How to Curb an Appetite

Video Transcript

"My name is Christine Marquette and I'm a dietitian with Austin Regional Clinic and I'm going to talk to you about how to curb an appetite. There are actually several different ways you can curb your appetite. One of the things you can keep in mind is to try to avoid junk foods, things that are high in sugar or fats such as candies, cookies, ice cream, potato chips. These types of foods generally after eating these kinds of foods you have a tendency to get hungry again very quickly and because these foods were already very high calorie. If you eat again very quickly you do have a very high chance of eating excess amounts of food so one of the first things to think about is fiber content. High fiber foods generally give you a feeling of fullness. You also want to make sure you are drinking plenty of fluids, particularly when you are eating a lot of fiber. When you have a lot of fluid with a high fiber meal, that will actually make you feel full and it will last for a significant period of time. The other thing that you want to make sure and do when you are eating the meal is that you want to include a lean source of protein and some healthy fats. Lean proteins would be things such as chicken, fish, lean beef or pork and healthy fats would be items such as nuts, seeds, avocados, peanut butter, or something stir fried in a vegetable oil like a canola oil. These types of fats are very healthy for you plus they do tend to make you feel a little bit fuller after having a meal that includes them. The same thing with a lean protein, any type of protein is very slowly digested so it will stick with you longer. You'll have less risk of getting hungry very quickly after having a meal that has lean protein and healthy fat in it. Then the next thing to consider is your intake of Omega 3 fats and Omega 3 fats are essential fats that your body cannot make so you have to get it from your foods. They are primarily in sea foods and if you don't get enough some times it can cause cravings for carbohydrates particularly starchy carbs like rice, pasta, or maybe even sweets, so again make sure that you are including some sea food at least a couple of times a week and if not you may want to consider supplementing your diet with an Omega 3 fish oil supplement, otherwise, just include some type of sea food two or three times a week. So these are just some basic things to try to curb your appetite."