Nutrition Diet: How to train yourself to eat more?

October 1, 2025 •

4 min read

According to nutrition experts, retraining your appetite can help regulate the hormones that control hunger and fullness, making it possible to achieve a healthy weight. Learning how to train yourself to eat more is a strategic process that involves more than simply forcing yourself to consume large quantities of food.

Quick Summary

This guide covers practical strategies for increasing appetite and calorie intake. It explains how to structure your eating, choose nutrient-dense foods, and incorporate lifestyle changes to support healthy weight gain effectively and comfortably.

Key Points

Eat Frequently: Consume 5-6 small, nutrient-dense meals and snacks throughout the day, rather than three large ones, to avoid feeling overstuffed.
Choose Calorie-Dense Foods: Prioritize ingredients like nuts, seeds, avocados, and healthy oils that provide high calories in smaller volumes.
Leverage Liquid Calories: Integrate shakes and smoothies with protein powder, whole milk, and nut butters for an easy calorie boost, especially with a low appetite.
Optimize Meal Timing: Drink beverages primarily between meals to avoid filling up on low-calorie liquids and leaving less room for solid food.
Incorporate Strength Training: Engage in regular strength training exercise to naturally increase appetite and direct extra calories toward building muscle mass.
Address Bloating Mindfully: If bloating occurs, eat slower, chew thoroughly, and manage your fiber intake, opting for frequent small meals to aid digestion.
Embrace Meal Prep: Plan and prepare meals in advance to ensure consistent access to nutritious options, removing daily friction points.

Understanding the Mind-Body Connection

Your appetite is a complex system influenced by hormonal signals, psychological factors, and learned habits. For those who struggle to eat enough, resetting these internal cues is the first step toward a healthier relationship with food. It’s not just about pushing through discomfort but about systematically teaching your body to expect and enjoy more fuel.

Psychological Factors and Appetite Cues

Emotional state, stress, and routine heavily influence appetite. Anxiety and a busy schedule can suppress hunger, while a relaxed, pleasant mealtime setting can enhance it. By cultivating a more mindful approach to eating, you can re-establish a more intuitive connection with your body's signals. Consistency is key; eating at regular, set times, even when not very hungry, helps train your body to anticipate food.

Strategic Meal and Snack Planning

Instead of aiming for larger, overwhelming meals, a more effective strategy is to increase meal frequency and focus on calorie-dense, nutrient-rich foods. This reduces the feeling of being overstuffed and allows for a steady energy supply throughout the day.

The 'Little and Often' Approach

Aim for 5-6 smaller meals or snacks spread throughout the day, roughly every 2-3 hours. This prevents you from feeling uncomfortably full at any single sitting and ensures a consistent flow of nutrients. Keep nutritious, easy-to-grab snacks on hand, like trail mix, yogurt, or a piece of fruit with nut butter.

The Timing of Fluid Intake

Liquids, especially water, can fill up the stomach and suppress appetite if consumed just before or during a meal. To make more room for solid, calorie-rich food, save your beverages for after meals or between them. That said, calorie-dense liquid options like smoothies are an excellent tool for boosting intake without feeling stuffed.

Maximizing Nutrition with Calorie-Dense Foods

To increase calorie intake without a massive increase in food volume, focus on foods that pack a lot of energy into a small serving size. This is a crucial strategy for those with a small appetite.

Healthy Additions for Extra Calories

'Fortifying' your food is an excellent way to boost calorie and protein content. Try mixing skim milk powder into whole milk or sauces, or adding nut butter to oatmeal and smoothies. A tablespoon of olive oil or butter added to cooked vegetables or pasta can also significantly increase the calorie count.

The Power of Liquid Calories

When eating feels challenging, drinking your calories is an easy and effective method. Homemade smoothies and shakes allow for a high concentration of nutrients and energy. Combine whole milk or a plant-based alternative with fruits, nuts, seeds, and protein powder for a filling and nutritious boost.

