8 Ways for More Satisfaction,Less Calories

8 Ways for More Satisfaction, Less Calories
You hear about portion control, low-carb this, low-fat that, and we still feel hungry after a meal. So what can we do to feel satisfied after eating and not ravenous an hour afterwards?
Family Circle magazine offers these eight tips to get more satisfaction for less calories:
- Don't reduce your portions too much. Of course, portion control is the number one rule of weight loss. But if you've been controlling your portions and you still feel ravenous, then you're probably overdoing it. Be conservative when paring down the portions. If you eat a one-and-a-half cups of cereal, cut it to one cup. Instead of six ounces of meat at dinner, cut it to four and add more vegetables to the plate.
- Consume foods rich in water and fiber. These foods, primarily fruits, vegetables, low-fat milk, and cooked whole grains, are bulky enough to make you feel filled up but still low in calories.
- Don't overload on fat or protein. Although some fat in the diet is good, but fat isn't very filling, so we tend to eat more of it. Every meal should contain a healthy mix of fat, protein and carbohydrate.
- Focus on real, whole foods at every meal. Eating foods your body is designed to eat it helps control hormones, neurotransmitters and inflammatory molecules that can make your appetite uncontrollable. Highly processed foods crammed with sugar also leave you hungry - and artificial sweeteners may only make things worse.
- Watch beverages. Drinks don't fill you up in the same way that food does. Theoretically, drinks should fill you up so you end up eating less food, but you're likely to eat the same amount of food and end up with the extra calories from the drinks.
- Include an egg in your breakfasts. Eggs are packed with protein and other nutrients, which may help tame your appetite later in the day.
- Eat plenty of soup daily. Soup is not less filling than solid food, because substantial liquids take longer to exit the stomach than beverages. Soups also can help you eat less throughout the day.
- Add spice. Spicy foods not only seem to temporarily increase metabolism, they can also diminish hunger.