Appetite Control Methods for Weight Loss
Sunday, 10 February 2008
1. Don’t starve yourself. It may seem obvious, but if you want to control your appetite, it’s important not to get too hungry. If you don’t eat enough, you’ll easily get too hungry and cave in to high-calorie, fast-energy foods. Eat regular meals and two planned snacks a day to avoid getting too hungry.
2. Drink lot of water. Sometimes, what you recognize as hunger is actually thirst. If you feel hungry, try drinking a glass of water, take some deep breaths and tell yourself that you can eat, but in ten minutes. If you are not truly hungry, the feeling will pass after ten minutes and you will have saved on calories. Or if it doesn’t pass, nothing is lost - you can eat something to curb the hunger.
3. Get enough sleep. Too little sleep affects hunger and appetite hormones adversely. If you’re struggling to control your appetite, make sure that you’re getting enough sleep.
4. Stay away from craving foods. Avoid the sights and smells of junk food and foods that stimulate your appetite by keeping them out of your line of sight - out of the house, away from your desk, out of the car. Remember - out of sight, out of mind!
5. Eat filling appetite foods. Some foods stimulate appetite while others satisfy it. Low-fiber and calorie-dense foods, such as candy and cookies, generally increase appetite. On the other hand, high-fiber, bulky foods curb appetite. So when you get a hunger pang, don’t reach for the cookie jar, instead grab a Brussels sprout! Well… if not a sprout, perhaps another, tastier, high-fiber, low-calorie food to get you through the initial pang. Particularly good are foods such as beans/legumes, high-fiber cereals, pumpernickel bread, oat bran, cabbage and most vegetables.
Another great way to curb appetite is to “put on the protein brakes” with low-fat protein. You fill up fast on protein because the amino acids in protein prompt a signal that tells the brain you’re getting enough. At meal times fill up on low-fat white meat or soy-based protein foods, instead of pasta or bread.
Have a great day and God bless!
