It’s simple to burn fat, lose weight, get in shape, and look great when you eat healthy foods that keep you fuller for longer. Some foods naturally provide a lower calorie investment while filling your stomach. You feel full, so you eat less, your calorie intake decreases, and your waistline shrinks.
When you eat foods that have little nutritional value for the calories they contain, your brain tells you to eat more. “Hey, we need nutrients, minerals, and vitamins!” it exclaims. As a result, you reach for more of the unhealthy food that is in front of you. You eventually feel full, but you consume far more calories, fat, and processed nasties than your body require.
What was the end result? You gain weight and fat, your heart, circulatory system, and overall health suffer, and you become hungry again relatively quickly. Eat the following 10 healthy, nutritious foods to feel fuller for longer, and you’ll start to lose weight as your entire body becomes healthier, and you’ll start to feel and look great.
Legumes and beans
“Beans, beans, magical fruit; the more you eat, the louder you toot!” That children’s rhyme alludes to the fact that most beans cause flatulence. Without a doubt, they can provide you with gas. On the bright side, they are extremely high in protein and dietary fiber.
Because they are inexpensive and versatile, they can fit into almost any budget and meal plan. Eating just 4 ounces (1/2 cup) of beans per day can help with weight loss and maintenance. Beans are also healthy for your heart.
Fruits and vegetables
Fresh fruits contain far less energy than milk, cheese, sweets, and meats. This means they provide fewer calories per gram, significantly fewer in comparison. So you can eat a lot of superfood fruits like blueberries, apples, bananas, blackberries, cantaloupes, citrus fruits, grapes, pomegranates, and plums without feeling guilty.
And by substituting healthy fresh fruits for unhealthy, fat-filled, calorie-dense foods like potato chips, chocolate bars, and candy snacks, you double your fat-burning, weight-loss effort.
Soups
Unless you are going to do some intelligent nutritional label research, avoid store-bought soups. A single can of soup from your favorite grocery store can often provide several times your daily sodium allowance.
You have complete control over the contents of homemade soups. It’s simple to make a large batch of soup and then portion it out into individual serving sizes that you can keep in your refrigerator and freezer for easy access. Soup is also inexpensive and, due to its liquid base, quickly fills you up while delivering a low-calorie count.
Fermented foods
Do you enjoy biting into a crisp, tart pickle? That’s fantastic because fermented foods send a signal to your brain, causing it to produce hormones that make you feel full. This is because fermented foods, such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickles, contain short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).
The healthy probiotics found in most fermented foods are an added bonus. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that aid in digestion. They actually live in your intestine! Some doctors and health experts believe that probiotics can help you lose weight. So, if you eat some sauerkraut or pickles, you will not only eat less, but your digestive system will benefit as well.
Eggs
Several studies show that eating protein with breakfast helps you consume fewer calories throughout the day. Eggs are one of the healthiest protein sources, and they also contain significant amounts of vitamin B12, vitamin D, and iron. In recent years, the old, outdated belief that eggs were high in cholesterol has been explained in greater detail.
The type of cholesterol found in eggs, contrary to popular belief, does not increase the risk of heart disease. This means you no longer need to be concerned about your egg consumption. Eating 1 or 2 hard-boiled eggs between breakfast and lunch keeps you from overeating at lunch. And, as previously stated, eating eggs for breakfast means eating less throughout the day. A single large egg contains 7g of protein, 5g of fat, only 1.6g of saturated fat, and only 75 calories.
Nuts and nut butter
Nuts are high in unsaturated fats, which are good for you. A healthy body requires fat, and the fats found in nuts are exactly what you need. Nuts and nut butter are extremely high in fiber and protein per calorie. What are the two most important natural components that help you feel fuller for longer? Fiber and protein, you guessed it.
Just don’t eat too many nuts or nut butter all at once. Nuts contain a high concentration of these healthy fats, which should not be consumed in excess. So, the next time you’re hungry between meals, grab a handful of almonds or walnuts. The heart-healthy nature of nuts is just one of the many advantages of this versatile and tasty raw food.
Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts
Cruciferous vegetables include brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower. This healthy vegetable category also includes cabbage, bok choy, kale, collard greens, and horseradish. They contain a lot of fiber, which is good for you.
They, like the other filling foods on this list, are relatively inexpensive and extremely versatile, with the majority of them being able to be consumed raw or cooked. The antioxidants and cancer-fighting ingredients found in cruciferous foods are also worth mentioning, and are yet another reason why you should incorporate more of these healthy whole foods into your diet.
Water
So, water is not a food. We must mention it because it is usually free or inexpensive, readily available, and absolutely necessary for the human body’s proper maintenance and health. Did you know that the symptoms of thirst can be confused with those of hunger?
That’s correct, so the next time you feel hungry, drink 8 to 12 ounces of water. Allow your body 10 minutes to process that liquid and then assess how you feel. You could be starving. However, the cranky mood, low energy, and inability to focus that often indicates hunger may simply be your body’s way of telling you that it needs more liquids. Oh, and did I mention another significant advantage of drinking water instead of eating anything? There are no calories.
Tuna, anchovies, and salmon
In a variety of ways, fish helps you feel fuller for longer while consuming fewer calories. To begin with, any type of fat will always help satisfy your hunger. The fats found in high concentrations in fish are essential fatty acids. Your body requires Omega 3 EFAs to function properly. Unfortunately, this healthy fat is not produced by the human process.
You must obtain it from outside sources, and fish such as tuna and salmon contain high levels of Omega 3. Because the healthy fat keeps you fuller for longer, you eat fewer calories during a fish-filled meal and throughout the day. In addition, fish contains a lot of protein. As previously stated, protein satisfies hunger better than carbohydrates and fats. As if that wasn’t enough, ocean-caught salmon, anchovies, and tuna are also heart-healthy foods.
Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and other berries
Most berries are extremely high in antioxidants, which help your body fight dangerous free radicals. They are also extremely heart-healthy, with high levels of phytonutrients, minerals, and vitamins that promote overall body health from the inside out. Berries provide a significant boost to your immune system when consumed on a regular basis. This means your natural defense system is much better prepared to fight infections, disease, and illness.
It also implies that you recover quickly from injuries and illnesses. Berries provide very few calories in comparison to the amount of filling fiber they provide. 1 cup of raspberries contains 8g of fiber. (The average adult requires between 25 and 30g of dietary fiber per day from food, not supplements.)
The most satisfying type of food is protein. Protein, more than carbohydrates and fats, satisfies hunger more effectively than any other type of food. And guess what else? Researchers aren’t even sure why protein acts as a stop sign, signaling your brain to eat less. But it does, so make sure you get the recommended 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight (approximately 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram) every day.
Don’t forget about fiber, which is filling, healthy, and regulates the digestive tract. Dietary fiber is severely lacking in the “modern” diet. Foods like the brans, grains, and oats mentioned above are excellent sources of protein and dietary fiber while limiting your carbohydrate and calorie intake.
To summarize, eat foods high in fiber and/or protein for a solution to burning fat, losing weight, and maintaining a healthy body weight. They have extremely high satiety index scores, which means they are healthy foods that keep you feeling fuller for longer.