Consuming food regularly is important for health. Are you still struggling to eat? Loss of appetite is fatal because it can cause your body to lose a lot of nutrients. This can affect the overall health of the body. Then you have to find out how to increase your appetite.
We will write a little more about how to restore your appetite or increase your appetite. If you are not hungry enough or eat too much, then this is normal. But if you lose your appetite in the long term, then this can have a bad effect on your body. It can also cause nutritional loss and turn your body into a very thin and you lose energy and decreased immunity.
How can you achieve the target of increasing muscle mass, if you lose your appetite. So, it is very important to fight to restore your appetite, because this is the basis for your health.
How to Increase Your Appetite
The state of our bodies when we do not receive enough nutrients will feel anxious and panicked. For example carbohydrates to produce energy, protein to increase muscle mass, as well as healthy fats which also function for energy, cell health, and your body’s warmth.
Even if you know that you have lost your appetite, it is not easy for you to return to normal in terms of appetite. Because this is a struggle, we try to summarize and collect at least 22 ways to increase your appetite.
Before we enter into the main discussion, we feel it is important for us to explain first the causes of loss of appetite, then we explain how to increase appetite again.
Causes of Loss of Appetite
Getting sick sometimes can be the reason why we don’t like to eat or lose our appetite. It could be an overactive thyroid, or inflammation in the joints. So, many lose their appetite, it could be because they are stressed, depressed or because of anxiety and so on.
In addition to the reasons above, there are other causes that cause a person to lose their appetite, for example elderly, less active, causing reduced muscles and becoming thin.
Some factors that can eliminate your appetite are such as:
- Stress
- Worry
- Lack of exercise
- Elderly
- Losing weight
- Lifestyle changes
- Chemotherapy
- Anti-biotic
- Morphine
- Codeine
- Have a cold
It can also happen because of things like the following:
- Anorexia
- Pregnancy
- IBS
- Kidney failure
- Heart failure
- HIV
- Dementia
So, your lack of appetite can also occur because of things like this, so if you experience it, think about whether you are in one of the conditions as above. For more information, you can consult your doctor.
Those are some of the causes of loss of appetite that we think are very common. Now we explain how to restore your appetite, so you can get back to good health.
(Also see: 7 Top Foods to Eat in Winter, To Keep the Body Healthy)
How to get your appetite back
Well, to get a good appetite, of course you must first know the cause of loss of appetite. If you already know, now we look for solutions and do things that can prevent loss of appetite. (see more: Benefits of Chinese Plum)
Well, a question that is often asked, can someone increase their appetite or can they restore their appetite? Of course this can be done with your struggle which is accompanied by the spirit to live a healthy and quality life.
Of course, before you fight to restore your appetite, you must understand well about the underlying causes for your loss of appetite. Because increasing appetite or restoring appetite that has been lost for a long time depends on the cause. If your appetite is lost because you have a cold, of course you can return it.
Unlike the case if you lose your appetite because of serious things, then you are very difficult to return it and may take a long time.
How to Increase Your Appetite?
If you have a sudden loss of appetite and this cannot be explained, then you are also accompanied by a normal weight loss, then immediately see a GP to find out more about your condition and to find a way out of your health diet. Likewise, if you can’t succeed with any of the following ways to restore your appetite, contact your doctor immediately! How to restore the appetite that we mean is as follows:
1. Eat more
Try eating larger portions, for example, you eat 6 to 8 small meals per day. So, it’s not 3 large portions but 8 small portions. So, increase the frequency of your meals, but less, this can help you consume more food like when you consume large portions but only 3 times. (See more: Health benefits of eating vegetables)
(More: 20 Breakfast Food in America You Have to Try)
2. Follow the meal schedule
The human body runs like a routine, try to consume food or snacks when you have made the schedule, don’t let you get out of the schedule you have made. So, whatever you want you can commit well to your schedule.
Our bodies will react like our habits, so create a eating routine so that your body follows it, for example:
- Breakfast at 8 am,
- Midday snack, 11am,
- Lunch at 1 PM
- Midday snack at 3 Pm
- Dinner at 6 PM
Follow the schedule that you have made, if possible force you to follow it.
3. Choose nutrient-rich foods
Fast food such as chips, cakes, pastries, are very high in cholesterol, but these are also low in nutrients.
Consume healthy fats, carbohydrates, proteins, which are slow to digest so you stay full for a longer duration. These foods include:
- High-fat Greek yogurt, berries instead of ice cream.
- Nuts, seeds and chips.
- Malted fruit bread
4. Eat the food you like
One way to restore your appetite is to choose your favorite food.
While eating a balanced diet is better, you can choose the food you like first to give your taste buds a taste. So, choose foods that you really like in terms of aroma and other things. Even if you eat vegetable pasta every time, this is fine, please enjoy it.
The most important thing for you now is to be able to eat and your appetite to return.
5. Try experimenting with your food
One of the causes of loss of appetite or reduced appetite is the result of consuming the same food over and over again. So, try experimenting again with various foods to be able to restore and increase your appetite again.
