I’ve recorded this email as a video as well. You can find it on Facebook or Instagram.
Feeling satisfied by what we’re eating is something we often don’t consider enough when thinking about a weight loss plan.
But, feeling hungry is one of the biggest reasons people quit on the changes they’d started to make to their diet.
Of course, there are lot of reasons for hunger from the obvious to the less obvious like hormones, poor sleep or stress. While we can influence many of the causes of hunger as part of a well-planned diet change, it is also important to know that there is simply a limit to the amount of caloric reduction our bodies can happily deal with.
While it sounds like cutting more calories will give you faster results, actually, restricting our intake too much will likely lead to a restrict : over eat cycle. We can’t out will-power our bodies.
Remember that very often (dare I say 99% of the time), it’s better to make a smaller change which you can stick to for the long term. It’s much more likely to add up to bigger changes over time than the restriction : over eating cycle.
So, with this in mind, here are my top tips for staying as satisfied as possible from your meals, despite eating in a caloric deficit for weight loss:
Protein
You knew this was coming! Protein is the most satisfying food you can eat. Get at least 1g per kg of your bodyweight, although you can safely eat up to 1.8g per kg bodyweight, which may have value if you’re trying to lose body fat rather than muscle.
Veggies
Low calorie vegetables are great to help keep you full. The fibre takes longer to digest, plus keeping your body full of nutrients means you’re less likely to suffer food cravings.
Water
Sometimes we can confuse our bodies thirst signals for hunger. So, aim to drink sufficient water throughout the day to avoid this. A decent glassful with each meal, and more if you’re thirsty is a good place to start.
Flavour
Very often adding a few herbs or spices to make our meals more tasty is enough to change a boring meal into something really satisfying. We can say the same for an attractive plate of food too.
Sleep
Sleep is massively important for managing your hunger. People who are consistently low on sleep eat on average 375 more calories every day than people who get enough sleep! Simply getting more sleep so you don’t eat those extra calories could well be the difference between seeing changes and not seeing changes.
I’d love to help you figure out how to start seeing the pounds shift without having to subject yourself to starvation. Please get in touch and we can arrange to have a chat over a cuppa.