Overcoming the Hungry Feeling of Diets
How to Achieve Sense of Fullness without Over-eating
Jun 18, 2009
The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) has released a briefing paper with advice on “Understanding how we can manipulate the diet, to help us feel fuller after eating, can help us maintain a healthy body weight.” The key is to eat foods that contain a lot of water and others that have a low energy density.
Combating the Hungry Feeling Caused by Dieting
Many diets emphasize portion control and that’s usually a good strategy for achieving weight loss. The downside of eating small amounts is the feeling of hunger between meals. This can lead to snacking that undermines all the advantages of dieting.
The BNF puts it this way: “Satiety is the feeling of fullness after eating which suppresses the urge to eat for a period of time after a meal. Such feelings of fullness play an important role in controlling how much we eat. If we feel really full or ‘satiated’ after a meal then we are likely to go much longer before we feel hungry and may eat less at the next meal.”
Stomach Signals Brain to Switch off Urge to Eat
When food enters the stomach it sends signals to the brain about what’s happening. The brain integrates this information with messages from hormones about how much fat is stored in the body.
All this information is processed and eventually a signal is sent out that now is a good time to stop eating; enough energy has been ingested for the time being and it’s time to give the digestive system a rest.
“Although we can feel our stomachs filling up as we eat,” says the BNF, “it can take 15-20 minutes after food is first eaten, for the full range satiety signals to reach the brain. By this time, and for some time afterwards, we will experience feelings of fullness.”
However, some people ignore the fullness message and keep eating. “There are many other factors that influence eating behaviour, in addition to the body’s satiety signals, such as portion size, the variety of food and drinks available, emotional states, and the social situation around an eating occasion."
How to Get the Full Feeling without Over-eating
The Nutrition Foundation offers a number of tips about how to get to the satisfied state that will last longer:
- “Foods high in protein seem to make us feel fuller for longer than foods high in fat or carbohydrate, so…include meats such as chicken, ham or beef, fish, eggs, beans, and pulses.” Leaner cuts of meat, trimming off visible fat, and avoiding poultry skin will help keep weight down;
- “Foods that are high in fibre also seem to enhance feelings of fullness or satiety so try to include…wholegrain bread and cereals, beans and pulses, and fruit and vegetables;
- “Alcohol seems to actually stimulate appetite in the short-term and therefore drinking alcohol is likely to encourage us to eat more; and,
- “Lower energy density foods provide less energy per gram of food so you can eat more of them without consuming too many calories…include fruit and vegetables, foods with lots of water added when cooking such as soups and stews, and lower fat foods.”
Drinking Water Doesn’t Trick the System
BBC News health reporter Clare Murphy writes (June 18, 2009): “…don’t be fooled into thinking you can simply down a glass of water with your lunch. Studies suggest the liquid has to be a key component of the meal you are eating...
“At the same time padding out these meals with vegetables - which are high in both water and fibre - will mean you can eat more while in fact consuming the same amount of calories. And you shouldn’t feel peckish an hour later.”
 |
