Feeling Full Faster

1.Smell your food– The more we can smell our food, the less we eat. The more intense food smells, the faster we’re satisfied.  Warm cooked foods give off more aroma than room temperature or cold foods.

2.Add some heat: Heat from hot spices, chiles, paprika, curry, cinnamon, and ginger can stimulate appetite-suppressing hormones in our stomaches so we feel full faster. ( If you have a sensitive stomach prone to gastritis or ulcers use these with caution)   A  Japanese study found that adding pepper to breakfast eggs reduced how much fat and protein subjects consumed at lunchtime.  And that putting pepper on an appetizer or in soup reduced intake of a lunch entree and stifled hunger for hours after the meal.

3.Protein-include some in your meals. Protein has been shown to create feeling full faster. Fish seems to be more satiating than chicken or beef, possibly due to the omega-3 oils in fish.  Also, taking omega-3 supplements reduce between meal hunger.

4.”Eat” your water– Choosing foods that are high in fiber and water content- think grapes versus raisins-helps you fill up faster with fewer calories. Barbara Rolls, nutrition scientist who wrote the book “Volumetrics”, explains that people tend to eat the same volume of food to satisfy their hunger no matter how nutrient-filled or calorie-charged it is,  so the idea is to fill up with fewer calories.  Rolls’ research has found that starting a meal with a broth-based soup or mixed salad helps diners consume less of their main entree.  The trick is that water should be part of the food- liquid calories such as soda, alcohol, coffee, tea,  or even water don’t signal ” satiety” to the brain the same way.              -Angela Pirisi