What to do when struggling with appetite?

November 16, 2025 •

4 min read

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a loss of appetite can be caused by various factors, including underlying health conditions, medications, or psychological changes. When struggling with appetite, it is crucial to find practical strategies to ensure your body receives the necessary nutrients for energy and recovery.

Quick Summary

This guide provides practical strategies for managing a low appetite by focusing on small, frequent, and nutrient-dense meals and snacks. It covers lifestyle adjustments like gentle exercise and timing liquids, plus dietary recommendations to ensure adequate nutrition despite a lack of hunger.

Key Points

Eat Small, Frequent Meals: Instead of three large meals, consume 5-6 smaller, nutrient-dense meals and snacks throughout the day to make eating less daunting.
Choose Nutrient-Dense Foods: Prioritize foods high in protein and calories, like smoothies, yogurt, eggs, and nuts, to maximize nutritional intake from smaller portions.
Enhance Food Appeal: Use strong, pleasant flavors and aromas from herbs and spices like ginger and cinnamon to make food more enticing.
Exercise Gently: A short walk or other light physical activity before eating can naturally help stimulate your appetite.
Drink Between Meals: Avoid drinking large amounts of fluid with your meals, as it can cause you to feel full faster. Drink plenty of nourishing liquids like smoothies or milkshakes separately.
Mind Your Environment: Make mealtimes more relaxing and enjoyable by eating in a pleasant, distraction-free environment, or with friends and family.
Track Your Intake: Consider keeping a food diary to monitor your eating patterns and ensure you are getting enough calories and nutrients.
Consult a Professional: If a low appetite persists or is accompanied by other concerning symptoms, seek medical advice to rule out underlying health issues.

Understanding the Causes of Poor Appetite

Before addressing solutions, it's important to understand why you might be struggling with a low appetite. Appetite is influenced by both physical and emotional factors, and understanding the root cause can help you find the most effective strategy. Short-term appetite loss is common with acute illnesses like the flu or food poisoning, but persistent issues may signal an underlying condition that requires medical attention.

Common physical factors affecting appetite

Illness and Infection: Short-term infections like the common cold or longer-term conditions such as liver or kidney disease can suppress appetite.
Medications: Certain medications, including some antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs, list decreased appetite as a side effect.
Pain and Dental Problems: Pain, especially tooth pain, can make eating a difficult and unpleasant experience.
Changes in Taste and Smell: A reduced sense of taste or smell can make food less appealing, which is common with aging or certain illnesses like COVID-19.
Digestive Issues: Conditions such as constipation, indigestion, or acid reflux can lead to a loss of appetite.

Psychological and emotional triggers

Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Mental health conditions are a significant factor, with stress, anxiety, and depression often directly impacting hunger cues.
Grief and Emotional Distress: Significant emotional events can lead to a temporary or prolonged loss of interest in food.

Practical Dietary Strategies for Low Appetite

Once you have considered the potential causes, you can focus on actionable steps to improve your food intake. The key is to make eating less intimidating and more manageable.

Eating smaller, more frequent meals

Instead of aiming for three large meals, which can feel overwhelming, switch to 5–6 smaller meals and snacks throughout the day. Eating every 2–3 hours helps maintain steady energy levels and prevents you from going too long without nutrients. Consider a structured routine, eating by the clock rather than waiting for hunger cues to appear.

Prioritizing nutrient-dense foods

When your capacity to eat is low, every bite counts. Focus on foods that offer the most nutrients and calories in a smaller portion.

Liquid Nutrition: Smoothies, milkshakes, and soups are excellent ways to get calories and protein without feeling too full. Blend fruits, yogurt, nut butters, and protein powder for a high-calorie, nutrient-packed drink.
High-Protein and High-Fat Foods: Include protein sources like eggs, Greek yogurt, cheese, fish, or chicken. Healthy fats from avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil can also increase calorie intake.
Easy-to-Eat Snacks: Keep simple, appealing snacks on hand. Options include cheese and crackers, yogurt with berries, hard-boiled eggs, and trail mix.

