Protein. Builds muscles. Add protein powder to shakes. Bacon has a lot of umami. Maybe supplement it with low salt, no added sugar, no fat, but flavored beef jerky. Country Archer has zero sugar and is tasty, maybe too much salt, though less than delimeat I think. Or if you want to cook, lean beef cooked with mushrooms and/or tomatoes for the umami, or chili-lime or anything cravable, sliced thin, which makes it easier to eat more of.

If he's been on antibiotics, also things to build back gut health, like a lot of dark leafy greens, and the general health recommendations of lots and lots of colorful produce. Put berries in the milkshakes, too, if he'll accept them.

Dried fruit packs a wallop of nutrients and sugar into a small bite.

It might be worth getting an impedence scale to track body comp.

If he’s lean to begin with then I’m guessing most of what he lost is muscle, so I’d be trying to work on that with protein. Maybe not the leanest protein but I wouldn’t load up on fatty red meat. Maybe dark poultry, heavier fish, plenty of eggs. The nuts are good, maybe nut butters will tempt him more? Maybe he needs some of Ricky's cookies? But really, unless he’s actually at an inhealthy weight I wouldn’t force the issue too much. I’d expect him to ease back towards his equilibrium in due time.

*^^All just my surmising, Lord knows I have no experience with healthy weight gain!

Peanut and other nut butters are pretty calorie and nutrient dense...

plllog, it started when I rushed him to the ER and they found his salt levels were dangerously low. That required him to be checked in…. then came the pneumonia. I’ll find protein powder. I’m not sure how he’d feel about berries in shakes, so I’ll ask. Actually, a banana in a chocolate shake sounds good to me. :) Dried fruit won’t appeal to him unless it’s turned into a fruit crisp. lol!

FOAS, yes, he said this morning that he’s lost muscle weight… from too much laying around. It is an unhealthy weight — he’s at 18.2 BMI. Yes to eggs!! He loves them done every which way — I even taught him to like soft yolks. :) He loves cookies and I’ll make him something good tomorrow, and re Ricky’s cookies he already ate a gummy. lol!

carolb, I’ll make his cookies with PB and load up on nuts in things. And, duh, cheese should be good and he really likes cheese done every which way.

Thanks, all. That gives me a good start!

Add protein powder to the cookies too! Bananas are high in carbs, fiber and nutrients. Good choice there! And fruit crisp is a good idea on the carb side. And you can also put protein powder in it! For eggs and cheese, you can make crustless quiche (or crust on if you want to be bothered), soufflé, cheese omelettes.... And somewhere in there is lasagna. Just watch the animal fat and salt.

With all this, a good all over body toning routine will help a lot. If he's feeling less than gym ready, there are a bunch of books and apps along the lines of Get Fit In Bed, which start things moving and bringing back tone. After some weeks at that, moving into some resistance and light weights is good. Working out, even lightly, should stimulate the appetite and put all the protein to work!

Just a normal, healthy, balanced diet is all that's necessary. With daily walks and 3 good meals a day, he should progress nicely. His body will take what it needs. Too much bacon, ice-cream etc is not good or healthy.

Islay is the voice of reason again. Normal nutritious food is all that's needed. No need to wear yourself out baking special stuff. Cheese omelette, chunk of crusty bread, side salad and banana for dessert. Roast chicken, potatoes, green veg, egg custard for dessert. Baked fish, baked potato, green veg, fruit compote and Greek yoghurt for dessert. Chicken curry with a load of veg in it, brown rice, fresh fruit.

Try to get him off the daily bacon habit.

Thanks, everyone. I'm hoping he'll be able to walk a bit later. Right now his days basically consist of sleeping, getting up for short whiles, but whenever he eats it makes him very tired again and he goes back to sleep. I know what he likes/wants in food, so last night I made him sauteed chicken tenders, yellow rice, broccoli w/ garlic & OO, sauteed zucchini, baked sweet potato, and cranberry sauce. He said it was exactly what he wanted, but then he didn't have room for dessert. This morning I made him blueberry-yogurt pancakes and a fried egg, plus he had one piece of leftover bacon. He's sleeping again, but the food seems to be hitting the spot because he ate 4 pancakes. :)

Crikey. He certainly hasn't lost his appetite! I can't see him failing to bulk up with that kind of intake.

Thank you. :) I know that a big part of triggering his appetite is whether or not the food is eye candy for him. He loves to see color on his plate and lots of food choices with a meal.... and he loves all forms of comfort food. Yesterday he said his "low sauce light" was on, and he wanted spaghetti w/ sauce, Italian hot sausage, and a garden salad. I'm thrilled that he's eating like this. :)

Since he loves milkshakes, try Orgain protein shakes for between meals. My son drank them last summer. They are whey protein, not soy, and also have twenty vitamins and minerals. He liked the chocolate fudge. Sold on A-zon and at Target.