My husband was already quite underweight for his height (143 lbs at 5'11") before he asked me if I wanted to try veganism with him.  I gladly agreed, but now he is losing more weight.  It's not dramatic, but he's almost under 140 lbs, and I am getting worried.  Does anyone have any suggestions for being a vegan and GAINING weight?  Weird question, I know.

I would have him load up on the nuts, nut butters, oils, seeds, lentils, hearty grains and other more calorie-dense foods, in addition to veggies.  Making some delish vegan desserts and leaving them out for him to snack on probably couldn't hurt either!

Hi Kristin....I am about 4 months away from being a registered dietitian, so I hope you don't mind if I take a crack at your question (for practice!)

First off, your husband is not clinically underweight with a BMI of 19.9 (below 18.5 is considered underweight).  Ruling out a medical condition that would cause him to lose weight, your husband simply needs to start eating more calories than he burns in a day (sorry if this is sort of a "duh" statement!)

That being said, eating a vegan diet can be somewhat challenging because it's so naturally low in fat. Eating lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is extremely healthy, but all the fiber in these foods fills you up and makes it possible to go longer in between meals.

The trick is to get your husband to add calorically dense foods to the already healthy diet he is eating now. Liberal use of oil when cooking is probably the easiest way to do this, as long as you're using a healthier oil like olive, canola, or safflower.  Grinding flax seed an adding to soup, salad, and cereal in the morning is an easy way to boost calories. Nuts are extremely calorie-dense, so encourage liberal snacking (choose raw, unsalted, and whatever kind you like-they're all great) and use nut butter. Avocado is another great source of healthy fat, so add it to salad, make guacamole, eat it plain!

Boosting carbohydrates will help with weight gain also. Bread and butter, tortilla chips and tortillas, cereals, pasta.  Alicia's book is great for weight loss because it pushes veggies, beans, and whole grains, but a grown man has to eat a LOT of these to maintain his weight (and even more to increase it).

Lastly, although it's best to limit their consumption, processed foods and foods with added sugar can be beneficial for weight gain. Drinking 100% fruit juice, while high in natural sugar, is also high in calories, and a good choice when attempting to gain weight.

P.S....if, after, say, a month of doing all you can to boost the amount of calories he eats and he STILL continues to lose weight, I would seek medical advice (I'm betting you won't need to!)

Sorry my response was so long....like I said, practicing! I'm in the same boat-my boyfriend is blaming me (and our new vegan diet) for him becoming "skinny" (I beg to differ). Just know your husband is a healthy weight, it's better to be on the thin side than the heavy side, and it IS possible to gain weight on a vegan diet, although it takes a bit more effort. Good luck!

Emma it is refreshing to see a registered dietitian supporting veganism.  Since I've gone vegan, doctors and dietitians seem to cringe when I tell them I eat a plant based diet.

Thank you all for your advice.  We will definitely be trying some of your suggestions this week.  My husband has been checked out physically by our doctor, and there is nothing medically wrong with him.  We really want to continue on this path, and based on all of the support we've gotten here, I know we are on the right one! 
I agree with Sarah--it is awesome to see a registered dietitian supporting veganism!

Thank you, Kristin, for starting this topic! I myself also find it quite hard to maintain my weight. This used to be a reason not to go completely vegetarian, but now with TKD book and other sources, I think I have a fair chance of maintaining my weight AND be a vegetarian!

Kristin,
At the Kushi institute we have many people who ask the question about weight loss when they think they are too slim.  One thing you must consider is where the weight loss is coming from.  There are organ choking fats called visceral fats, these are fats you cant just burn off through exercise, but must tackle through diet.  In these fats toxins are stored, many of which build up to cause disease.  It's possible your husband had/has these fats and his body is now burning them off.  This then is a good thing.   You could consdier having a consultation with a macrobiotic counselor to give you some insight into your husbands health.

I am a guy that has been uncomfortable being too thin. I had serious health problems that were controlled by a plant based diet but resulted in me losing over 60 lbs.  It didn't seem to matter to anyone that I was no longer deathly ill they were all just so "concerned" about my weight. I am exactly your husbands height and weight. We are in fact not too thin. I am just a very unusual American. My Chinese friend is the same size as me and your husband, so is everyone from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. We are not underweight. Our BMI is in the normal range, not even close to the underweight line and even if it were, that is not an unhealthy way to be. It is being overweight that leads to the risks to health. It's just that guys are not allowed to be thin in our culture without the assumption that something is wrong with them.

I agree that a macrobiotic counselor is a good idea.

Actually, it is too thin. I'm only a few inches taller and a few lbs heavier. But I learned that by working out you can also increase your weight, because your muscles get heavier and bigger. :)

Moi, I do not agree, and neither does the medical community.  
A man who is 5'11" can weight as little 130 lbs before falling off the normal range on the body mass index. As thin as I ever was I never broke the 130 lbs range and I suspect your husband won't either. Not that caloric restriction isn't the most healthy of all diets and could easily result in such a weight.
I do agree that eating oil is a bad idea for weight gain because it will store as fat. Working out will put on muscle mass to some extent, but we will remain thin and if forced to try and gain weight, will not enjoy as good health if we had accepted ourselves as we are.
If it was your husband's idea to change his diet, can you ask him if he is comfortable with himself.
Remember pressuring him to gain might feel like him pressuring you to lose weight. It's rough on your self esteem when your wife even suggests that you are too thin (unattractive). Use caution with the delicate male ego.
Justin

I'm almost 6 feet and weigh 150 lbs (I needed to calculate it... :-p) . Apart from the statistics, it's also a feeling of being too thin which results in feeling cold, dizzy and not being able to work out for more than 10 minutes. But if you feel good being very thin, kudos to you. Maybe the BMI in the US is different from the BMI we have in the Netherlands...
:-S

Moi I apologize. When I reread my post it came off all wrong. I think that this subject touched a nerve close to my self esteem. If you feel poorly then something may be seriously wrong. Coldness, tiredness and lack of ability to exert yourself could indicate a dietary imbalance but I wouldn't assume it was due to a lack of calories.
1.8 meters is 5'11" and at 150 lbs, which is 70 kilos, that puts you exactly in the center of the normal range. I am six foot and weight 140 and am still quite far from the boarder of what is considered normal.
In the Traditional Chinese medical tradition your symptoms could be from a deficiency of blood or yang.  Cinnamon or some ginger may warm you up. If the blood is weak you can add sweet potatoes or yams to your daily diet for a few weeks.

Thanks for this discussion and all of your input.  Lately people have been telling me I'm getting too thin and "eat a sandwich already."  And friends are very concerned that I'm not getting enough protein.  I do eat beans and brown rice when I can, sometimes pasta if it's whole grain stuff, but I've never been a bread/carb. person and I just forget to eat the grains.  I do also eat steel cut oats and kashi cereal (dry).  I don't want to eat a lot of soy and I think it said somewhere in The Kind Life that our bodies naturally take the fruit and veggies and make the proteins we need.  But I could be mis remembering.  Anyway I feel very good, very healthy and strong right now.  I'll let you know if that changes.  This forum is such a help so we can bounce these theories off of each other and see what works and what does not.

Ok - Anyone want to trade?

I'm pretty sure my husband is GAINING weight eating vegan! Apparently I need to 'stop cooking food that tastes so good'.

Him "I thought you said I could eat a bunch and not gain weight?"
Me "Yeah... I didn't really think you could eat that much!"