Creative Calories & Recipes for Weight Gain is a cookbook and resource created to help the millions of people who are struggling to gain weight due to a variety of conditions ranging from genetics and/or psychological reasons to temporary or on-going medical conditions and diseases. Weight loss may often result in people suffering from Depression, Anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Cystic Fibrosis, Growth Hormone Deficiency, and Cancer, to name a few. Creative Calories & Recipes for Weight Gain is a different kind of cookbook. It is the result of the passion of a mother of a child who lost excessive weight due to a struggle with anxiety and the knowledge and experience of two registered dietitians who know that there is an underserved segment of people dealing with undernourishment and life altering weight loss. In fact all three (of us) have learned through different work and life experiences, that being underweight and struggling to maintain or gain weight can be just as, if not more physically and emotionally difficult. Since obesity is currently at a record level in the United States, malnutrition resulting from low food intake is easily ignored until it gets to a very dangerous point. While suffering with our daughter through a major illness and weight loss, I was surprised by the lack of resources available to help her gain weight. When a patient has something interfering with their appetite and food intake (illness, pain, taste changes, depression), the goal is to fuel the body with calories; in certain cases any calories to spare a person from ending up on medical nutrition therapy. Our book includes over 100 delicious recipes from distinguished chefs of leading restaurants across the United States and recipe favorites from friends and family. It also includes tips on boosting calories and keeping food preparation new and interesting, along with charts, techniques, heart healthy substitutes and some lesser known secrets for increasing your appetite and food intake. This is my dream: the creation of a cookbook and resource to aid all those who may encounter weight loss so they do not go through this alone. I am fortunate to have collaborated on this much needed and valuable project with two knowledgeable and experienced registered dietitians. We hope to provide general concepts, advice and tempting recipes that you will want to try. We also hope that you find the pages within this book informative and helpful, but more important we hope that you find support, good food, hope and health!
