Supplemental Nutrition Strategies to Gain Weight

If you are having trouble keeping weight on, start by reading  Strategies for Gaining and Maintaining Weight. This guide will walk you through ways to calculate whether you are in fact underweight. If so, some of the suggestions detailed in the guide include shortening your fast, eating more healthy fat, adding more resistant starches (if you’re metabolically healthy), getting enough protein, building muscle, as well as getting involved with meal planning, and relaxing while eating. 

Sometimes, even after incorporating all these strategies, some still struggle to gain weight. If this is the case for you, please work closely with your ReCODE 2.0 certified doctor, who may refer you to another specialist for further testing. Your doctor may also refer you to a ReCODE 2.0-trained nutrition professional to set up a personalized plan to help address your unique needs. 

An additional strategy to aid in weight gain is to consider supplemental nutrition. We’re not recommending Ensure, Boost, or other similar products because their ingredients are full of sugar and unhealthy oils. Instead, we are recommending two products offered by Functional Formularies that uses ingredients that are compatible with KetoFLEX 12/3. 

1. Ketogenic Formula This product was originally developed for use in tube feeding, but because the ingredients are clean and nutrient-dense, it can also be taken orally. It provides 610 calories of nutrition in each 8-ounce pouch, with only 15 grams of carbohydrates and 18 grams of protein. The one downside is that it is not something that tastes great by itself. The flavor profile is savory and works best when incorporated into other foods (We’ll share some recipes and ideas below.) This product is ideal for anyone struggling to gain or maintain a healthy weight who also has glycotoxicity (insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, or even diabetes.) 

2. Liquid Hope (Peptide Formula/Berry Medley)  This product was designed to be taken orally so it’ll be much easier to add to any smoothie, non-dairy or A2 milk, kefir or yogurt. (We’ll share some recipes and ideas below.) It provides 500 calories of nutrition in each 12-ounce pouch, with 36 grams of carbohydrates and 23 grams of protein. This product is ideal for anyone struggling to gain or maintain a healthy weight who is metabolically healthy. Even though there are zero added sugars, this is a fairly high carbohydrate nutritional supplement that could impact your blood glucose levels. You could always check your post-prandial blood glucose to check the effect that it’s having for you. (Check blood glucose one and two hours after using the formula.) If you notice an upward trend in blood glucose or a change in your cognition, you could always consider switching to the Ketogenic Formula above.

How to Use the Ketogenic Formula

You’ll recall that this formula is designed for tube feeding, not for oral use, but the clean ingredients are appropriate to be used orally as long as you can disguise the taste of the formula. See our ideas for how you can incorporate this into a variety of delicious foods. While the tips below mention adding a full pouch to each recipe, you are welcome to add a half pouch depending upon your caloric needs. Alternatively, if you find you can’t enjoy the entire smoothie or bowl of soup or stew, you can freeze or refrigerate for later. 

• Smoothies Experiment with adding a pouch to any single-serving smoothie that incorporates bold tastes. We’ve created a recipe called our Green Power Smoothie recipe, which is specially designed to aid in weight gain. The zingy ginger and lemon will help to make help to make this refreshing and flavorful. Other ideas for smoothies could include vegetables with tomato, parsley, baby spinach, celery, green onion, etc. with some spice for added zest. (Remember, you don’t want to add this to a juice as the lack of fiber will spike blood glucose.) If a full serving is too much to enjoy in one serving, freeze your leftovers in an ice cube tray or popsicle mold to enjoy at a later time. 

• Soups  This can easily be added to any soup. Add one pouch per bowl to any of your favorite KetoFLEX 12/3 soups. Some ideas include our Calming Cauliflower Soup or a roasted red pepper soup. Alternatively, you could consider adding it to a cold soup like gazpacho or a creamy avocado soup. To help disguise the formula, feel free to add more spice. 

• Stews If you’d like an even hardier meal, consider adding one pouch per bowl to any KetoFLEX 12/3 compliant stew. A lamb stew (substitute potatoes with cabbage) or game-day chili (grass-fed beef or tofu) would blend beautifully.

How to Use Liquid Hope
(Peptide Formula/Berry Medley)

Because this formula was designed to be used orally, you can very easily add it to any sweet food that can incorporate a berry flavor. While the tips below mention adding a full pouch to each recipe, you are welcome to add a half pouch depending upon your caloric needs. Alternatively, if you find you can’t enjoy the entire smoothie or bowl of soup or stew, you can freeze or refrigerate for later. 

• Smoothies  Experiment with adding a pouch to any single-serving smoothie that features a sweet taste. When adjusting the recipe, simply reduce the base liquid by 12 ounces (or slightly less) to incorporate the formula. This is delicious in our Blissful Berry Smoothie. If a full serving is too much to enjoy in one serving, freeze your leftovers in an ice cube tray or popsicle mold to enjoy at a later time. 
• Oatmeal Substitutes  This would be delicious in any keto oatmeal substitute. You’ll recall that oats aren’t a part of the KetoFLEX 12/3 plan because of their dramatic effect on blood glucose, but we like to make a version using hemp hearts, which would be delicious paired with the berry flavor. You’ll have to experiment with adding more hemp hearts and replacing some of the A2 milk (or non-dairy substitute) with a pouch of formula to find a ratio that reaches your desired consistency. 
• Chia Seed Puddings  Consider adding a pouch to your favorite keto chia seed pudding recipe. This one will also require some experimentation to get the ratios correct.