Tracking food when your appetite is small

Some people eat much less than they used to. Appetite can drop with age, illness, stress, a change in routine, or medicines. Some people now take medicines from the GLP-1 class, which can reduce appetite a lot. This page gives no advice about any medicine. Questions about a medicine and how to take it belong with the doctor or pharmacist who prescribed it.

What this page covers is the food side: how to keep track when portions are small.

When you eat less, protein matters more

With less food overall, it is easier to fall short on protein without noticing. Putting protein first on the plate, and eating it first, helps it fit.

• Small portions of protein-dense food go furthest: paneer, curd, eggs, tofu, dal, fish, chicken.
• A katori of curd or a glass of milk is easy to manage when a full meal is not.
• See protein for vegetarians for dishes ranked by protein per 100 kcal.

Smaller portions need smaller defaults

Most apps assume a full plate. Homekcal has an "I eat small portions" setting that starts photo estimates from smaller portion sizes and puts protein first on the Today screen. You can still fix any portion in one tap.

Watch for too little, not only too much

Tracking is usually about eating less. With a small appetite, the risk can be the other way. Homekcal never praises a day that is well under your floor, and if several days in a week come in very low, it shows one calm message with places to get support. If you are regularly eating very little, or feel weak, dizzy or unwell, talk to a doctor.

What Homekcal does not do

It does not track medicines, doses, injection days or side effects, and it does not give medical, dosing or medication advice. It is a food log with honest estimates.