Natural appetite control

One of the hardest parts of dieting is dealing with your hunger. Whenever you diet, you reduce your calories. Eating fewer calories than you are used to is destined to make you hungry during the stretches between meals. No matter what you do, you will feel some hunger. You can look at the hunger as proof of an accomplishment. Like a badge of honor, your hunger proves that you are on the right track to losing weight.

Unfortunately, hunger can often lead into temptation, so finding foods that keep you full or have little calories but take the edge off the hunger is important. This kind of natural appetite control can be the last piece of a gigantic puzzle that puts you on the road to fit and trim.

Natural Appetite Control: Foods
Protein - When you eat meals that are high in low fat protein, you are eating a highly satisfying, lower calorie dish that will keep you from feeling hungry until your next meal.

Vegetables - Bulk up on green, orange and yellow vegetables at every meal. Vegetables like squash, broccoli, asparagus, and spinach are low in calories, high in fiber, vitamins and minerals, and high in satisfaction. The best way to eat them is by steaming them. You can add a small amount of sea salt or spices to them, but should leave them free of butter and oil.

Natural Appetite Control: Snacks
Apples with peanut butter - A small apple with one tablespoon of peanut butter is a great snack with less than 300 calories. It also has protein and fiber, and will fill you up for hours.

Unsalted Almonds - Almonds have essential fatty acids in them that can improve heart health. Additionally, they are full of protein and a serving (23 almonds) is less than 200 calories.

Avocado - Like almonds, avocados have heart healthy oils. They also contain vitamin E which can help your skin. Eating ½ an avocado is less than 200 calories, satisfying, and healthy.

Natural Appetite Control: Drinks
Water - Not only does water make your stomach feel full, but it also rejuvenates your cells and flushes out toxins. Water is the building block of our entire system and you should be drinking 6-8 glasses per day. Drinking water in between meals is a calorie-free way to curb your appetite.

Diet sodas - While not the healthiest choice, diet sodas can provide some hunger relief. Water is always the best choice but once in a while, when you need a break from water, grabbing a diet, caffeine free soda is fine.

Avoid Saboteurs
Carbohydrates - Often, while you’re eating them, carbohydrates seem like filling foods. Rice, potatoes, pasta and bread all give you an immediate sensation of fullness. Unfortunately, within just a couple of hours, you’ll notice the fullness wearing off and you may feel as though you haven’t eaten in hours. This is because carbohydrates break down in the body very quickly and turn into glucose. The faster your body can break foods down, the faster you get that empty feeling in your stomach.

Snack bars - Reaching for snack bars for a hunger fighting snack can be a huge mistake that impacts your diet negatively. Often, these bars are full of calories and are simple carbohydrates and sugars. They don’t satisfy your hunger and increase your calorie intake for no good reason.

Sugary snacks - How often have you grabbed a handful of Hershey’s Kisses from your coworker’s desk to stave off your appetite until lunch? That handful of fat and calories you just grabbed adds over 300 calories to your daily intake, and will probably be stored as fat in your body.