10 Ways To Reduce Your Appetite
Are you hungry because you’re fat, or are you fat because you’re hungry?
This is no chicken-or-the-egg question. To some degree, at least, you are hungry because you’re fat. You have more body area and that means greater surface to radiate heat and call for calories.
That being the case, foods which satisfy your hunger fastest will help you to cut down on your calories. Nutritionists call the hunger-satisfying properties of foods “satiety value.” Satisfying foods are those that remain longest in the stomach and small intestine, demanding the most vigorous attention from your digestive system.
Meat is the most satisfying of all foods and keeps you full longer than simple carbs.
Milk ranks next to meat in satiety value; whole milk is more satisfying than skim milk.
Fish is slightly less satisfying than meat because usually it contains less fat.
Eggs vary according to preparation.
Green vegetables and bread are low in satiety value. Oddly, bread becomes even less satisfying when toasted.
Fats are high in satiety value; hence moderate reducing diets often allow more fats than carbohydrates to help keep your stomach satisfied.
Aside from the satisfying effects of food, there are other ways of putting a check rein on your appetite.
Here are ten ways of cracking down and letting your appetite know who’s boss:
1. Stop eating while you’re still a little hungry. For reasons that are not fully understood, persons who tend to put on weight do not receive the “full up” signal
from their meals as promptly as they should. Consequently they go on eating after hunger is satisfied. Stop eating just a little earlier than you usually do and you will be surprised, within a few minutes, to discover that appetite has really been appeased.
2. Revise your thought process. A lot of people put on weight because, having few things that interest them, they turn to nibbling as a socially entertaining way of killing time. Keep busy at something else and watch your yen for eating fall within normal limits.
3. Use foods that require vigorous chewing. The first organs of digestion are the teeth. Meat, crisp celery, raw carrots—all of these call for vigorous chewing action that helps satisfy your appetite.
4. Don’t wash food down with water. The only valid objection to drinking water with meals is that you may wash down lumpy masses of half-chewed food and thus unconsciously step up your intake.
5. Don’t be tricked by fancy foods. An ice cream sundae topped off by nuts and whipped cream can tempt any body’s appetite. If you keep out of the way of such temptations, however, you will find that your appetite is just as happy as a baby who has never heard about lollipops.
6. Keep count on calories. A rough idea of calorie values is all you need to tone down a rambunctious appetite considerably. It’s a lot easier to say “I’ll take an orange” when you know there are 450 calories in a husky slab of mince pie and only 80 in an orange. Plus the orange will keep your stomach full longer and takes longer to eat.
7. Skip the excuses. If you blame your overweight on heredity or glands, get a check up.
If you feel that you can’t say “no” to the hostess who urges a second helping on you, for risk of hurting her feelings, remember that she probably is insistent because of a high sense of hospitality, and secretly may be thinking how nice it would be to have some leftovers for tomorrow’s dinner.
8. Put a fruit bowl on the coffee table instead of a box of chocolates. Eating between meals isn’t bad; it’s good —provided you choose a piece of fruit or a glass of milk instead of concentrated candies and pastries, and don’t exceed your calorie limits.
9. Don’t tease your appetite with alcohol. We aren’t saying you shouldn’t drink. But if you drink, remember that alcohol will increase your appetite and you’ll find yourself snacking on chips instead of healthy foods.
10. Don’t go without breakfast. Lots of us kid ourselves that we’re reducing because we’re rushed or sleepy in the morning and coast along on a cup of coffee. Studies have proven that those who eat a healthy breakfast actually consume less calories during the day, then those who skip breakfast.
