Feeling food.

I find that prioritising protein really helps keeping me full for longer. Pair it with a carb for energy and a small portion of fats. Protein is key at every meal, if you are a meat eater the options are endless (chicken, beef mince, tuna, salmon, Greek yogurt etc).

Fat is generally considered to be the most satiating of the macros, and it definitely works that way in my case.

I have long been a notorious food addict (carb addict mainly) binge eater with a huge appetite. Everyone is different but in general carbs are notorious for making people hungrier. There are metabolic reasons for this that have to do with blood glucose and insulin, so it affects people differently and some people can be very negatively impacted by blood sugar spikes due to carbs.

Since I changed to a high fat/low carb diet, my blood sugar is more stable, and I'm not very hungry anymore. I rarely eat my max of 1500 calories. Usually I fall somewhere between 1100 and 1300.

At most I eat 2 meals-- sometimes just one, though I will try to have a snack too whether hungry or not if my calories aren't over 1000 for the day.

I rarely get cravings or hunger pangs between meals anymore. If I do, I nibble a bit of fat-- some butter, some avocado, or maybe a snack with no sugar added nut butter-- and the hunger goes away for hours.

It really astonished me because I'd gotten to the point at which I never thought I could go without cravings or hunger or feeling like I was unsatisfied or missing out on something. I never thought I'd have peace of mind if I gave up the foods I was addicted to.

Turns out, giving them up and raising my dietary fat intake was the solution. I just eat my meals and I don't actually want anything else. It's very liberating.

For me, ample protein spread through the day plus volume at some point. For me, the volume is mostly veggies/fruit, usually more at dinner for convenience but timing of the volume doesn't matter to me for satiation.

Fat is zero satiety for me. Carbs don't spike my appetite (at least not the carb foods I routinely eat).

Timing can matter for satiety, too - different variations for different people.

I need to eat a solid breakfast early or appetite will overtake me later in the day.

I have less cravings for calorie-dense sweets if I eat more fruit.

I do better if I snack if I feel hungry with a meal not on the schedule soon, but others do better if they put snacking off limits totally.

Many people find less-processed foods more filling than highly processed or refined foods. I do.

Experiment. Notice when you personally feel more or less sated. Look for patterns that give you clues: What you ate, when you ate, how you slept (fatigue spikes appetite), stress level (stress triggers fatigue), over- or under-exercise, boredom, the influence of habit, emotional triggers, etc.

You can figure it out, if you stick with it.

Best wishes for success!

MacLowCarbing wrote: »

Fat is generally considered to be the most satiating of the macros, and it definitely works that way in my case.

I have long been a notorious food addict (carb addict mainly) binge eater with a huge appetite. Everyone is different but in general carbs are notorious for making people hungrier. There are metabolic reasons for this that have to do with blood glucose and insulin, so it affects people differently and some people can be very negatively impacted by blood sugar spikes due to carbs.

Since I changed to a high fat/low carb diet, my blood sugar is more stable, and I'm not very hungry anymore. I rarely eat my max of 1500 calories. Usually I fall somewhere between 1100 and 1300.

At most I eat 2 meals-- sometimes just one, though I will try to have a snack too whether hungry or not if my calories aren't over 1000 for the day.

I rarely get cravings or hunger pangs between meals anymore. If I do, I nibble a bit of fat-- some butter, some avocado, or maybe a snack with no sugar added nut butter-- and the hunger goes away for hours.

It really astonished me because I'd gotten to the point at which I never thought I could go without cravings or hunger or feeling like I was unsatisfied or missing out on something. I never thought I'd have peace of mind if I gave up the foods I was addicted to.

Turns out, giving them up and raising my dietary fat intake was the solution. I just eat my meals and I don't actually want anything else. It's very liberating.

Very subjective...potatoes have the highest score on the satiety index for example.

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Very subjective...potatoes have the highest score on the satiety index for example.

I don't believe I said it applies to everyone, though there are some biological facts revolving around the connection between hunger, insulin, and blood sugar you can look up.

I'm pretty sure I said this was my experience, though, and the experience of some people like me.

The OP was asking for opinions. I gave mine, like everyone else here.

Lol sorry but the satiety index makes me laugh with potatoes at the top, just from an anecdotal POV. Every overweight person I know goes overboard on potatoes. One interesting study showed teens who ate potatoes more than once a week were more likely to be obese. I have one bite of potatoes and I can't stop eating them. Even potato chips have a joke "betcha can't eat just one."

I'm skeptical of it on a data-driven level, too. They checked to see if people were still satisfied 2 hrs. after eating something; but 1-2 hrs after a meal is when the blood sugar is still spiking. Drops after spikes tend to come 2-4 hours later.

Mazintrov13 wrote: »

I don’t find potatoes filling, but I’m pretty sure they are talking about plain boiled potatoes with no additives. They are a lot easier to eat with butter and cream

Boiled potatoes have the same affect on me as potatoes in any other form-- they awaken the beast. When someone is a carb-addict, or a diabetic, or insulin-resistant, or has hyperinsulinemia, etc. -- this can be especially problematic.

On St. Patrick's Day I used to help cook a big dinner for a lot of people, the potatoes were just boiled w/seasonings, and we had to account 2-3 potatoes per person and they always went.

Of course, these are anecdotes, not evidence of anything-- but it's partly what rouses my suspicion of these kinds of studies. Esp. because epidemiological studies, esp. with self-reporting surveys, are the least reliable type of study-- and while they can prove a correlation, they cannot prove causation.

But that's just the point-- if potatoes were so satiating, they should satisfy people no matter what they put on them. Maybe it's not so much that they're satiating as it is that people get bored more quickly of plain potatoes.

Anyway, once again I remain skeptical of this kind of data, whenever you look at how the studies were conducted you can always find flaws (as I pointed out, I found one straight away).

It's almost as if someone designed the parameters of the study to make a point they want to make, instead of to really trying to be open-minded to see what happens.

A lot of dietary studies are sponsored by companies/organizations that have a certain desired outcome in mind and it's pretty well known you can tweak your study parameters to help it toward that desired outcome.

Thanks for these great suggestions!

You have to watch the studies, because often they know what results they're going for when they design them.

For example, they'll compare a plant-based diet to a meat-eating diet and declare plant-based is healthier; the problem is they're not comparing a health-conscious plant-based to a health-conscious meat based diet usually. They usually are comparing a health-conscious plant-based diet to a standard poor diet that happens to include meat.

Likewise with the satiety studies-- they'll compare someone who eats whole grains and high veg to someone who eats crappy, fatty foods.

Contradicting that are a lot of recent studies showing low carb diets are more satiating than low fat.

Controlled study (not epidemiological survey):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4873405/

Investigation into types of fats on satiety (also finding that combining fats w/carbs are the lowest satiating, which is likely why fats have been considered less satiating in other studies)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53550/

Another controlled study suggesting higher carb diets cause hunger than lower carb:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916523234358


It's good to look at all sides and even then, be skeptical of the results and see what works better for you. It's very easy to find out what is more satiating to you-- go a couple weeks on a high protein diet and lower your carbs & fat; go a couple weeks on a high fat diet and lower your protein & carbs. Go a couple weeks on a high carb diet and lower your protein & fat. By the end of 6 weeks you'll know what balance of macronutrients for you are the most satisfying and you can begin designing your meal plans based on those results.