Want a trimmer body and a more balanced mood? End
that gnawing sensation in your stomach with 10 simple solutions for
feeling fuller and more gratified.
Enjoy the Spice of Life
Top your omelet with hot sauce
and splash sriracha on your stir-fry: Though no-frills foods might seem
more saintly, flavorful options—especially the spicy variety—are
actually more gratifying than bland ones, says Lawrence Cheskin, M.D.,
director of the Weight Management Center at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health. "The concentrated burst of flavor may send a
faster, more powerful satiety message to the brain," he explains.
Have an Apple a Day
Start your meal with an apple
and, research shows, you're apt to eat less overall. The fruit's filling
fiber content (a medium one contains four to five grams, or roughly a
fifth of a woman's daily needs) may be partially to thank. Go with the
actual solid fruit: In a study published in the journal Appetite,
people who sank their teeth into an apple 15 minutes before a pasta
meal consumed 15 percent fewer calories than those who had applesauce or
apple juice instead. "We think the apple's volume, as well as the act
of chewing, may result in a fuller stomach and a longer digestion time,"
explains study coauthor Julie Flood Obbagy, Ph.D., R.D.
Learn What Full Is
You might actually be full but
not realize it. "Most Americans don't even know what satiety feels
like, so they keep eating," says Cheskin. Practice aiming for
"three-quarters full," says New York City dietitian Lauren Slayton, R.D.
And remember, the notion that your brain needs time to register
fullness is true, says Cheskin: "Take 20 minutes to eat every meal and
it'll get easier to know when you should stop."
Quit Faking It
"If a client says she's always
hungry, the first thing I tell her is to cut out artificial
sweeteners," says Slayton. Research shows that faux sugar's intense
sweetness makes you want dessert even more. (Basically, trying to trick
your body backfires.) "Your system knows it didn't get the hit of sugar
it was expecting and will make up for it with extra food," says Slayton.
So if you're currently trying to stall cravings with a six-pack-a-day
diet soda habit or by tossing back dozens of sugar-free candies from
your desk drawer, a little bit of the real thing (say, a serving of
fruit juice or a small cookie) may actually be the wiser choice. After
all, in a study from Louisiana State University Agricultural Center,
people who had candy and treats (yep, with real sugar) in moderation
were slimmer than those who abstained.
Stock Up on Skinny Fats
Fat slows the rate at which
your stomach and intestines digest food—but when it comes to staving off
snack attacks, not all fat is created equal. You might think the fat
from a juicy steak would be more substantial than that of an avocado,
but it's actually the other way around. A study in showed that
unsaturated fat—think nuts and vegetable oils—hits the spot better than
saturated fat (mostly animal fat, found in meat and dairy). In another
study, muffins made with canola oil were rated as more filling than
those made with butter.
Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia-fy Your Foods
Those seeds that make Chia
Pets grow could help you shrink. Slayton tells clients to add chia seeds
to salads, soups, and smoothies, since they soak up water and swell
during digestion. "A hundred calories of chia seeds last far longer,
from a hunger perspective, than a hundred calories from almost any other
food," says Slayton. Steel-cut oats and ground flaxseed also expand
during digestion, helping you stay sated.
Give In to These Munchies
"When you can't get around the
fact that you want to stuff your face, accept that you're looking for
volume-then choose foods that won't do too much caloric damage," says
psychologist Stephen Gullo, Ph.D., a foods strategist in New York City.
Things you can demolish when necessary (and sometimes it just is)
include high-fiber GG Scandinavian bran crispbread, raw veggies,
egg-white omelets, and up to three cups of plain air-popped popcorn.
Give In to These Munchies
"When you can't get around the
fact that you want to stuff your face, accept that you're looking for
volume-then choose foods that won't do too much caloric damage," says
psychologist Stephen Gullo, Ph.D., a foods strategist in New York City.
Things you can demolish when necessary (and sometimes it just is)
include high-fiber GG Scandinavian bran crispbread, raw veggies,
egg-white omelets, and up to three cups of plain air-popped popcorn.
Multiply and Conquer
Instead of a giant sandwich,
have half a small one, a side salad, a piece of fruit, and a cup of tea.
Or pass up a big bowl of pasta in favor of a piece of seafood, sauteed
veggies, and a few whole-wheat noodles on the side. "The meals with
multiple lower-calorie elements looks like more food, so you're tricking
your brain into being satisfied," says Susan Roberts, Ph.D., a
professor of nutrition at Tufts University and creator of MyIDiet.com.
Sip a Bit of the Bubbly
"Carbonation expands the
intestinal tract, which makes you feel as if you have a gut full of
food," explains Gullo. (That's not a license to chug soda; sparkling
water, unlike its artificially flavored counterpart, hasn't been tied to
weight gain or other issues like tooth-enamel damage.) Out on the town?
If booze isn't a binge trigger for you, sip club soda with a splash of
cran and vodka, or go for a glass of champagne.
Get a Dose of D
When your vitamin D levels are
low—and most women's are—it has a negative impact on leptin, the
hormone that tells you you've had enough food. (That may explain why
studies have linked low D with obesity.) "You can get it from fish like
salmon, but it's also smart to supplement with 1,000 IUs of D3 drops
like Carlson or Bluebonnet brands," says Slayton.
Source
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/crush-hunger
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