Boosting flavor and aroma

Our senses play a huge role in appetite. Enhancing the taste and smell of food can make it more appealing.

Use Herbs and Spices: Add flavorful herbs and spices like ginger, coriander, and cinnamon to meals. Ginger, in particular, can also help with nausea.
Appealing Presentation: Make your food look colorful and attractive. Use garnishes and serve meals on smaller plates to make portions seem less daunting.

Lifestyle Adjustments to Support Eating

Beyond diet, several lifestyle changes can positively influence your appetite over time.

Gentle exercise

Engaging in light physical activity, such as a short walk, can help stimulate your appetite. Exercise burns energy and can trigger hunger cues naturally, though intense exercise might have the opposite effect for some individuals.

Strategic fluid intake

Drinking too many fluids right before or during a meal can cause you to feel full faster, displacing nutrient intake. Try to hydrate primarily between meals. Focus on nourishing drinks like smoothies or milkshakes rather than just water or empty-calorie beverages.

Creating a pleasant eating environment

Make mealtimes a positive experience. Eat in a comfortable, relaxing space, and minimize distractions like screens. Eating with friends or family can also make the experience more enjoyable and encourage better food intake.

Comparison of Appetite-Boosting Strategies


Strategy	Best For	Potential Drawbacks	Quickness of Results
Small, Frequent Meals	Managing an overwhelming feeling from large portions	Requires consistent effort to eat frequently	Gradual, retraining hunger signals
Liquid Nutrition	Calorie and protein intake with minimal effort	Can feel less satisfying than solid food	Immediate, easily digestible calories
Enhancing Flavor & Aroma	Stimulating interest in food when taste is diminished	May not address underlying physical issues	Immediate, can make eating more appealing
Gentle Exercise	Naturally boosting metabolism and hunger cues	Effects can vary; intense exercise may suppress appetite	Gradual, long-term effect
Strategic Fluid Intake	Maximizing solid food intake during meals	Risk of dehydration if overall fluid intake is not monitored	Immediate, prevents pre-meal fullness

Conclusion: Prioritizing Your Nutritional Health

Struggling with appetite is a challenge, but it is manageable by adopting small, consistent, and practical strategies. Focus on eating small, frequent, and nutrient-dense meals and using techniques to make food more appealing. Integrating gentle exercise and mindful eating practices can help retrain your body's hunger signals. If your low appetite persists for more than a few weeks or is accompanied by unexplained weight loss, it is vital to consult a healthcare provider. They can help determine the underlying cause and recommend a personalized plan, potentially including a referral to a dietitian. Prioritizing your nutrition, even when it feels difficult, is a crucial step toward better health and well-being. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult with a healthcare professional before making any significant changes to your diet or health regimen.

Frequently Asked Questions

To naturally stimulate your appetite, try gentle exercise like a short walk before meals, use flavorful herbs and spices in your cooking, and eat smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day. Focusing on nutrient-dense foods and creating a pleasant eating environment also helps.

Forcing yourself to eat large meals can cause discomfort. Instead, focus on small, palatable, and nutrient-dense foods. If your lack of appetite is temporary due to a minor illness, it may not be necessary to force food, but if it persists, eating small amounts regularly is important.

Opt for foods that are easy to digest and packed with nutrients. Excellent choices include smoothies, soups, eggs, yogurt, avocado toast, and protein shakes.

To increase calorie intake with a low appetite, choose high-calorie, nutritious options. Add extra butter or oil to vegetables, use full-fat dairy products, and include calorie-boosting ingredients like nuts and nut butters in smoothies.

Yes, stress and anxiety can significantly affect appetite. For many, emotional distress can cause a loss of appetite and disrupt normal hunger cues.

No, drinking large amounts of fluid with your meal can fill your stomach, leaving less room for solid food. It is better to consume liquids between meals to maximize your nutritional intake from food.

You should contact a healthcare provider if a loss of appetite lasts longer than a week, or if it is accompanied by unintentional weight loss, pain, or changes in mood.