals are. Hope this helps.

 

[lamonica]

@heather0000 /r/bodyweightfitness for home exercises, /r/running for cardio, /r/veganrecipes to help identify new foods that are compatible with your conditions, and cognitive behavioral therapy could also help with that as well. Check out the wiki for all of those subs to get started. You will be overwhelmed with information, don't worry about knowing everything before you start. Start, and learn as you go, as we all do.

When your body hurts listen to it, don't be afraid to stop, take a break, or have a rest day or extra rest day.

 

[terriv2255]

@heather0000 I have heard CBT is not helpful for those of us NDs and can say it hasn’t been for me what little I tried. Otherwise all great suggestions! I am not an expert on weight gain (I’d like to lose fat) but my thought had been adding in snacks too with reminders to eat them. I have an alarm for my afternoon snack because otherwise I get hangry. I like some samefoods too but I’m also pretty adventurous. I liked the suggestion for smoothies because those can be very consistent- just find one you like! I use chocolate vegan protein, add some fats (nuts, flax, or nut butter), and some oatmeal with a banana or blueberries. Yum! As for exercise for me I had success with Fitness Blender. They have workout routines you can buy for about $15 USD and then follow as many times as you’d like. I liked that so I didn’t have to plan what to do. I know a bit about exercising and strength training but I wanted to simplify it for myself. I appreciate their kind attitude towards bodies, and emphasis on good form so you don’t get injured. It’s so helpful to see them doing it and hear their encouragement. Just listen to some tunes while playing their exercises and you’re good to go. Here’s one I’m going to return to soon: https://www.fitnessblender.com/plan...ow-impact-fat-loss-program-40-minutes-or-less

Good luck!

 

[613jono]

@heather0000

• It is easier to stuff in food if you eat more meals
• You should get professional help with this if possible
• You could try home HIIT workouts. Those make me very hungry personally.

 

[jlo]

@heather0000 I can't speak to anything else, but regarding the exercise part:

Start with bodyweight exercises. Look for whole-body routines (tons available for free on YouTube). Don't worry about finding "the best one" — just pick one and start doing it. Build up the habit of doing it consistently at whatever frequency you're comfortable at. Could be lighter exercise every day, heavier exercise 3 times a week. Whatever it is, pick a schedule and try to stick to it (enlist the help of loved ones in this if necessary/helpful).

Once these exercises start feeling a bit 'easy' (as in you're not noticeably sore the next day), you might consider buying a set of weighted resistance bands (I like the Rogue Monster Bands, but any brand will do as long as they specify the weights). Now you can repeat the process above, but with resistance band workouts. The advantage here is that you can move to higher resistance bands as you get stronger

During quarantine, I learned that I was way more consistent in my workouts once I found a way to do them at home (rather than going to a gym). At the same time, we don't particularly have space for a full home gym (and I'm not sure that I personally want to work with traditional weights anyway), so the resistance bands have been amazing for keeping my workout challenging and helping me get stronger.