Try introducing new foods to your appetite, eat new foods that you have never eaten before, who knows you will experience a little change with these foods. (Also see: Food that start with K letter)
Among the food recipes that you can try to revive your appetite are as follows: You can search for recipes on the internet, and we believe there are many out there.
- 10-step falafel
- Grilled asparagus & shitake mushroom tacos
- Thai tofu laksa
- Caramelised onion dhal
- Kimchi poke bowl
- Vegan macaroni cheese with a garlic crumb and chilli topping
- Vegan Caesar salad with kale & avocado
- Healthy recipes with 5 ingredients or less
- Black bean burger with guacamole and chipotle mayo
- Vegan Philly cheesesteak
- Butternut squash Moroccan salad with chickpeas and couscous.
6. Accept changes in taste
If you used to love cheese and now you can’t even smell it, then embrace this change. You don’t have to eat and love the same food all the time. If you now have to love different foods, then that’s natural and you can accept.
In the past, you couldn’t smell garlic, but now you really want every food to have garlic, this is good and you just accept it. You can’t just stick to the type of food you used to like.
Appetite can change from time to time and you don’t have to stick to it, just go with the flow of your taste buds. Thus you can get a lot of nutrients from different foods.
7. Certain foods need to chill out
There are certain foods that sometimes only taste good at a certain temperature. For example, meat, pudding, milk, egg salad, are some foods that are only delicious when consumed at room temperature. So naturally this food is sometimes less delicious if it is at a different temperature.
For example, you store it in the refrigerator, of course this will change your taste, then remove it from the refrigerator and store it for about 1 hour at room temperature, then enjoy as usual or you heat it first until your food is at the temperature you want. In this way, you will be able to maintain your appetite.
8. Plan meals and make preparations
One way to restore your appetite can also be by making plans with foods that you will enjoy with your loved ones. This will keep you on the rails of a healthy diet, it will prevent you from eating food as it is or food that is less nutritious. By planning, it is hoped that you can enjoy it and can maintain your appetite or even increase your appetite.
For example, Sunday, choose it as the best moment for you and your family to enjoy good food together. Make plans and enjoy meals with your family.
9. Support your appetite with healthy fats
Foods with the most calories are foods rich in fat, choose foods with healthy fat content, you are better off trying foods rich in healthy fats than those containing a lot of saturated fat or animal fat.
You can get the following food ideas with healthy fats:
- Spread peanut butter on fruit
- Add yogurt to fruit, porridge and muesli
- Drizzle olive oil over salad and olive oil
- Add sliced avocado or mashed avocado to your salad or sandwich or toast
- Cook with coconut oil
Using healthy fats in foods can increase aroma and taste or stay the same, but it’s the easiest way to increase your nutritional intake.
10. Don’t drink while eating
Just drink before eating or after eating, these are tips for weight loss. Drinking before eating can cut a lot of your food. You should eat one plate with a drink before, you only want to eat half a plate.
Drink water about 30 minutes before eating, this will affect your appetite.
11. Don’t get distracted
When you are eating, you should not be busy with your cellphone, TV or other things, but focus on your eating activities first.
But for some people this is actually good, because a person forgets that he is eating so he can put more food into the body.
So, it’s back to you, if you are comfortable eating while watching, please do it. Our goal is to make you have an appetite while eating and can maintain and increase your appetite.
12. Are you distracted while eating
Several things can make you distracted while eating, such as:
- Your food gets cold, and makes you dislike it, or the food is too hot
- You can delay eating because something dirty you saw on TV
- Being distracted while eating with you makes you stop eating
Try doing this while eating, sitting at the table and just focusing on your food. Focus on the taste and texture of food, maybe you can find extraordinary things and wonders when eating, this can make you excited and like to eat. This in itself will increase your appetite.
12. Get enough rest
Adequate rest is very important for the body, when our bodies have good, quality rest, the body repairs itself, repairs cell damage and various other problems so that we wake up feeling healthier and happier. So, if a person does not get enough rest, this can be one of the causes of stress and interfere with appetite.
So, one way to keep your appetite stable or even increase your appetite is to maintain adequate rest. Usually, someone who is stressed or has a mental disorder will stay away from crowds, like to eat alone, order junk food and other unhealthy things.
Adequate sleep for adults is about 7 to 8 hours a day and night. Night sleep is paramount, and sleep with the lights off. Do not like to sleep under bright lights because the body can not repair itself. (see more: Bad Effects of Blue LEDs on Sleep)
13. Use herbs and spices in food
Spices are known as ingredients that can increase appetite, not only make dishes delicious. Among them is turmeric, this is an important herb that must be present in cooking. This herb is carminative which can prevent bloating so it does not interfere with your eating.
Besides turmeric, there are other herbs that increase your appetite, including fennel, peppermint, black pepper, coriander, ginger, mint, and cinnamon. (also see: The 9 Best Substitutes for Cardamom for Cooking)
Try using these spices in your food recipes. Hopefully it can increase your appetite.
