Based on experience working with thousands of clients, your ability to optimize your satiety (feelings of fullness) when in a diet can often be the ‘make or break’ of your dieting success!
Hunger cravings can be difficult to control with both your mind and body trying to convince you to sabotage your diet and push towards the cheat meals. Luckily, there are numerous evidence-based strategies that can help put your mind at ease and tackle the hunger hormones in your gut, making your long-term diet more sustainable!
Here are a few great tips to get you started…
1. Sufficient Calories
Consumption of enough calories per meal is imperative to elicit a substantial satiety response. Similarly, a mixed meal will be more satiating than a meal composed of entirely one macronutrient source. For example, the meals at Nutrition Solutions contain a healthy mix of carbs, protein and fat, which had been shown to slow in digestion and control blood sugar spikes.
2. Meal Pattern and Circadian Rhythm
Some of the hunger hormones are released according to your habitual eating pattern during the day. Similarly, regular eating patterns may also provide beneficial effects for certain markers of metabolic health. This means trying to get into a routine daily and eating at similar times can help keep you full over the long term.
3. Water and Hydration
Drinking a tall glass of water prior to a meal has been shown to decrease caloric intake. Also, continuing to drink water during your meal can further reduce calorie consumption. Focus on keeping hydrated all day and carry a water bottle around with you to keep your hydration levels up!
4. Protein and Fibrous Foods
Eating low-calorie dense foods can result in an increase in intestinal bulk, expanding the stomach and thus suppressing appetite. Protein is known to have the highest satiating effect, per unit of calorie, when compared to fat and carbohydrates and can help with appetite control and regulate meal-to-meal satiety (i.e. to feel full following a meal). As you likely know, all the meals at Nutrition Solutions are protein packed exactly for this reason! Aim for 30-40g protein or more per meal.
There you have it, 4 top tips to help keep hunger at bay and make your diet more successful! Remember, the easier it is to maintain, the more chance you have to keep it off forever!
Author: Rudy Mawer, MS – International Sports Scientist & Nutritionist
