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5. HAVE A LARGE BREAKFAST People tend to be hungry when they wake up in the morning, so use this to your advantage and eat a full breakfast. “That’s when you really want to deliver the
calories,” says Miner. “Eating more calories when you’re hungry is really the key.” Appetite wanes in the evening, so you can eat less then. 6. EAT MORE CALORIES AND FAT Even if they know
they should gain weight, many people are afraid to add fat to their diets, says Bonnie Taub-Dix, dietitian and author of _Read It Before You Eat It: Taking You From Label to Table_. “Fats
like almonds, avocado, nut butters, and olive and avocado oils are great ways to get healthy fat in your diet, get concentrated calories, but not have a negative impact on your health.”
Miner suggests cooking rice and oatmeal with milk, even evaporated milk, to add calories. And use coconut milk as a base in stews and curries. Feel free to enjoy whole-fat yogurt. “The
latest evidence on the full-fat yogurt and even cheese, believe it or not, is that they do not increase blood cholesterol levels,” Miner says. 7. EAT ENERGY-DENSE MEALS “A meal with a salad,
a main dish and different sides is a lot of food to eat for someone who may not be used to eating that much,” Taub-Dix says. “And a big salad before a meal could be too filling. You want to
make the meal more concentrated. The goal is less volume of food.” One-dish meals that combine vegetables, legumes, and chicken or fish (think: stews and soups) are a good option, Taub-Dix
says. If you really want a salad, make it count: Include beans, nuts, avocados and dressing made with healthy oils like olive oil — nothing fat-free. Anna_Shepulova / Getty Images SMOOTHIE
TIME High-Calorie/High-Protein Smoothie * 1 cup of whole cow’s milk or whole milk yogurt (substitute coconut milk, if vegan). But make sure not do go over the reccommended daily limit of
saturated fat, about 13 grams a day is the maximum you want to consume, according to the American Heart Association. * 1/3 cup of finely chopped walnuts * 1 banana or 1 cup of blueberries
or strawberries (fresh or frozen) * 1 cup chopped fresh baby spinach or ½ cup shredded carrots * 1/3 cup of orange or apple juice * 1 TB chia or flax seeds * 2 TB whey protein powder
(substitute pea protein powder, if vegan) Put ingredients in a blender, adjusting the amount of each ingredient to suit your taste. Blend on high for 1½ minutes. Drink between meals or as a
meal substitute. —Alison Miner 8. TAKE YOUR TIME Just as people should lose weight gradually, making behavioral changes that will stick, you should take a measured approach to healthy
weight gain. “Adding 300 to 500 calories a day is a good place to start,” Creel says. That should allow you to gain about a half pound to a pound a week. 9. DRINK YOUR CALORIES Downing a
lot of high-calorie beverages is one of the ways that people gain weight, so it’s the natural strategy for adding heft to your frame, Creel says. Instead of plain water, drink milk or 100
percent juice, he says. Smoothies are the perfect choice. “The reason we use them for weight gain is because the body doesn’t have to do anything to break it down,” Miner says. “So all the
calories that you’re taking in will be absorbed.” You can even add whole or ground nuts to the mix. “The body is not efficient in breaking nuts down,” Miner says. “If I were to give someone
a half cup of nuts to eat, they might only absorb a half to three-quarters of the calories as if they were blended into a drink.” Start with an instant breakfast drink or protein powder and
add nuts and whole milk or almond milk. Then experiment with Greek yogurt, 100 percent juices, fruit and nut butters. 10. STIMULATE YOUR APPETITE “It’s really hard to force yourself to eat
when you’re not hungry,” says Miner. And older people tend to have a lower appetite to start with. Solution? If a prescribed medication is wrecking your appetite, ask your doctor if there’s
a substitute and troubleshoot other medical issues that might be robbing your appetite. You can also ask a doctor about medications that increase hunger, such as megestrol acetate,
oxandrolone or dronabinol. Food should also seem more appealing after exercise, Creel says. In addition to resistance training, try some light cardio in the pool, he advises. “There’s
evidence that swimming, especially in cold water, may stimulate appetite more than exercise on dry land, as your body has to generate more heat,” he says. “It’s also a great activity for
older adults who might have some limitations as well.”