Most nutrition advice assumes you’re trying to eat less. But plenty of people need the opposite—to gain or maintain weight, rebuild after illness, or simply get enough nourishment when appetite is low. This page is for them. It’s also personal: it’s written with EJ’s experience in mind.
Being underweight is a real health concern—just as real as being overweight. If you’re unintentionally losing weight or struggling to maintain it, that’s worth a conversation with your doctor to rule out an underlying cause.
Build Up With Real Food
The instinct might be to reach for cheap, calorie-dense junk—but you can gain weight healthfully with whole foods that nourish you at the same time. The strategy is to choose foods that pack more calories and nutrition into each comfortable bite.
Calorie-Dense Whole Foods
- Extra virgin olive oil drizzled generously over finished dishes
- Avocados, nuts, seeds, and natural nut butters
- Whole eggs and full-fat dairy (yogurt, cheese, whole milk)
- Fatty fish like salmon
- Quality meats and slow-cooked proteins
- Starchy whole foods: potatoes, sweet potatoes, whole grains, legumes
Practical Strategies
- Eat smaller meals more often if large meals feel overwhelming
- Add healthy fats to foods you already eat—oil, butter, cheese, nuts
- Drink your calories when eating is hard: real-food smoothies with whole milk, nut butter, and fruit
- Don’t fill up on low-calorie liquids right before meals
Nutrient Density Matters
For those needing to gain weight, dietitians emphasize energy-dense, nutrient-rich foods—healthy fats, quality proteins, and whole-food carbohydrates—rather than empty calories. Whole-food fats like olive oil, nuts, and avocado are especially useful because they add substantial calories in small, easy-to-eat amounts.
Source: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics guidance on healthy weight gain
The Nourish & Build Lens
Recipes tagged 💪 Nourish & Build are healthfully calorie-dense—built around olive oil, avocado, nut butters, eggs, and quality proteins—for anyone working to build up rather than slim down.
A note on your health: This page is educational, not medical advice. Everyone’s body is different, and conditions vary widely from person to person. Use this as a starting point for conversations with a doctor or registered dietitian you trust—not as a replacement for the care they provide. Unintentional weight loss can signal an underlying medical issue. Please make this a topic with your doctor, especially if it’s ongoing.