Everyone knows you for your hearty appetite? You’re never the last one to say yes to an ice cream? You spend half your life with your head in the fridge? Your number one enemy: hunger. If you recognise yourself in this picture, this article might just help. Here are the best tips to feel less hungry!
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First things first: hunger or just a craving?
Before anything else, let’s be clear about what we’re talking about. Do you eat because you’re hungry, or because you feel like it? These are two very different things! Physical hunger shows up as stomach rumbling, a drop in energy, yawning, a dry mouth, and sometimes headaches and chills. Emotional hunger, on the other hand, is simply a way of coping with a negative feeling: a sense of emptiness, boredom, sadness or stress. And that kind of hunger is exactly what we’d like to avoid! It leads to mindless snacking and, inevitably, extra pounds. So the first tip is to identify the nature of your hunger, and respond to it accordingly. If you’re genuinely hungry, your body needs energy and you need to fuel it through food. But if it’s just a craving, find a way to work around it:
- Ask yourself why you want to eat
- Let the negative emotion pass through you rather than letting it take hold
- Instead of eating, have a tea, go for a walk or do something useful and/or enjoyable (reading, deep breathing, a short nap)
How can I ease constant hunger?
Here are a few tips that should help you regain control over your hunger.
Tip no1: Eat better
It sounds simple, but you may be constantly hungry because you’re not eating properly at mealtimes. A balanced, craving-proof meal should contain all the macronutrients your body and mind need. It should include:
- A portion of protein (preferably lean)
- A portion of complex carbohydrates with a low GI (to avoid sharp insulin spikes)
- Vegetables in abundance
- A little fat (for flavour)
- Optionally a dessert (compote, fruit, dairy), to bring pleasure and reach satiety
If you’re living exclusively on salads, it’s no wonder you’re hungry two hours after eating and end up reaching for biscuits!
Tip no2: Choose filling foods
A second tip that goes hand in hand with the first. Your meals should be made up of foods that keep you satisfied. Otherwise, watch out for snacking. The fibre found in vegetables, fruits, wholegrains and legumes is very effective at keeping you full, especially when it’s soluble. It swells in the stomach when it comes into contact with water, helping to ease hunger. As for protein, its slow digestion helps you hold out against cravings!
Tip no3: Drink regularly
You’ve probably heard this tip before, but it’s always worth repeating. When you drink, you fill your stomach with liquid, and the feeling of hunger eases almost immediately. It’s also a good idea to hydrate well before a meal: you’ll feel less hungry and eat less as a result! What’s more, what you think is hunger is often actually thirst in disguise. Really? Absolutely! The brain receptors for hunger and thirst are the same. So before you reach for food, try drinking… and see what happens! No longer hungry? You may have simply needed to hydrate!
Tip no4: Chew properly
To feel less hungry, you’ll need to pay attention to how you eat. If you tend to wolf down your plate in 2 minutes flat, you’re doing it wrong. Not only will you eat more, but you’ll also experience digestive issues. It takes the brain between 20 and 30 minutes to register fullness. So take your time: put your fork down between bites, chew thoroughly, and pause during the meal. You’ll realise you were less hungry than you thought. And as a bonus, your digestion will be much smoother: fewer stomach cramps and bloating, because digestion starts in the mouth (thanks to the enzymes in saliva).
Tip no5: Brush your teeth
A fun tip, but one that really works! Brushing your teeth after a meal signals the end of eating time. It’s a ritual that implicitly says the meal is over, you’ve eaten well and hunger has been satisfied. On top of that, the minty taste of toothpaste and the feeling of a clean mouth both act as barriers to snacking. Mint is known to curb sudden sugar cravings. So you know what to do: after every meal, head to the bathroom!
Tip no6: Try appetite suppressants
Did you know that certain substances can ease the feeling of hunger? We’ve already mentioned fibre, found in certain foods. But you can also complement your meals with well-known appetite-suppressing foods: konjac (in noodle form), oat bran and blonde psyllium (flakes to sprinkle over your dishes or into your yoghurt), apple and grapefruit (best eaten at the start of a meal!) are all natural appetite suppressants to incorporate regularly into your diet.
But if you want to feel less hungry and lose weight, let me introduce your new ally: our Fat-Burning Coffee!
Thanks to its specially crafted formula featuring natural caffeine, Acerola fruit extract and, above all, maltodextrin, this coffee is an excellent natural appetite suppressant. Maltodextrin works specifically by extending your feeling of fullness, reducing cravings and mid-day hunger pangs.
Here’s why it will quickly become a must-have:
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🍃 Effective appetite suppressant: say goodbye to uncontrollable cravings thanks to maltodextrin, which helps you stay fuller for longer.
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🔥 Metabolism boost: naturally stimulates fat burning and supports weight management.
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☕ Lasting energy: a natural energy boost from caffeine to keep you motivated and focused throughout the day!
Tip no7: Use smaller plates
What if your crockery could help you feel less hungry? This tip works directly on human psychology and has been seriously studied. Several researchers have shown that using smaller plates leads to a significant reduction in portion sizes. Satiety kicks in more quickly and you simply feel less hungry. The same effect applies to glasses! The best slimming combination is therefore to choose small plates and large glasses — to eat less and drink more (water, of course!).
Tip no8: Use your nose
Now you might be thinking: “What on earth is this about?” Well, it’s actually quite real. Certain scents can curb appetite or the desire for something sweet! The impact of smells on brain activity is a seriously studied subject. It turns out that the scent of certain fruits — such as strawberry, pineappleor fig — as well as the fragrance of certain spices (cinnamon, clove, vanilla) are said to be soothing, calming the mind and curbing the urge to eat. To feel less hungry, you might want to surround yourself with gentle scents: diffused essential oils, scented candles, natural extracts. You’ll have every reason to fill your home with appetite-suppressing fragrances!
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Useful categories : Slimming Tips.