“I need to lose weight
but I’m sick of feeling hungry all the time,” is a common statement
made by individuals who follow fly-by-night diets. If your diet leaves
your stomach rumbling every hour on the hour, it’s time to make a
change. I used to think that losing weight meant starving. It took me a
while to realise that I could actually eat heartily and still LOSE weight.
The time I spent starving in the name of losing weight was miserable. When I did manage to shed a few pounds, I would gain it all back in a matter of weeks. Sometimes I’d even gain a few extra pounds. Talk about depressing! What I learned through years of research (and trial and error) is that when you follow a healthy eating plan, you can eat till you’re full, and still see huge weight loss results.
What Are Healthy Foods?
The time I spent starving in the name of losing weight was miserable. When I did manage to shed a few pounds, I would gain it all back in a matter of weeks. Sometimes I’d even gain a few extra pounds. Talk about depressing! What I learned through years of research (and trial and error) is that when you follow a healthy eating plan, you can eat till you’re full, and still see huge weight loss results.
What Are Healthy Foods?
Healthy foods are not created in a factory or processed to death. If the food is dried, canned, frozen or filled with ingredients you can’t pronounce, stay away from it. Examples of healthy foods include fresh fish, naturally raised meats, legumes, seeds, organic poultry, organic whole eggs, raw nuts, and fresh fruit and vegetables.
How to Make Healthy Meals More Filling
There’s nothing more dismal than dealing with hunger pangs all day. If your meals aren’t satisfying you, this is exactly what’s going to happen. Here are some tricks to make your meals more filling:
- Add a source of quality protein and a source healthy fat (yes, fat) to each of your meals. Doing this makes meals more satiating and curbs hunger. Sources of healthy protein include natural meats, organic whole eggs, organic poultry and fish. Sources of healthy fat include avocados, fish, beans, raw nuts, coconut oil and olive oil.
- Load your plate with veggies. Tip: divide your plate into three sections and fill the larger section with veggies. Leave the other two sections for meat and other foods. Veggies are full of fiber, so they expand in the stomach and digest slowly so keeping you full longer.
- Drink a glass of water before each meal and throughout the day. This will help you feel full faster and reduce hunger
Examples of Healthy, Filling Meals and Snacks
- Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, 1/3 cup of oatmeal with cinnamon and a small pear.
- Snack: 1 medium apple, 1 cup of cucumber slices and 1 oz of raw nuts.
- Lunch: 4 oz ground turkey, 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice, 8 oz carrot sticks, and a small green salad with vinegar and olive oil dressing.
- Snack: 2 tablespoons of almond butter, 2 slices of rye crisp bread and 8 oz of celery sticks.
- Dinner: 5 oz broiled halibut steak, 1/2 cup of green beans sautéed in garlic, small baked sweet potato and a small green salad with apple cider vinegar and olive oil dressing.
