Last May I was 5'4" and 89-90 lbs and became aware that I just may be headed in the wrong direction especially with a BMI of 14+. I decided I needed a nutritionist/dietician to help me and although it has taken seven months of very hard work, I am close to 97 lbs now. Since I was not a patient at one of the larger national hospitals that deal with MAC/BE, I sought a nutritionist at one of those hospitals who does consulting on the side. This has made all of the difference for me. I later became a patient at that hospital but I virtually consulted with the dietician up to that point.

I have been on a plant-based diet for about 20 years but the problem was not the nutritional value of my diet but the amount of calorie intake. My dietician wants me to have at least 2200 calories daily. I was a competitive runner for years so I trained my metabolism well -- it is still running and I am not.

So, using the best app out there and with the guidance of my dietician, I am able to see the meal to meal calorie intake and where I need to be. The app is called MyNetDiary. There is a free level but I chose the higher level because I could communicate with my dietician through it and also it gave me wonderful meal planning ideas. I needed variety but also, against anything I had eaten the previous several years, my diet needed to change and I have given in to the changes. I didn't eat red meat, and still don't, nor did I eat other meats, eggs, etc. I would occasionally eat some chicken and fish when invited out, but it was a rarity. My diet was more Mediterranean but even more plant-based.

It comes down to whether a person wants to be healthy and whether or not the person is willing to make the changes. I would never have considered nutritional drinks as a way to meet my calorie intake, but there is no way I could get a 2200 calorie intake without help. Like you, I don't have an appetite. At the recommendation of the dietician, I now drink Boost Very High Calorie/Ensure EnLive daily. Both of these can only be ordered online, the latter is very hard to get. An alternative would be Ensure Plus or Complete.

So I upped my calories and am slowly gaining the weight. I probably would gain faster, but I don't really like meal replacement drinks -- I love real food. But I am also a realist and 1-2 cartons of the higher calorie drinks is the only way I could achieve weight gain. Wishing you the best!