Build Yourself Up
Information factsheet for patients, families and carers
This leaflet provides information on how to ‘build yourself up’ through diet (food) if you have a poor appetite or, need help to maintain weight or, put weight on.
Why does eating well matter?
Eating well gives your body the nutrition it needs to stay strong and work properly. When you are not eating enough or not eating well, you may:
- Lose weight and muscle, which can make everyday tasks like shopping, cooking, or looking after yourself feel harder.
- Find it harder to fight off infections, meaning you may get ill more.
- Develop pressure ulcers (when there is too much pressure on one area of the body for a long time and wounds appear) which may take longer to heal.
- Experience low mood.
- Take longer to get better after surgery, because your body needs good nutrition (healthy food) to heal, fight infection, and get strong again.
What does eating well mean?
Eating well means giving your body the right balance of nutrients. Nutrients give your body the energy and strength that it needs to stay healthy, heal, and fight illnesses.
This will look different for each person.
Tips to optimise nutritional intake
- Try to eat small meals more often, about 5 to 6 times a day
- Try not to have foods or drinks that are labelled “diet” or “light,” because they don’t give you as much energy.
- Have nourishing drinks in between meals like milk, ovaltine, home made smoothies, Complan or Horlicks.
- Have a portion of starchy foods at each meal to give you more energy, like bread, yams, chapatti, rice, potatoes, or pasta.
- Try not to drink too much during meals. It can can make you feel full too quickly. Eat your food first, then have a drink afterwards.
- Allow plenty of time for meals.
- Ready-made, chilled, or frozen foods can help if you find it hard to cook meals.
Examples of ‘food fortification’
- Adding extra ingredients to your food (also called ‘food fortification’) can help give you more energy and protein from the meals you already eat.
- Adding 5 items from the examples in the table below to your diet each day can help you keep or gain weight.
- Each item below is around 100 calories.
| Sweet Options | |
|---|---|
| 1 small pot of full fat yoghurt | 1 heaped tablespoon of sugar |
| 1 scoop of ice cream | 2 tablespoons of condensed milk |
| 1 ½ tablespoons of double cream | 2 tablespoons of golden syrup |
| 2 tablespoons of lemon curd | 2 tablespoons of honey |
| 2 tablespoons of jam | 1 tablespoon of ground almonds |
| Savoury Options | |
|---|---|
| 2 cubes of butter | 2 heaped tablespoons of dried milk powder |
| 1 tablespoon of oil | 2 tablespoons of salad cream |
| 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise | 1 tablespoon of peanut butter |
| 2 tablespoons of pesto | 2 tablespoons of hummus |
| 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds | A small handful of grated cheese |
| 1/3 of a medium avocado | 1 tablespoon of double cream |
| Snacks and drinks | |
|---|---|
| 1 banana | 1 medium chapatti |
| 3 cubes of milk chocolate | 1 slice of malt loaf |
| 1 shortbread finger | 3 cream crackers |
| 2 digestive biscuits | 200ml of orange juice |
| A small handful of nuts or dried fruit | 250ml of regular full sugar cola |
| 1 bag of crisps | 150ml of lassi |
| 5 jelly babies | 150ml of full fat milk |
Contact our service
Nutrition and Dietetic Services
Tel: 020 7288 5552, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.
Published:
08 Jun 2026
Review:
08 Jun 2028
Reference:
EIM/Nut&Diet/BYU/01