I was a scrawny kid until i started doing some exercising. I remember my guitar teacher making me do push-ups for any mistakes I made during the lesson, and then I started doing them by myself. Not long after, i started having an appetite in the morning, and suddenly, breakfast started to be a thing for me. The appetite amplified even more when I started with the gym.

All in all, try to find a sport you like and just exercise a little. Im sure you will feel a spike in your appetite very, very fast

Our situations are not the same, but they are somewhat adjacent, I think?

38, 129lbs, 5’10”, BMI 18.5

I got to the point where I was so thin that everyone around me kept telling me how worried they were and such. I had so much pain in my abdomen. I would just stand at the snack shop we have at work, staring. The same at home too. Nothing looked good, nothing sounded good. All I could see were calories, carbs, and sugars, and I wanted nothing to do with it. One night I had to leave work early and go to urgent care because the pain was so bad. I was worried something was like seriously wrong. The pain came in waves. I knew I was starving. My doctors said I showed signs of anorexia nervosa. Typing this out, yeah, I can see it now.

They started a step challenge at work, which I really got into. Suddenly, I started to get an appetite. It grew and grew, and now I am looking a bit more healthy. I still struggle with my diet, but things have improved.

Homemade burrito bowls, as well as tacos really helped me. Every dish has a protein and rice (or pasta). Get creative with your seasoning. Simple dishes can be awesome with the right seasonings.

For the burrito bowls, I airfry a large tray of boneless skinless chicken thighs. They are so juicy already, they don’t really dry out. Makes cooking pretty easy.

Our usual looks like this, the cheese and sour cream are obviously totally optional.

• Large pack of boneless skinless chicken thighs (3-4lbs)
• Jasmine rice (use a rice cooker. Set it and forget it)
• Shredded lettuce (you can get that pre-prepped if you are lazy like me)
• Corn
• Black beans
• Guacamole (store bought)
• Pico de gallo (store bought)
• Cilantro and Lime for the rice
• Mild taco sauce
• Fiesta blend cheese
• Sour cream

Get some corn tortillas and you can make tacos out of most of that as well. You can make a small portion here and there, with whatever ingredients you feel like at the time. Eventually you may very well eat more.

Take the chicken, and day old rice, and make fried rice of it. I also make pot roast, spaghetti, and my absolute favorite, kimchi jjigae (stew).

What are your favorite comfort foods? Guilty pleasures?

Edit: added some info.

Strength training can really help bone density, but you'll need to eat to grow. Lots of peanut butter in your future. There is peanut butter based protein powder

Have you tried incorporating rice into your diet to gain weight? I like white jasmine rice and it agrees with my sensitive stomach. You could try eating small amounts throughout the day, served with some cooked veggies for some added nutrition - prepared however you like.

When I was under-eating due to an undiagnosed severe stomach issue that was missed by doctors for years, the best thing for me then was slowly increasing my food intake at meals, eating light and more often, eating things that agree with me (eating primarily whole foods and cutting out highly processed foods + gluten), and vaping cannabis for nausea.

Nowadays it's perfectly legal to get hemp shipped to your front door from online websites in most states for the time being... if you want a recommendation for nausea and appetite primarily I could point you in the right direction if you'd like.

Here is a reputable website for full spectrum CBD tinctures if ordering hemp flower/vaping/etc. isn't something you're comfortable with: https://www.lazarusnaturals.com/collections/tinctures?filter.p.m.custom.spectrum=Full+spectrum&sort_by=manual

CBD isn't something that's amazing for nausea or appetite specifically, but there are trace amounts of THC in there that could help. Low potency flower would be superior if you can tolerate it.

If you can stomach it grocer's rotisserie chicken can be a good option. It's cheap, contains a lot of protein and is usually seasoned well.

Oats are also a good option for carbs. You can add dried fruit and honey for some extra calories.

I wish I could help more but I don't want to make things worse or too complicated.

Edit: Have you tried taking probiotics for your gut health?

Might be worth starting yourself off on a homemade soylent trial, there's recipes online to match every dietary requirement.

Im no doctor but you can use them as a way of getting just a flat increase of calories on top of regular meals, without running the risk of damage by not giving your body enough required nutrients/loading exclusively sugars.

Also definitely push for the doc to actually try and diagnose you (because what the fuck, they said "oh you might have osteoporosis" and left it at that?!)

I started gaining muscle when I changed how much protein I was eating. Basically, I doubled the size of the portion of chicken or whatever that I have for lunch, and cut most carbs out of that meal, so I basically have one meal with lots of protein and a salad or veg, and that really helped. There are calculators online to tell you how much protein someone of your weight needs, either at a maintenance level, or to put on muscle, and it’s way more than most people expect, but it’s not hard to achieve once you know that. I hope you find a path to feeling healthy, it sucks permanently feeling malnourished.

My initial thought was that you could have a medical issue you are unaware of - since eating can make you nauseous and you have allergies/intolerances. Might be worth exploring with your doc/a nutritionist or at bare minimum tracking what you eat and what gives you the least amount of problems.

My next thought is to start slow. You can gradually increase calories so your stomach doesn't get overwhelmed. Find high cal foods that agree with you and sneak them into dishes you already like, such as adding hemp seeds to oatmeal (I might be the only person who likes that combo, but you get the idea).

Hopefully you will get some clarity on your doctors visit. That said, I echo the weight lifting advice. Cardio could potentially be worse at this stage since it will mean more energy expended.

As for food, peanut butter is indeed a good choice. There are also plant base protein powders you could look into to.

Since you are very underweight, I would not exclude junk food like chips, for example. Very caloricly dense.

I have literally zero experience with any of this so this might sound stupid, but do you like the food you eat? Find a few meals you like, learn how to make them (or get someone to make them for you) and see if you're able to eat more. Also maybe try having snacks (that you actually like) between meals, preferably things that contain way too many calories but don't make you nearly as full as they should.

All good advice from everyone so far but worth knowing that as you age, around late 30s your body will slow down and you’ll then be trying to figure out how to keep the weight off. The answer luckily is the same as how to put it on ironically, exercise does wonders for your mind body and gut.

Eat more delicious food with sauces . Eat dessert.

Just go whole hog at Cici's Pizza.

(This is a joke, I saw that you're lactose intolerant. Hoping this makes you laugh at least.)

Too much protein can damage the kidneys. Certainly don't avoid protein, but don't go overboard.

If you're trying to up your weight, push carbs. Preferably starches and whole grains, but if you actually need to double your caloric intake, don't shy away from simple sugar. Add a spoonful to everything.