The appetite is not there to gain weight

momochanjira27

I’m sharing just in case there are others out there who have the same problem.. I’ve been working out and trying to build muscles and gain weight for almost 3 years now. It’s quite a big challenge for me since I don’t have the appetite to eat properly as I should (3-4 times per day, around 2,000 calories, 100 grams of protein, and so on). Have gained like 2 kg since I started and it just goes up and down.

Does anyone have any tricks to get the appetite, maintain it and eat as much as I should everyday, consistently? I’ve been struggling with this all the time...

MikePTY

What foods are you eating? Try to focus on calorie dense foods. Foods that have a high amount of calories in a small volume. Peanut butter, nuts, olive oil, avocado, salmon, ground beef, etc.

sardelsa

This thread is very helpful. Advice and calorie dense food ideas

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10326769/are-you-a-hard-gainer-please-read/p1

AthenaBosi

Setting time/cal goals through out the day has helped me, e.g. 400/500 calories every 2/3 hrs. Also, not always relying on hunger. Sometimes you just gotta force yourself to eat. If you have to break from your food and come back, do it.

deannalfisher

if you aren't gaining weight on 2000cal then you need to up your intake...personally, i maintain on close to 2600 - so 2000 for me would have me losing at a relatively steady rate

mom23mangos

Calorie dense foods and perhaps stress management. I have a completely unfounded theory that most "naturally thin" people or those that struggle to gain weight are the type of people who can't eat when stressed. And nowadays we seem to all live our lives with very high stress. I think there's something to the Barenaked ladies song lyrics that say "She's like a baby, I'm like a cat...when we are happy, we both get fat."

gymwithchris

It would be great to know your macros 🤓 I used to struggle gaining weight try eating more calorie dense food red meat, eggs , fats eg oils and nut butters i don’t focus on my carbs any more I have a protein goal and fat goal and go off the mirror 👌 let me know if this helps best of luck on achieving your gains you will do it eventually it’s just a matter of when 🏋🏻‍♂️

DancingMoosie

For me: chocolate, peanut butter, nuts and trail mix, wine, chips and guac. I don't even have to be hungry to eat those things!

JessAndreia

mom23mangos wrote: »

Calorie dense foods and perhaps stress management. I have a completely unfounded theory that most "naturally thin" people or those that struggle to gain weight are the type of people who can't eat when stressed. And nowadays we seem to all live our lives with very high stress. I think there's something to the Barenaked ladies song lyrics that say "She's like a baby, I'm like a cat...when we are happy, we both get fat."

Can confirm it's true for me. I'll be eating at maintenance or over some days just fine when in a OK mental place, then I'll feel really down for 3-4 days and probably eat no more than a 1000 calories on those days.

comptonelizabeth

JessAndreia wrote: »

mom23mangos wrote: »

Calorie dense foods and perhaps stress management. I have a completely unfounded theory that most "naturally thin" people or those that struggle to gain weight are the type of people who can't eat when stressed. And nowadays we seem to all live our lives with very high stress. I think there's something to the Barenaked ladies song lyrics that say "She's like a baby, I'm like a cat...when we are happy, we both get fat."

Can confirm it's true for me. I'll be eating at maintenance or over some days just fine when in a OK mental place, then I'll feel really down for 3-4 days and probably eat no more than a 1000 calories on those days.

True for me too, I've often thought that the difference between me and my bigger friends is that they respond to stress by comfort eating whereas I lose my appetite
Op I often struggle with appetite and have found it's easier to eat several smaller high calorie meals/snacks and drink my calories when I can't face eating. Also start as early as you can in the morning - I find if I delay my breakfast it's harder to fit the calories in.

Edited to add : some people find that protein and fat fills them up too quickly whereas others (like me) find that carbs are filling. Experiment to find what works for you