Integrating Exercise and Lifestyle for Appetite

Physical activity can naturally increase your appetite, especially strength training, which helps build muscle mass. When you burn calories, your body signals for more fuel. Additionally, factors like sleep and a relaxed environment play a role in regulating your hunger cues.

Overcoming Common Hurdles

Some challenges, like bloating or food aversions, can hinder your progress. Addressing these issues with targeted strategies is important for long-term success.

Dealing with Bloating

To manage bloating, chew your food slowly and thoroughly, and eat smaller, more frequent meals. Avoid large amounts of gas-inducing foods like cabbage and beans initially, and be mindful of consuming fizzy drinks. Gentle exercise can also aid digestion and reduce bloating.

Addressing Food Aversions

For those with specific food aversions, try incorporating new foods gradually and in different preparations. Add new vegetables to a soup, or try a different cooking method (e.g., grilling instead of frying). Making mealtime a social, pleasant activity can also shift focus away from food-related anxiety.

Crafting a Sustainable Nutrition Plan

Consistency and preparation are the cornerstones of training your appetite. Meal planning and batch cooking can remove the guesswork and effort from daily eating, making it easier to stick to your goals.

Comparison: Maximizing Calorie Intake


Method	Strategy	Key Advantage	Typical Examples
Calorie-Dense Add-ons	Increase calories by adding nutritious, high-energy ingredients to existing meals.	Doesn't require significant increase in food volume.	Grated cheese on soup or eggs, nut butter on toast, olive oil on vegetables.
Liquid Calories	Replace or supplement meals with high-calorie shakes and smoothies.	Extremely easy to consume, especially with low appetite.	Whole milk smoothie with protein powder, nut butter, and fruit.
Frequent Snacking	Eat small, nutrient-dense snacks every 2-3 hours throughout the day.	Prevents stomach from getting overly full, keeps energy levels stable.	Handful of nuts and dried fruit, Greek yogurt with berries.
Timing Fluids	Drink water or low-calorie beverages primarily between meals.	Leaves more room in the stomach for solid, calorie-rich food.	Drinking a glass of water 30 minutes after your meal instead of with it.

Conclusion: A Patience-Driven Approach

Training yourself to eat more is a journey that requires patience, consistency, and a mindful approach. By focusing on smaller, more frequent meals, incorporating calorie-dense foods, leveraging liquid calories, and supporting your efforts with exercise and a healthy lifestyle, you can gradually increase your intake. Remember, this process is about nourishing your body intelligently, not just filling it. If you have underlying health concerns affecting your appetite, consult a healthcare provider or a registered dietitian for personalized advice. Consistency and paying attention to your body's cues are the most effective tools for success.

Frequently Asked Questions

To increase your appetite naturally, try incorporating light exercise like a walk before meals, eating smaller meals more frequently, and making sure your food is appealing and flavorful. A consistent eating schedule can also help regulate your body's hunger cues.

Focus on calorie-dense, nutrient-rich foods that have a lot of energy in a small volume, such as nuts, avocados, and dried fruit. You can also try incorporating liquid calories through high-calorie shakes and smoothies, as liquids digest faster than solids.

To minimize bloating, eat smaller, more frequent meals and chew your food thoroughly to aid digestion. Avoid excessive intake of gassy foods and carbonated drinks, and ensure you stay hydrated between meals.

Yes, liquid calories are highly effective for weight gain, especially for those with a low appetite. They allow you to consume a significant number of calories and nutrients without feeling as full as you would from solid food.

Regular exercise, particularly strength training, can increase your appetite by stimulating metabolism and signaling your body to replenish the calories burned. It also helps direct extra calories toward building muscle mass rather than just fat.

If food anxiety or aversion is an issue, start by making mealtime a more pleasant, mindful experience by eating with others or focusing on sensory details. For serious issues, seeking professional help from a therapist or dietitian is recommended.

The timeline can vary depending on individual factors, but with consistent effort, you may start to see changes in appetite within a few weeks to a few months. The key is patience and establishing new, consistent eating patterns.