Most Filling Foods: Satiety List

A diet can be one of the most frustrating things that a person can participate in. Losing weight is a difficult process. 

Feeling hungry and denying those urges can be a real test of willpower. You wind up sitting in a corner all by your grumpy old self sipping herbal tea and munching on a stick of celery to stave off the traumatic effects of self induced starvation. Fortunately there are studies being done that can help us be more successful in our weight loss attempts. One of the newest directions is research into filling foods in the hope that these foods could help to reduce our need to snack or over eat. They could satisfy our cravings and help us to feel full for a longer period of time so there would be less need to break our diet.

We now know that there are a number of physical and emotional factors involved in the dieting process. When we attempt to lose weight we not only do battle with the bulge but we must attempt to rationalize the whole process with a brain that is only too willing to comply with a body that is designed to safeguard itself from starvation.

Understanding how to diet can greatly improve your chances of success. Satisfying your cravings with highly nutritious foods that are also filling is one important step in the process. Consuming foods which will help you to feel full for a longer period of time should in theory help you to feel more satisfied with the amount of food consumed. This should then have a major effect on the overall amount of food that is consumed throughout the day.

If all goes according to theory then this type of diet plan would ultimately result in a higher degree of weight loss or weight regulation success. One of the most impressive studies into the most filling foods comes from Dr. Susannah Holt. Labeled as a Satiety Index it truly is a break through in dieting techniques.

The Satiety Index Study by Dr. Susannah Holt: Thirty-eight different foods were used In Dr. Susannah Holt's study and each participant was given his or her choice of a 240 calorie portion of one item. Once the food was consumed then each participant was checked on at regular time intervals afterward to measure the degree of satisfaction (satiety) that the food was providing.

The food they had chosen and the respondents responses were then analyzed to discover the reason why specific foods were able to satisfy hunger cravings for longer periods of time than other foods were able to. The most satisfying foods were placed highest on the satiety index and those foods which less reduced hunger were then placed lower on this list. The resulting list or "Satiety Index" is an indicator of how each of these tested foods ranked as foods that were able to satisfy hunger. The reasons why specific foods were found to be more filling was also included in the study's final results.

The Satiety Index's Most Filling Foods List: The foods that will help to keep you satisfied longer.
1. Boiled potatoes
2. Ling fish (white fish)
3. Porridge
4. Oranges
5. Apples
6. Brown pasta
7. Beef
8. Baked beans
9. Grapes
10. Wholemeal bread
11. Popcorn and Wholegrain bread tied for this spot.

12. All-bran
13. Eggs
14. Cheese
15. White Rice
16. Lentils
17. Brown Rice

Keep in mind that if you like to snack then for about the same satiety you will get to eat much more popcorn than you will bread. There are a number of reasons as to why each of these foods ranked as filling on the satiety list with protein content, fibre content, overall bulk, and fluid content all major factors as to why these foods may have ranked where they did.

Boiled potatoes were found to be the most filling food in this research study and not by just a small margin. Boiled potatoes were found to be very filling compared to the other 37 suggested foods. Although boiled potatoes were found to be the food which most greatly reduced hunger cravings among the study's participants it was found that fried potatoes (French fries) did not produce the same satisfying result.

It is believed that the body's ability to store fat as an emergency food source is the reasoning as to why greasy food did not satisfy hunger cravings. The body prefers to take the consumed fatty food and store it for future use rather than for immediate use. The intake of fatty foods is not used as an immediate food source, therefore the body does not advise the brain to quit eating and you continue to feel hungry.

The slow digestion of beans and lentils is believed to be the reasoning as to why they were found to be so satisfying. Whereas popcorn and oranges were found to be satisfying because of the bulk amount that one could consume in relation to the number of calories they contain. You can eat a tremendous amount of these foods for in relation to their calorie content.

