Did you know that weight loss can have mental health, emotional, and sensory roots?
Individuals on the autism spectrum and/or diagnosed with ADHD, people dealing with depression, and people struggling with eating disorders may need strategies to increase their daily intake of calories at times. Here is a great way to increase daily calories:
Meal replacement and/or high protein shakes.
Why?
1. These drinks are easy to store, easy to open, and super easy to consume.
2. These drinks contain essential carbohydrates, fats, and protein that your body needs for survival.
3. They contain vitamins and minerals for optimum health.
4. Having a complete meal available at any time is helpful for people who have difficulties with shopping, meal prep, rumination over calories, recognizing their body's signals for hunger (or experiencing the absence of hunger as in depression), or have aversions to certain food textures or cooking odors.
Additionally, if you or someone you love takes a medication that causes loss of appetite (such as stimulant medications to treat ADHD), then supplementing with shakes can be such a great tool to help you/them maintain a healthy weight or to re-gain lost weight.
I am not a dietician, an occupational therapist, or a medical doctor. So please see your primary health care provider or other medical provider(s) to rule out other causes of weight loss and to get the go-ahead to supplement your diet in this way. And once you have received your doctor's approval, consider supplementing your diet with liquid nutrition.
Cheers!
Teresa
Teresa Heald LCSW, MSW, ASDCS
