Tricks to stimulate appetite?

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Does anyone know any tricks, over the counter meds, supplements or herbs that can effectively stimulate appetite and help us eat more?

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  • Jcl81
    Jcl81 Posts: 154 Member
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    Tricks are eat smaller meals but lots of them, giving your body plenty of time to digest food. That is the only trick I know that works.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    Eating higher calorie foods will make it easier so you don't have to eat more.

    Heavy weight training is a great stimulant of my appetite (well pretty much all weight based training is). Eating more frequently can help too as your body will adjust to get onto that eating pattern.

    There are syrups like apetamin but I generally wouldn't recommend this approach as it could make it very easy to surpass your weight gaining goals and coming off of it could have adverse effects, such as; you didn't learn how to achieve your goals and will backtrack when you get off.
  • Blazinthesky
    Blazinthesky Posts: 10 Member
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    Bacon does it for me...and exercise.. Lol
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    Also, just experiment with different foods. Which ones don't fill you up as much as others? Eat more of those.
  • Spontaneously
    Spontaneously Posts: 36 Member
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    Hi! I've had trouble with my appetite for awhile. No offense intended, but the above suggestions haven't personally helped me to consume more calories, only to eat more frequently and border an ed-like food obsession. If this sounds like you too, please share your tips! It is a troublesome state.

    These have been helpful aids for me in the short term: eating light in the morning (veg &/or fruit), peppermint, ginger (CAN'T BE UNDERSTATED. Candied, fresh, ground... sometimes I just need to chew it & that's enough to get my stomach moving within 10 min), fennel, licorice, cumin, coriander, cannabis, light teas esp. with above ingredients & no cream, lassi drinks with watered down yogurt and spices, watered down ginger lemon/limeade, little nibbles of sugary candy like pez/candy bracelets/jelly beans.

    Using aromatherapy candles or oils, making plans to eat with others, cooking something that sounds even remotely appealing for half a day, knowing it's your ultimate goal (bonus, it'll taste like LOVE), stretches/yoga/light cardio. Also, I wouldn't call it appetite, but keeping calorie logs (even a couple times a week) pushes me to eat more.

    Hope it helps. Good luck!


  • Spontaneously
    Spontaneously Posts: 36 Member
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    psulemon wrote: »
    There are syrups like apetamin but I generally wouldn't recommend this approach as it could make it very easy to surpass your weight gaining goals and coming off of it could have adverse effects, such as; you didn't learn how to achieve your goals and will backtrack when you get off.

    Back up a sec. Is this MAGIC? It sounds MUCH more effective than "Ensure". Do you find it OTC, on the shelf or through the Docs? Thanks!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    psulemon wrote: »
    There are syrups like apetamin but I generally wouldn't recommend this approach as it could make it very easy to surpass your weight gaining goals and coming off of it could have adverse effects, such as; you didn't learn how to achieve your goals and will backtrack when you get off.

    Back up a sec. Is this MAGIC? It sounds MUCH more effective than "Ensure". Do you find it OTC, on the shelf or through the Docs? Thanks!

    You can find it online.
  • Spontaneously
    Spontaneously Posts: 36 Member
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    psulemon wrote: »
    You can find it online.
    Thanks, mate! Exceeding my weight gain goals sounds pretty appealing. Looking forward to learning more. :)
  • HamsterManV2
    HamsterManV2 Posts: 449 Member
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    Liquid Calories - easy to consume, add in with your meals. Add a glass of whole fat milk to each of your meals (1 cup is 150 calories x 3 meals = +450 calories).

    Also can add lots of olive oil to your salads or chug it straight - 1 tbsp. is 120 calories!
  • saragd012
    saragd012 Posts: 693 Member
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    psulemon wrote: »
    You can find it online.
    Thanks, mate! Exceeding my weight gain goals sounds pretty appealing. Looking forward to learning more. :)

    It is certainly not magic, it is an antihistamine (which people generally would use to treat allergies). Not surprisingly, this has many of the same symptoms of benadryl (also an antihistamine). This can of course increase your appetite, just like any other antihistamine, but it is NO WAY changing your metabolism, ultimately it comes down to you have to eat more calories. It has some very undesirable side-effects, the largest being drowsiness, in which case benaydryl would be far more affordable, offering the same effects.

    I struggle with eating enough sometimes too, stock up on some particularly yummy treats for days you've missed your mark and dont be afraid to throw back a calorie dense shake before bed (casein protein being my favorite at bedtime) or big bowl of ice cream when you know you need a couple hundred more calories at the end of the day.
  • jmt08c
    jmt08c Posts: 343 Member
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    I can think of one particular herb that would solve this problem for you; considering Nevada's location it shouldn't be difficult for you to obtain.
  • creasey1990
    creasey1990 Posts: 8 Member
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    Don't think you need to worry too much about taking extra supplements and that seems unnecessary and costly... Personally I do hiit or deadmills cardio and that gets my appetite ramped up like nothing else!

    Higher kcal foods is another option things like

    Extra Virgin olive oil
    Peanut butter
    Whole milk
    Adding maltodextrin to your water through training sessions
  • Fove2Luck
    Fove2Luck Posts: 1 Member
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    Easy thing to help give you an appetite that works for me anyway is Chamomille Tea. For me it helps with sleep and makes me hungry as hell! Give it a shot half hour or an hour before a meal to feel ready to chow down!
  • princessterrie16
    princessterrie16 Posts: 38 Member
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    I also use the Apetamin syrup. It doesn't make me as tired as people claim it will and I definitely wouldn't compare it to Benadryl. But Apetamin just makes me hungrier so I eat more so it's easy to consume more calories. When taking Apetamin I average about 5,000 calories a day compared to my regular 2,000 if that. It does make you very tired the first couple days but after that I was fine and the weight just sneaks up on you which is a good thing to me because I'm very underweight.
  • ROBOTFOOD
    ROBOTFOOD Posts: 5,527 Member
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    heavy deads
  • Spontaneously
    Spontaneously Posts: 36 Member
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    Try catching up with a mean aunt.