Weight Watchers introduced their Momentum Weight Loss Program in 2009 and one very unique and helpful aspect of this program was its most filling food list. Using a food point system members are encouraged to select foods from the list as these foods will be more likely to keep them satisfied and less likely to sway from their diet plan. This plan was later restyled to become the Weight Watcher's PointsPlus program but the filling foods list remains and can be found at: http://www.weightwatchers.com/images/1033/dynamic/GCMSImages/FillingFoodList_US.pdf To get the full scoop on their diet plan please visit the Official Weight Watcher's website.

Tips and Tricks to Help You Succeed

*Your dinnerware matters. Serving your meal on a smaller plate will leave you feeling more satisfied than will consuming the same amount of food served on a larger plate. Serve your meals on smaller sized dinnerware or on portion control dishware.

*The attractiveness of your meal can leave you feeling more satisfied. Use candles, a favourite place setting, and an attractively displayed table to enhance your dining experience.
*We generally associate vegetables with dieting but it is extremely important not to under estimate the value of a protein rich diet plan. Protein is energy. It is also a filling food so will tend to keep you satisfied longer than other foods.

*Fish, lean chicken, white turkey meat, and eggs can be used to replace higher calorie beef and organ meats. Reduce your portion size and keep meat portions to about the size of your palm. Consume one egg rather than the standard two. Diet responsibly. Eat a Protein Rich Diet to keep your muscle strong.

*Choose your snack foods wisely. Munching 6 to 10 walnuts or pistachios can be very satisfying and these two contain healthy fats which are essential to your body for good health. Nuts are protein, an energy rich food, and filling.

*Dark chocolate in very small amounts is a good snack choice. It is an antioxidant rich food that will help to satisfy your craving for a sweet. Just watch your portion in relation to the amount of calories it contains.

*If you are craving something crunchy stay away from chips and other salty foods. Snack on a bowl of dry cereal instead. Avoid sugary brands and choose Cheerios Life or Special K cereal to solve your craving for something crunchy.

A Boiled Egg for Breakfast is a Fantastic Way to Start the Day

Avoiding the Dreaded Diet Plateau: Losing weight can be difficult so using every tool available can help to better insure your success. The most filling foods list is one weight loss tool now let's take a quick peek into another factor which can greatly factor into your diet. It is your body's natural defence mechanism. 

Your body is a great defender. It is designed to protect you from harm and it does that job very well. If it suspects that you may be losing weight and potentially in danger of starvation then you can bet your last dollar that you body is going to do everything in its power to prevent this from happening. This is where attempting to lose weight really gets difficult because your body doesn't view that extra weight as a bad thing. It presumes the weight will be there for you to feed off of when times are lean. So if you begin to deplete those stocks your body maneuvers itself into a defensive stance.

This plateau period can leave you feeling frustrated: Anyone who has dieted in the past has probably experienced the phenomenon known as the diet plateau. You stop losing weight, your metabolism slows down, and your brain sends out the message that you are starving to stimulate you into an intense feeling of hunger. 

You want to eat anything that moves into your line of vision and with the added psychological burden of a weigh scale that refuses to budge downward this is the time when many dieters fall off their diet plan.

The logical solution is to trick your body into believing that everything is okay. The theory is that if you diet in an irrational manner that this can be accomplished. For example you diet for a period of one week, then eat normal for the next week, then resume your diet plan for another week. Moving forward from there you would eat normally for three days then diet for two in revolving waves till you reach your weight loss goal.

Every little bit counts so do shorts burst of exercise multiple times throughout the day to help kick start your metabolism. As your stamina builds you will be able to do increasingly more so don't get discouraged. Just keep moving forward. The best weight loss plan is one that combines a balance of diet and exercise.

Cycling calories sounds like a logical plan but it is still not without its issues. The tendency to overeat on non dieting days has to be overcome or the diet days are simply wasted effort. And there is always the likelihood that your body will still connect to the fact that you are losing weight and kick into a protectionist stance. So that circles us back to the basic slow and steady combined program of diet and exercise as still the best method for a successful weight loss.

Related Articles by Lorelei Cohen