You may feel hungry if you are not receiving the nutritional benefits of a balanced diet. Be sure that you eat items from each of the food groups. You should get plenty of vegetables and fruit, lean proteins, and whole grains, as well as a moderate amount of healthy oils and fats.
A balanced breakfast could be a half a cup of whole-grain oatmeal with a drizzle of honey, a cup of fresh strawberries, and a half a cup of cottage cheese.
A healthy lunch could be a salad of dark mixed greens with dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and crumbled cheese such as feta or goat cheese. You can make your own dressing or opt for a reduced-calorie dressing. Don’t like salads? Make a wrap! Wrap up those greens, cranberries, and sunflower seeds into a pita or a whole grain tortilla. You could also add a lean meat such as turkey to the wrap, and drizzle a little dressing on it.
A balanced dinner could be a 4-oz serving of meat or fish, two vegetables, and a whole grain. For example, you could have grilled salmon, wild rice, roasted or steamed broccoli, and roasted butternut squash.
Sometimes increasing the amount of water you drink can help you eat less. Drinking plenty of water before a meal and continuing to sip water while you eat will help you feel fuller without overeating.[5]
If you tire of drinking water, try mixing up your routine with other options that are calorie-free. You could substitute seltzer water for plain water occasionally.
Drinking green tea in place of water can give you a break from plain water. Green tea also acts as an antioxidant, which can contribute to weight loss.
Junk food, processed food that is high in fat, salt, and sugar, makes you feel hungrier when you eat it. It is also designed to stimulate your taste buds and leads, essentially, to addiction and overeating.[6]
Foods high in fat cause a chemical reaction in your brain that signals you to eat more, even though you're likely not really hungry.[7]
Over-processing foods strips the foods of their nutrients. Your body needs nutrient-rich foods to run efficiently,so it will send a hunger signal even if you just ate a meal or snack with 1000 calories in it.[8]
Eating salty foods can lead you to crave sweet foods, so you end up eating twice as many snacks as you need.
Snacking on high-energy snacks such as fruit and nuts can help you feel less hungry between meals. Nuts make an especially good filler snack because their healthy fat and protein content digests slowly, giving you more energy than a sugary snack.
