How to increase appetite

Whiplashy

I started a diet about a year ago and have lost five and a half stone. I'm nearly at my target weight and know I will have to come off my diet soon but my appetite seems to be completely gone. I'm struggling now to reach 1000 calories a day. I've increased my exercise but so far it doesn't seem to be helping. Anything else I can try? My diet at the moment consists of Diet Chef meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Along with a Diet Chef snack or a banana or a weight watchers yogurt and about 6 cups of water. The Diet Chef recommended calorie intake for me is 1350 but I just can't eat that much anymore

BrianG23

Eat big meals - Stomach will get bigger.

Maybe

rubadub

Some bodybuilders will eat really quickly. It takes some time for your body to recognise it is full, some say up to 20mins.

Dieters can do the opposite, have a small starter and eat slowly a while later.

Not sure why you are eating WW yogurts if you want to get calories in, change those 6 cups of water to full fat milk too and its easy to get calories in. Nuts are very calorie dense.

Whiplashy

I go for the Weight Watchers yogurts as I'm trying to keep out the fat because I still have a few pounds to lose. I might try replacing the water with skimmed milk. I like the nuts idea because they can be very high in calories. I'm going to start adding some to my breakfast.

Stench Blossoms

Whiplashy wrote: »

I go for the Weight Watchers yogurts as I'm trying to keep out the fat because I still have a few pounds to lose. I might try replacing the water with skimmed milk. I like the nuts idea because they can be very high in calories. I'm going to start adding some to my breakfast.

Fat does not make you fat.

Excess calories make you fat. Eat proper yogurts. Not surgary filled sh!Te ones.

RedXIV

Whiplashy wrote: »

I go for the Weight Watchers yogurts as I'm trying to keep out the fat because I still have a few pounds to lose. I might try replacing the water with skimmed milk. I like the nuts idea because they can be very high in calories. I'm going to start adding some to my breakfast.

I'm confused? why are you trying to up your calories if you're still trying to lose weight?

BaneV26

From my experience, just eat. Try and eat a little more each time when you feel full.

Eventually your body will adapt and your appetite will increase.

Whiplashy

RedXIV wrote: »

I'm confused? why are you trying to up your calories if you're still trying to lose weight?

Because I'm trying to lose weight healthily and from what I've read my calorie intake at the moment wouldn't be considered healthy. I'm not sure how accurate that is though.

0ph0rce0

Go swimming!!!

Always makes you hungry

RedXIV

Whiplashy wrote: »

Because I'm trying to lose weight healthily and from what I've read my calorie intake at the moment wouldn't be considered healthy. I'm not sure how accurate that is though.

One of the best bits of advice I was given when losing weight was

"If you think you are full, you don't need any more calories".

I went through a phase like that that as well when I started losing weight, I was supposed to be hitting 1800 a day but couldn't seem to get past 1400 without splashing out needlessly. If it works for you, I say stick with it.

Whiplashy

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

Go swimming!!!

Always makes you hungry

I'll definitely give that a try. I mostly do jogging at the moment but find that even if I was hungry before I went I wouldn't be when I finish.

Stench Blossoms

RedXIV wrote: »

One of the best bits of advice I was given when losing weight was

"If you think you are full, you don't need any more calories".

I went through a phase like that that as well when I started losing weight, I was supposed to be hitting 1800 a day but couldn't seem to get past 1400 without splashing out needlessly. If it works for you, I say stick with it.

But what happens when the diet stops? If you significantly drop your calories to an unsustainable amount you will struggle when you go to maintenance.

OP ditch all the low fat or 'diet' foods you are eating. That will slightly increase your calorie intake.

Whiplashy

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

But what happens when the diet stops? If you significantly drop your calories to an unsustainable amount you will struggle when you go to maintenance.

OP ditch all the low fat or 'diet' foods you are eating. That will slightly increase your calorie intake.

I only started eating the diet foods a couple of months ago as I found that my weight loss had stopped. I'm not really in favour of them and am eagerly looking forward to going back to proper fresh food as soon as I hit my target weight.

Stench Blossoms

Don't wait.

Start eating them now. Don't look at this as a diet. Look at it as a healthy way of living.

username123

Whiplashy wrote: »

I'll definitely give that a try. I mostly do jogging at the moment but find that even if I was hungry before I went I wouldn't be when I finish.

I swim and run, I have no appetite after a run, for hours (I think I just find it so hard my body is in shock lol!!), but Id eat rings around myself after a swim.

Ditch all the diet rubbish and eat proper fresh food.

Whiplashy

I have enough diet food stocked up to do me until the end of the month and hopefully I should be at my target weight by then. Even if I'm not I think I probably will go back to normal food. It's amazing the little things you miss.

Stench Blossoms

Whiplashy wrote: »

I have enough diet food stocked up to do me until the end of the month and hopefully I should be at my target weight by then. Even if I'm not I think I probably will go back to normal food. It's amazing the little things you miss.

See there's your problem. You should have been eating normal food all along.

Sorry if I'm being a bit harsh but I just think 'diet' products are a waste of time and the people using them usually end up putting the weight back on when they eat normal again.

Whiplashy

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

See there's your problem. You should have been eating normal food all along.

Sorry if I'm being a bit harsh but I just think 'diet' products are a waste of time and the people using them usually end up putting the weight back on when they eat normal again.

Not harsh at all. I do actually agree with you. I've been dieting for just over 14 months now and nearly 12 months was normal food because I wanted to do it the healthy way. In all honesty I'm sick of it now and am taking the easy way out. Before I started the diet foods my diet had completely changed and was the healthiest it's ever been. I am looking forward to returning to that healthy lifestyle. For the first time in my life I'm craving salads rather than chocolate

siochain

After a heavy squats or deadlift day I’m starving for two days !!

Stench Blossoms

I'm ALWAYS starving after swimming. I don't even really swim. I just paddle and splash around a bit but always come out willing to eat the closest thing that resembles food.

boxercreations

Reading this a bit confused with OP comments and then side tracked by swimming comments. Was talking to someone recently that said really strong deep breathing - sort of a 4 in, 12 hold and 6 (or a 1-3-2 ratio) out was key to health and weight loss and was a sort of lymphatic vacuum cleaner stimulator and I'm thinking that's kind of how swimming would be as well - in that it's as much about breath control as exertion.
As to O.P - I've lost 70lb since June and switched to primal eating in Nov - I still have 18lb to go to goal but I was just eating low protein, high sugar, no enjoyment crap that I could see it was all wrong but you sort of get addicted to the results (as you want to be thin). Now my losses are slow it is so tempting to try a VLCD (for the first time in my life) just to get to goal but really - I know I wouldn't be there for long that way. When you say you'll swap water for skim milk you can hear the dieter's mentality. If you need calories - swap it for coconut milk for one or two cups.