Food that is filling

jsantos19801981

I have always and still have an issue with always feeling hungry even after eating a full meal and I drink plenty of water.
What type of healthy food is filling that can help with not being hungry all the time?

sollyn23l2

For me, I focus on increasing protein and vegetables, and decreasing fats.

herringboxes

This is my personal experience and may not apply.

I used to feel low energy after eating, and it felt like I didn’t eat enough. I would often “top off” with moderately sweetened cereal or a bowl of ice cream, and would feel better then.

It seems I was experiencing a post meal blood sugar crash. Instead of the meal energizing me, I’d feel knocked down.

I got off the blood sugar roller coaster by avoiding foods that spiked my blood sugar - sweets and also a few other foods I noticed I didn’t feel great after eating (such as pasta as the full meal, though I can handle pasta as a side dish).

After a short adjustment period where I addressed crashes with fruit (oranges worked great for me), I stopped having post meal crashes and stopped needing to fix anything with fruit.

This led to an ability to regulate the amount of calories I consumed, because I previously overate in an attempt to manage my blood sugar crashes. I was able to eat in a sensible calorie deficit without feeling weak and woozy. I felt strong and steady all day while losing weight.

If this may apply to anyone reading this, I’ll add that I give myself one dessert “cheat” per calendar month, mostly so I can avoid family getting fussed if I refused to eat someone’s birthday cake or something, but it’s also nice to feel that I can enjoy a treat here or there. If I have such things more often (say, weekly), it’s no good because I start craving it again. I’ve found that even when I give myself the green light to indulge in my “cheat,” I enjoy about half of it and then am done.

Lildarlinz

I find I’m fuller on protein foods
So I have a bacon and eggs in the morning
I eat lean meats…so skinny burgers, chicken, pork loins

Even protein bars make me full
I’m not a big eater anyway…well I used to think I wasn’t but I would have 2 meals a day and obviously the second meal would be loaded with calories…

Eating 3 smaller meals a day has helped me shred a bit of timber

When you say you are eating..are you eating foods that are like processed or fast foods? I call them “snacks” especially things like McDonald’s…that will fill me up for an hour and then I’ll be at the crisp and biscuit cupboard

Lots of veggies and proteins and low calorie snacks in between

When you go out shopping…look at the calories and compare that’s what I did

And maybe have some fun in the kitchen like I do a cheesecake in the shop is very calorific…but with the help of google and TikTok I’ve been able to follow recipes to still get a sweet treat in here and there

Good luck xxx

spiriteagle99

For meals, more protein and veggies usually works to help me feel full. For snacks, fruit with lots of fiber like apples or grapefruit can fill me up for a long time. Cheese and an apple is a good combo if you have the calories available.

cdennis9154

I would take a look at what exactly it is you're eating. But based on my own personal experience and issues...you may be dealing with the mental aspect of hunger.

You may need to reprogram the way you feel about food.

For me I had to understand that I don't need to eat until I'm busting at the seams. I need to eat to give my bodybwhat it needs and then stop. I learned the difference between fueling my body filling my body if that makes sense. Today I actually like feeling a bit hungry.

If I eat something and I'm like man I'm still hungry...its usually because I'm eating something that tastes good. This is not actual hunger. Mentally I ask myself..."ok. You're still hungry...are you willing to eat a large second helping of broccoli, spinach, carrots. Etc"? The answer is ALWAYS NO. It's usually the tasty or bad stuff we crave and want more of.

DFW_Tom

jsantos19801981 wrote: »

I have always and still have an issue with always feeling hungry even after eating a full meal and I drink plenty of water.
What type of healthy food is filling that can help with not being hungry all the time?

What you have described is a classic symptom of insulin resistance - always feeling hungry even when fully fed. @herringboxes' experience with blood sugar spikes is somewhat different than my personal experience. We are all different and respond differently to what we consume. For me I had to cut all fruit (except berries), any processed food made with flour, grains, and anything with added sugar before I stopped thinking I was starving all the time. To my astonishment I found there was a difference between carb cravings and true hunger. Any sort of "cheat" brought on carb cravings with a vengeance, and still does but to a much lesser degree now after eating low carb for over a year. True hunger was/is very mild in comparison - and easy to ignore.

To my knowledge, there are no foods that completely offset blood sugar spikes if you do have insulin resistance. In another thread, I think it was @sollyn23l2, who suggested eating bananas with peanut butter when I mentioned that I still have a problem with eating bananas. Haven't tried it yet but it makes sense to me to consume some healthy fats when eating something carby that is higher in glycemic load. Rather than trying to treat the symptom of constant hunger, you would be better off (and healthier) eliminating the cause. Experiment with lower glycemic foods for a few weeks. Try to eliminate all processed foods, fast foods, and anything with added sugar while you are doing it and see if it helps with the constant hunger. Good luck!

AnnPT77

Hungry after a meal and hungry all the time can be different things, sort of.

You haven't mentioned what you eat now, so it's kind of hard to respond.

Many people find so-called whole foods more filling than highly processed ones. That would be things like meat, fish, dairy, whole grains, veggies, fruits.

Beyond that, what's filling can be very individual: For many, protein or fats can be more filling. Some need high-volume foods (like lots of veggies, among other options). Sometimes there are specific foods that a perso will find filling. In research, whole potatoes (like a baked potato) were one of the most filling foods. (They're also pretty nutrient-dense and reasonable calories, but we tend to put calorie dense things on them, like butter, sour cream, etc.!)

You may want to experiment. Look at your food diary, notice days or times when you're more hungry or less hungry than average, and see if you can see patterns in your eating that trigger that.

Some people find that changing eating schedule improves things, too. There again, people differ. People report doing best on anything from one meal a day (the extreme of daily intermittent fasting) to all-day grazing on smaller portions of nutritious food. Again, experimenting should shed some light.

If you're in the first couple of weeks eating lowered calories, your body's response to changed habits can also be the issue. It takes a while for new eating habits to feel normal, so it's pretty common to feel hungrier at first, then feel better as time goes on with the new habits. (Do be sure that you're not trying to lose faster than sensible for your current size, though, because that's a common problem, too./)

If your sleep is poor quality/quantity, or you're under high stress, those things can increase appetite, too.

kshama2001

Satiety can be very individual. Volume eaters like bulky, low calorie food. People who like keto are satiated by fat. Many posters here feel full with more protein. I feel fuller after pasta meals when I have less pasta and more protein and veggies. These days, I eat fewer slices of pizza and have it with a large salad, to which I add cottage cheese and sometimes chicken for a protein boost.

If you don't feel full after something like a sandwich with lots of regular bread, try sprouted bread, which has more fiber and a lower glycemic load. All the supermarkets around me have brands like Food for Life in the frozen section near frozen bagels. Dave's makes one too, which some of my supermarkets carry in the bread aisle.

@DFW_Tom - I think you and I were talking about sprouted bread in another thread - did you get a chance to try it?

csplatt

What works for me is eating a lot at once. I cannot do "six small meals." When I eat my lunch at work, I eat everything that I packed all at once. That really gets me to dinner.

westrich20940

Steph Grasso (registered dietician) I like a lot and has a recent video about *adding things vs. restricting things.

Carbs = energized
Protein = satisfied
Fiber = feel full
Fats = stable energy levels
What you're craving/like = you'll feel happy.

Think about making your snack or meal include all of those things and it should* help out. You can start with what you like/are craving. No matter what it is...but be sure it includes the rest of that list so that you're not just hungry again in 2 hrs.