Be careful to eat "balanced" high calorie.
For instance, fruit juices, don't go nuts and drink lots of that each day (balance it out with other
highcal/protein foods) - too many sugars in some of those listed there...
J

I'm losing weight too but managed to slow it down. It helped that I was
overweight when diagnosed.

Beer or wine with every meal helps appetite.  Cheap calories too.  More
calories in red wine than white wine, I think.

Smaller meals at more frequent intervals helps appetite.

My doctor thought that I was overdoing it when I took those dicta and
turned it into a beer and bag of beer nuts every hour on the hour.  I've
since changed doctors.

Meanwhile, you need to be getting the proper nutrients.  Maintaining
weight while developing scurvy is a non starter.  Start the morning
slow, with fruit juices and whole fruits.  Tequila sunrises or bloody
marys with breakfast are not to be frowned at though.

Lots of ice cream for desserts, or anything else that you like.

To get the right balance, you really have to drink ensure or something
like it three times a day.  If you don't like the taste, add kaluha.  
Throw in a vitamin regimen of some sort.  Cranberry pills for the
kidneys, milk thistle pills for the liver. Lots of vitamin B, especially
B12 for stress.  On vitamins, consult your onc. There are differences of
opinions on some things. Supposedly vitamin E is bad during chemo
because it counteracts the chemo drugs.  I've heard contradictory things
about vitamin C.

Your other problem is going to be constipation from the pain meds.
Morphine in particular has a way of clogging the pipes.  Apple Cider,
apple juice, then my wife discovered flax seeds.  She grinds them in the
coffee grinder, then mixes with apple juice or cranberry juice, and it
comes out something like oatmeal.

Dont take pills on an empty stomach, Eat a banana or a candy bar with
meds.  It helps keep them down.

Everything wants to dehydrate you for some reason. Drink extra water. I
keep a water jug by the bed these days.  Isn't enough to last the night,
but I get up once or twice to refill it.

At the time I was diagnosed, I had been working out to get into shape
for a serious bike ride (480 miles across Colorado, including 5 or 6
passes). I had gotten my weight down from 256 to 220.  When the
diagnosis came in, they told me to keep exercising but don't focus on
weight loss anymore.  I think my wieght peaked and stabalized just under
240.  The last six months it started dropping off again and I am now at
215.  I fit into all my old suits again, which is really nice. I can
button my shirt collars with the 16 1/2 inch necks and wear them with
ties.

I'll start worrying about weight loss when I hit 200.  There I stop.  In
a few weeks we're headed on a cruise, which should delay the weight loss
some.  Midnight chocolate buffet tends to put pounds on.  Snacking is
non stop.

Throw questions out here.  We'll answer them.

During chemo itself, dont eat the foods you like the best. chemo affects
your taste buds. You'll end up hating the foods you used to love, which
will effect your long term ability to eat them.  Ask your spouse to be
understanding. Your appetite will take a hit.  I used to be able to
polish off two rib eyes in a sitting. The other night I had trouble with
a 6 ounce filet mignon and a side dish. My wife drank her beer faster
than I did.  My chemo was on a three week cycle.  My pattern was that
taste buds came back about 5 days out from the day the drugs were
actually administered.

Eat on the spur of the moment. If you're hungry, take advantage of it.  
I'm writing this at 2 AM. I'm going to raid the fridge when done on
general principles.

Stay in touch,\.

Highest calories are in fats.
1 gram of fat has 3 times the calories of 1 gram of carbs

Hey, thanks everybody for the ideas... and for the reminder about a
balanced diet.

Before I got cancer I had to exercise a lot to keep trim and I did.
But then after the cancer and the treatments, my weight started coming
down slowly at first even without exercise. It was kinda neat at
first, being able to eat whatever I wanted to and not worry about my
waistline.

Part of that was because of lack of appetite and I know I should eat
even when I don't feel like it, but it really is hard. The food tastes
cruddy and then there's the nausea and pukin' which I can often catch
ahead of time but not always.

Also I feel the need to exercise to maintain health and quality of
living but I know that burns calories

My appetite does return though, as I get farther away from my last
chemo and so that's when I hope to bulk up on high calorie foods. My
weight had been coming down about a quarter pound a day during my bad
days, so you can see why I need those mega-calorie meals during my
good days.

So far, some of the suggestions given by you guys seem to be working.

--Joe

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"Take a little 5FU, leucovorin and oxaliplatin for thy stomach's sake." -- 1 Timothy 5:23 (adapted)