It's the time of year when many people guilt-tripped into joining a gym by an avalanche of articles and adverts after Christmas start to run out of steam. Forget holding onto the blubber for the unusually cold weather that still refuses to loosen its grip, you need to start thinking about your bikini body NOW. If you're trying to drop the pounds, there is plenty of support from diet clubs you can join, or your friends and colleagues who are also chowing on lettuce and water and trying to muster the energy to do some exercise.
However, if you need to gain mass to achieve a healthy weight, unless you go to a dietitian or find reliable sources of information online, there is not the same range of support available. In 2008 I got salmonella from a restaurant meal and after two weeks of unfortunate close acquaintance with the toilet had lost 10lbs. I received help from Lynne Hubbard, specialist dietitian at St Thomas' Hospital.
Many people have experienced rapid weight loss through food poisoning or a seasonal illness, but you can also become underweight through injury, as Lynne explains:
"You can lose weight through an injury that has used muscle and body fat to recover and repair itself, such as a burn. Even something like a head injury from an accident has a high energy requirement. Pre-existing conditions such as cystic fibrosis or epidermolysis bullosa have high inflammatory responses, so people with these kinds of disabilities consume large amounts of energy, and are often very underweight."
Should you ever need to put some pounds on, a reliable way is to drink high protein / energy milkshakes in between meals. These can be prescribed from a doctor or dietitian, or you can buy some in health shops. Making your own may be cheaper, and it's probably preferable, as some of the prescribed drinks are not the easiest things to gulp down.
You could get quite creative making your own milkshakes or hot chocolates, adding different ice creams and creams to taste. Adding protein powders tops up the goodness in these drinks too, and if properly stirred in, unflavoured powders are not noticeable. Milky puddings like custard and rice pudding or even full-fat yoghurts also make a nourishing - and comforting - addition to your menu. Snacking on nuts can be beneficial as they're packed with protein, energy, vitamins and minerals, and they don't fill you up, so won't spoil your meals.
A careful balance also needs to be met with physical activity and exercise. You cannot avoid running around, going to work and generally living, so it is important the food you are taking in is sufficient to keep you going, like fuelling a machine. Yet by doing too little you could lay down too much fat, and while some fat is necessary, you need a balance between gaining fat and muscle.
People who have to gain weight may be scoffed at for saying how much more difficult it is than losing, but it's true. It's a hard slog that takes a long time, especially when you're low in energy and tired and still recovering from something. Possibly the only people who gain weight joyously are film actors. Gaining 30lbs for a million dollar film role would be preferable than regaining weight lost through chemotherapy or some such.
Boxes of Krispy Kremes aside, if you have been through it, what would you recommend for increasing your mass, should any readers ever need to? Do you have any secret recipes for high protein milkshakes, or a filling dessert that'll bring you back to health? Do share - or on second thoughts perhaps you'd better just make enough for everyone ...
