Feeling satisfied may be your ticket to lifelong weight management.
What is satiety? It’s that lasting feeling of fullness when you finish a meal, the feeling that you're no longer hungry. We examine how you can find your satiety.
"To get more satisfaction out of food, the idea is to fill up on foods that give you a lot of volume for relatively few kilojoules," says Karen Miller-Kovach, Chief Scientist Officer at Weight Watchers International. For example, ¼ cup of raisins and 1¾ cups of grapes have the same number of kilojoules, but with the grapes, you obviously get to eat much more, and you'll feel more satisfied when you're through."Besides fresh fruit like grapes, other satiating high-volume foods include complex carbohydrates that are high in water, air and/or fibre, such as air-popped popcorn, vegetables and wholegrains like brown rice," says Miller-Kovach. But lean protein-rich foods, such as a skinless chicken breast, low-fat yogurt or skim milk can also contribute to satiety, she adds. "That's why, for maximum satisfaction, you might want to make sure your meals also contain some lean protein," says Miller-Kovach.
Super-Satisfying Temptation Tamers
Other mealtime tricks for pumping up the volume in your food to maximise your satisfaction on fewer kilojoules:
1. Start meals with a first course try a soup, vegetable juice or a salad with low-fat dressing. According to Rolls' research, which has been published in her book Volumetrics (Harper Collins, 2000), people who began their meals with a high-volume, low kilojoule starter like soup or salad ate less over the course of the entire meal compared to those who started their meal with the entrée.
2. Eat more vegetables such as leafy greens, lettuce, tomatoes, green beans and onions. Add them into stews, soups, pasta sauces and pizza. They're high-volume, high-satisfaction, low-kilojoule superstars because they're loaded with water and fibre, Rolls says, two top filler-uppers.
3. Limit very dry foods, such as crackers and chips. Dry foods lack water and thus are low in volume. "Dry foods pack a lot of kilojoules into a small portion and are easy to overeat," says Rolls.
You can also make it second nature to gravitate toward healthy foods that fill you up. Weight Watchers food plans teach you to naturally seek out these foods, while still being able to enjoy the treats you love, too. Eventually you might find yourself preferring these more satisfying, lower kilojoule choices, making your healthy eating habits a way of life, and not a chore.
Adapted from http://www.weightwatchers.com.au
