People who decide to go on a diet to lose a few pounds find that hunger is an enormous challenge. It's common knowledge that to lose weight, you need ...
People who decide to go on a diet to lose a few pounds find that hunger is an enormous challenge. It's common knowledge that to lose weight,
you need to burn more calories than you eat. But how can you avoid those gnawing hunger pangs all day long without binging?
You should be able to feel full with these foods and not be tempted to give in hunger pangs and break your diet.
1. Fish - 150 to 200 Calories / Serving
Fish will fill you up nicely and should keep you full until the next meal, and it's also very low in calories. In fact, of all the meats available, fish is the most filling of all! Fish also have fewer calories per ounce than other meats like chicken, pork or beef.
Don't assume, though, that breaded, fried fish is an acceptable food on a weight loss diet. The breading and batters that are used when frying fish add appreciably to the calorie count of fish, and should be avoided. For a hot meal, cook fish by broiling, baking or grilling it, with a minimum of added fat. A delicious cold alternative is a health light salad sprinkled with bits of cooked or canned tuna or salmon. You can highlight certain flavors with the judicious use of spices and seasonings.
2. Oranges and Apples - About 40 Calories / Serving
This may seem like a surprising choice - fruits aren't generally thought of as low-calorie, filling foods. Dieters who feel hungry don't often reach first for a piece of fruit when they feel as if they need a snack. In addition to natural sugars and a host of vitamins and nutrients, these particular fruits are full of dietary fiber, which helps you feel full.
Dieters looking for a low-calorie, filling snack should choose round fruits because they carry about half the calories of non-round fruits like bananas while making you feel just as foll.
3. Grapes - 50 Calories / Serving
Like oranges and apples, grapes are perfect snack foods in the context of a weight loss diet. Highly convenient, these bite-sized snacks concentrate a high level of dietary fiber into a very small space, helping to keep you feeling full. Very convenient, highly portable, usually not at all messy and delicious to boot, grapes are a nearly-perfect snack food that will keep you feeling full much longer than any commercial preparation full of processed sweeteners.
4. Whole Wheat Pasta - 300 Calories / Serving
Pasta is one of those comfort foods hungry people crave! I'm not talking about white pasta, though. Whole wheat pasta is much healthier and is much better at filling you up than the white pasta you usually see in grocery stores.
Because it's processed less, whole wheat pasta is more healthful and has more fiber. Because overeating pasta is so easy to do, it's critical that you watch serving sizes. To fill up and feel comfortable until your next meal, try a portion of pasta about the size of your fist.
5. Steak - 300 Calories / Serving
No, I'm not kidding. There's nothing wrong with steak as an occasional component of a nutritious weight-loss diet. What is wrong is the habit some people have of smothering a steak in sauces that are high in calories. Many high-protein dieters, such as those who follow the Atkins Diet, have been aware of this for a long time. Frankly, steak is one of the best meats available for a weight loss diet, second only to fish in terms of its desirability as a weight-loss food. Of course, the leaner the beef, the better, because your fat intake will be reduced.
These low-calorie but delicious foods can backfire on you if you don't watch your serving sizes carefully! These delicious low-calorie delicacies will definitely help you feel full faster, and for a greater length of time, but that doesn't justify going overboard, either. And of course, from time to time it's alright to eat other foods as well. Just keep in mind that portion control is always a critical part of a healthy diet. Your lean, attractive body is just a little way into the future, and soon you'll be proud to show it off!
