Have you ever tried to lose weight, only to find yourself constantly feeling hungry?
While hunger is to be expected anytime you cut your calories, there are some ways to lessen the suffering.
The best thing you can do is to look for nutrient dense, low-calorie foods. If you're including highly processed foods, you're likely missing out on nutrients. If you're including high-calorie foods, you're going to get too many calories without enough volume.
For example, a quarter-cup of almonds is around 240 calories. While there is more positives than negatives with almonds, there is no denying they are calorie dense. If your goal is to eat 2000 calories, you've spent over 10% of your total on a quarter cup of almonds.
In order to help feel fuller longer and avoid feeling deprived, look for foods that allow you to eat a high volume for fewer calories. Here are ten foods that allow you to eat an entire pound of them for under 250 calories!
Cucumber - 70 calories
Lettuce - 70 calories
Celery - 80 calories
Spinach - 105 calories
Watermelon - 135 calories
Strawberries - 150 calories
Peaches - 180 calories
Carrots - 190 calories
Apples - 235 calories
Rasperries - 240 calories
The first thing you'll notice is that all of those foods are fruits or vegetables. Fruits and vegetables not only give you lots of nutrients, but they are also packed with water and fiber.
"But doesn't sugar make you fat?"
I once had a conversation with a person who said their trainer told them to avoid carrots because they were high in sugar.
Has anyone actually gained weight from eating too many carrots? At only 190 calories for an entire pound of carrots, I'm going to guess no. There are things in life to worry about. The sugar in carrots is not one of them.
The same argument is often brought up against fruit and the answer remains the same: Unless you are preparing for a bodybuilding show, there is no reason to limit unprocessed fruits.
There are things in life to worry about. The sugar in carrots is not one of them.
Now, we both know that you're not going to eat 10lbs of food in a single day (most people do about 4). However, you now know that by eating certain foods that offer lots of volume per calorie, you can add them to your meals to bulk up your normal meals.
See if you can add a pound or two of the foods above to your day and see how it affects hunger and appetite.
