weight gain - appetite stimulant

[etown]

I'm trying to gain weight, but I like to do it eating real food if I can, not just guzzling shakes or munching down bars (which can be filling on their own, anyways).

Has anyone had any luck trying any supplements, vitiamins or other products to help stimulate appetite?

[.V.]

At nursing homes they often give residents a bit of "eldertonic" to stimulate the appetite. It is basically wine with some vitamins in it.

Or you can simply eat more...as everyone kept telling me to do. That is certainly hard to do for many of us. I've found that by increasing my carbs and decreasing my fat intake, I digest more quickly and am able to eat again sooner. Many small low fat, protein and complex carb rich meals each day will help.

Fat is harder for the body to digest and turn into fuel, carbs are easy...exchange the two and you will be able to eat more.

[threenorns]

seriously: eat every three hours, whether or not you're hungry. within a week, you'll be hungry right on cue.

[etown]

Originally Posted by a_welch503

At nursing homes they often give residents a bit of "eldertonic" to stimulate the appetite. It is basically wine with some vitamins in it.

Or you can simply eat more...as everyone kept telling me to do. That is certainly hard to do for many of us. I've found that by increasing my carbs and decreasing my fat intake, I digest more quickly and am able to eat again sooner. Many small low fat, protein and complex carb rich meals each day will help.

Fat is harder for the body to digest and turn into fuel, carbs are easy...exchange the two and you will be able to eat more.

That's interesting, because what I've heard is that fat is the least filling among protein and carbs (especially fibre, which I have heard to be very filling).

[.V.]

Fiber is also very filling. But fat digests very slowly and causes you to stay satisfied longer. Carbs burn up much more quickly. The simple carbs of course burn up faster than the complex ones. But they can also lead to fat storage if not timed right. With the right timing, simple carbs help lead to muscle gain though. It's all about the right foods at the right time.

[rbuchman]

When I'm eating clean (my own devices) I'm hungry every two hours, when I'm forced to eat unclean (normal people food i.e. business trips) I notice I stay full for much longer. That being said try to eat less fat/meal. Fat is still needed but avoid getting it in three large meals, think low fat meals and a small handful of nuts every now and then. Also try to reduce the size of you meals this will help your body to burn them faster allowing you to eat more total food in a day. Again during my normal day I eat 11 times (I know I'm a freak) but when I eat only 3 or 4 I can't stomach nearly as much total food even if the meals are larger.

[.V.]

Originally Posted by rbuchman

Again during my normal day I eat 11 times (I know I'm a freak) but when I eat only 3 or 4 I can't stomach nearly as much total food even if the meals are larger.

When I was obese, I would have called that freakish. Now, I consider that to be normal. I'm between 10 and 12 daily meals myself right now. Otherwise I couldn't possibly get my needed calories in.