Whether you're trying to lose weight or keep a healthy diet, avoiding hunger and strong cravings is key to reach your goal. Feeling full all day also means you can focus better at work and push harder at the gym.
To stick to your weight loss goals, fiber, protein, and unsaturated fats are your best foods. They take longer to digest, helping you feel full longer.
In this article, we show you the best foods to fight feeling hungry:
Avocado:
Avocados have healthy monounsaturated fats that take a long time to digest, helping curb appetite. They’re also a great source of soluble fiber, which forms a thick gel as it moves through your gut, slowing digestion.
Avocado is super versatile. You can chop it, add it to salads or sandwiches, mash it for dips, blend it into juice, or eat it straight with a spoon. Remove the pit and add honey if you like it sweet, or sprinkle salt and pepper and squeeze lemon juice for a tasty flavor.
Flaxseed:
Flax seeds are rich in fiber and healthy omega-3 fats. They also have protein. The small seeds don’t take much space in your stomach but might help curb your appetite. A Danish study published last year in Appetite found that giving people 2.5 grams of flaxseed fiber supplements, about a heaping tablespoon of ground flax, made them feel fuller compared to a placebo. They also ate less when taking it before lunch a few hours later.
Since our bodies can’t digest the hard shell on flax seeds, they need to be ground to get the full benefits. You can add a tablespoon to your smoothie or yogurt, or sprinkle it on salad for some texture and a nutty flavor.
Greek yogurt:
Greek yogurt is made by straining regular yogurt to remove most of the whey. This concentrates the nutrients, making it a protein-rich appetite booster. Its thick creamy texture also tricks our bodies into feeling fuller. You can eat Greek yogurt like any other yogurt, with fruit and/or nuts to boost fullness, or use plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
Legumes:
Legumes like beans, peas, fava beans, lentils, and chickpeas are great plant protein sources you can enjoy in soups, salads, and more. They have a lot of soluble fiber and complex carbs called resistant starch, plus sugars like fiber. Our bodies can’t digest these complex carbs, which slows digestion.
Research shows legumes may help reduce appetite chemically. Certain compounds called trypsin inhibitors and lectins increase a hormone called cholecystokinin (CCK). This slows down stomach emptying and helps us stay full longer.
Soup:
Eating just soup alone may not last long as a meal, but it can help control your meal sizes if you have it as an appetizer or a light snack. A study from Penn State found that people who ate a bowl of chicken rice soup as a side dish at lunch felt much fuller, eating about 100 fewer calories than when they had a chicken dish (made from the soup ingredients) and a cup of water as an appetizer.
If you're trying to lose weight, choose soup with broth full of veggies instead of creamy or fatty soup. Chewing helps trick your body into feeling fuller longer. If soup is your meal, make it complete with protein like meat, legumes, or starches such as rice, vermicelli, or barley.
Cottage Cheese:
Cottage cheese is a healthy snack choice recommended by dietitians and bodybuilders alike. It has much less fat compared to other cheeses and is a good source of protein, especially casein, which can curb appetite. You can enjoy salt-free cottage cheese with fruit or some fresh green pepper.
Oats:
Oats are a hero breakfast meal as oatmeal has a thick, sticky texture from a type of soluble fiber called beta-glucan. Beta-glucan slows digestion so we stay full until lunchtime and also helps lower cholesterol. You can make oats more nutritious by adding extra protein like milk, yogurt, nuts, seeds, or extra fiber with fruit.
Lean Meats:
High protein and fat in meat mean it digests slower than most foods. Meat also takes longer to chew, which helps many people feel fuller. Adding meat to your meal makes you feel fuller psychologically too.
Many studies showed there is no difference between beef, chicken, and fish in terms of feeling full. But for overall health, fish and lean cuts of poultry are more nutritious.
Almonds:
Almonds are a great source of healthy fats and a great snack between meals as long as you watch portion sizes. Nuts that reduce hunger usually take about half an hour before your stomach feels full. So eat them before you get too hungry or you'll end up eating more than you need.
