To reduce hunger, it is important to avoid skipping meals, increase your consumption of foods rich in fiber and proteins, as well as drinking plenty of water and practicing activities that help reduce anxiety.
Some foods that help control hunger are pears, eggs, nuts and beans, as they take longer to be digested in the stomach, increasing satiety for longer, and can be included alternately in your daily diet.
In addition to food, a good night’s sleep is also important for the production of hormones, essential for the proper functioning of the body, avoiding anxiety and the need to eat every moment.
What to do
To reduce hunger, some strategies that can be used are:
1. Feed every 3 hours
Eating every 3 hours prevents hunger, as the body is always satiated, in addition to helping to reduce the amount of food to be eaten at subsequent meals. When a person is hungry, the tendency is to eat more and, normally, the desire is to eat high-calorie foods, such as sweets, contributing to weight gain. Therefore, you should eat small meals every 3 to 4 hours.
Some examples of good snack options are preferably unpeeled fruits, whole-grain crackers, whole-grain bread, and dried fruits such as walnuts, almonds or peanuts.
2. Consume lots of fiber
Fiber is mainly present in fruits, vegetables and whole foods. They make the stomach feel fuller and prolong the feeling of satiety after meals.
Strategies to increase fiber consumption include buying rice, pasta, whole-grain bread and crackers, seeds such as chia and flaxseed to put in juices or yogurts, filling at least half of your plate with salad, especially raw salads, and eating at least 3 fruits per day. day.
3. Eat before sleeping
Eating a small snack before bed can help prevent hunger during the night. A good tip to eat before bed is chamomile or lemon balm tea with whole wheat toast, as the tea calms and prepares the body for sleep and the toasted bread makes you feel full, preventing hunger during the night.
Other snack options could be a cup of sugar-free gelatin, natural yogurt or a scrambled egg, for example.
4. Invest in good fats
Many people, when dieting, greatly restrict their consumption of fat, which tends to increase the feeling of hunger.
However, it is possible to include “good” fats in your daily diet, which can be found in fish such as salmon, trout and tuna, in olive oil or linseed oil, in fruits such as avocado and coconut, and in dried fruits such as peanuts, walnuts and almonds, for example.
These foods provide more energy to the body, preventing cardiovascular diseases and improving memory.
See which foods are rich in fats that are good for your heart.
5. Increase protein consumption
Foods rich in protein are good options for reducing hunger, as this nutrient reduces the concentration of ghrelin, a hormone that increases appetite, in addition to helping to delay gastric emptying, favoring increased satiety between meals.
This way, you can increase your consumption of protein foods, such as eggs, lean meats, fish, tofu and low-fat cheeses, such as ricotta, which, in addition to reducing hunger, help increase energy metabolism, favoring weight loss.
6. Drink water
You should drink plenty of water because the body’s signs of dehydration are similar to signs of hunger. Therefore, increasing the consumption of water, teas or sugar-free juices helps to avoid the feeling of hunger, in addition to improving the functioning of the body and the health of the skin.
7. Sleep well
It is during sleep that the body eliminates toxins and produces hormones essential for the body’s balance. Without sleep, your body will end up needing more food to produce energy and meet the need to stay alert, which is why it is common for those with insomnia to get up in the middle of the night to eat.
8. Stop drinking soda
Soft drinks are rich in fructose, a type of sugar that, when consumed in excess, causes a reduction in the hormone leptin, which gives the body a feeling of satiety. Therefore, people who consume a lot of soft drinks end up feeling hungry more often. Another substance rich in fructose is corn syrup, found in processed foods such as honey, ketchup, cakes, brownies and cookies.
9. Take supplements
Some supplements that can help reduce appetite, such as spirulina or chromium picolinate, should be taken as directed by your doctor or nutritionist.
It is important that, associated with supplements, a healthy and balanced diet is followed, as well as frequent physical activity, to maintain weight and avoid the rebound effect when supplements are stopped. See other examples of weight loss supplements.
Read too: Rebound effect: what it is, symptoms, causes (and what to do)
10. Decrease stress and anxiety
One of the reasons for increased appetite is stress and anxiety that can be caused by daily demands and emotional situations, which can cause the person to consume excessively foods rich in carbohydrates and sugars, such as bread, cookies, cakes or ice cream, for example.
To reduce the symptom of anxiety, it is recommended to carry out some physical activity on a regular basis that gives pleasure and promotes relaxation, such as aerobic physical activity, yoga, dancing, walking, Pilates or meditation, for example.
