Feel full, not fat!

Do you find that you are never truly satisfied after a meal?

Are you one of those who reach for a snack just an hour after your dinner?

Why not try these feel-full strategies which will keep your dining habits in check and maximise your feelings of satiety and satisfaction.

Go it alone (well, sometimes)
When you dine with company or eat in front of the television, you tend to eat more, as you are distracted to what exactly goes into your mouth. The speed at which you eat can increase listening to fast-paced music and you will find that your plate will be empty before your body recognizes it’s full, so try to avoid this at all cost. You need to ensure your mealtimes are all about the food, focus on it entirely and you will feel full much sooner.

Smell and chew
This may sound strange, but when you eat, make sure you give your food a good sniff. It is proven that concentrating on the smell of your food as well as the taste, switches on satiety signals. Secondly chew, chew, chew and chew it a bit more. The hormones needed to send satiety signals to the brain are released by your chomping.

Go for bulky and moist
The more air and water there is in your food, the quicker you will feel full, and it’s as simple as that. In food terms, opt for a vegetable soup rather than a pasty or plain air-popped popcorn instead of crisps and grapes in place of raisins.

Wait after fat
If you consume a meal with a high-fat content then make sure you allow time for that feeling of fullness to come. It can take longer for sense of satiety to come from a fatty meal compared to a meal high in protein, so when consuming a fatty meal, allow time for the feeling of fullness from the fat to kick in.

Get enough sleep
When your body is deprived of sleep, it produces more of the hormone ghrelin and less of the leptin hormone. These hormones are involved in the regulation of appetite. Produced largely in the stomach is ghrelin and it accelerates your appetite, whereas leptin decreases appetite as it’s the hormone that signals satiety.

Get hydrated
The recommended daily intake of water is approximately eight glasses, but the majority of us do not drink anywhere near that amount. Not drinking enough water, allows us to feel hungry so therefore aim to drink one or two glasses of water before your meals and when you eat, the food will feel more filling.

Get a smaller plate
It’s a fact that if your plate is big, you tend to fill it and eat until it’s empty. Get yourself a smaller plate which allow you have a slightly smaller portion and you will find that your ‘full’ switch will flip a little easier.

Choose fiddly foods
If you eat foods that take a little time and effort to eat, this will allow time for your body to recognize the fullness feeling. Good examples of fiddly foods are corn on the cob, a crunchy salad or fish with bones. These types of foods force you to eat more slowly and help you to feel full quicker.

Eat an apple before each meal
Research has shown that apples promote a feeling of fullness and that eating an apple 20 minutes prior to eating a meal reduces the amount of food consumed at that meal. If you consume one apple per day, it will not only contribute towards your recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables, but also the fibre will fill up your stomach too!

Be natural
Most manufactured foods tend to be very energy-dense which means they contain more calories bite for bite, therefore we recommend you try to eat food that is as natural as possible. Raw fruit and vegetables take a lot of chewing and occupy the majority of space in your stomach so they fill you up much more per bite.

Do you have any tips for feeling fuller for longer?