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1: Protein

Research has shown that protein is more satisfying than fat or carbohydrate, both at meal time and in the hours following your meal. Meals containing protein also increase diet-induced thermogenesis (the energy used by your body to eat, digest and metabolise food), which subsequently increases satiety and reduces kilojoule intake.
To include protein foods at each meal, we suggest:

• Eggs. They’re satisfying at any time of the day whether poached at breakfast; scrambled at lunch; or as an omelette for dinner.
• Fish. Lean beef and skinless chicken are both great choices, but one Australian study found fish is more satisfying than the both.
• Low-fat milk or yoghurt. Eat them with your cereal at breakfast or as a snack, to help keep you going for longer.

2: Fibre

Researchers have found that while a high-fibre meal doesn’t necessarily affect how much we eat immediately, it does seem to reduce how much we eat at the next meal because we’re not as hungry. Meals high in fibre take time and energy to chew, while adding bulk and viscosity, which slows digestion of meals.Here are some simple ways to get more fibre:

• Add a high-fibre cereal to your breakfast. Mix it with your current cereal if you prefer.
• Use wholegrain breads, rice and pasta.
• Add chickpeas, lentils, red kidney beans, cannellini beans or other legumes to salads, stews and pasta.
• Use hommous on your bread and crackers, instead of butter or other dips.

3: Low-kJ vegies

Want to feel really full? Then eat low-kilojoule vegetables – you can eat as many of them as you like. They help us stop overeating because they’re full of water and fibre, ingredients that add weight and make our stomachs feel full without loading up on kilojoules. We suggest bulking up meals and snacks with broccoli, beans, beetroot, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, zucchini, cucumber, eggplant, leeks, mushrooms, rhubarb, salad greens,
silverbeet, spinach, snow peas and turnip ... to name a few. Here’s a couple of ways to get them into your diet:

• Snack on baby carrots, sliced capsicum, cherry tomatoes and other small or sliced vegies; dip them in hommous to make them even more satisfying.
• Pile your plate with salad vegies; drizzle
a little oil over the top for extra satiety.
• Try roast pumpkin chips, instead of potato.

4: Good fats

We all need some fat in our diet, and this has extra benefits for women: unsaturated fats have been found to stimulate a hormone, cholecystokinin, which helps us feel full for longer. This same hormone is stimulated by eating fibre however – so there’s no need to go overboard on them!
• Add small amounts of seeds and nuts to your meals or snacks.
• D Drizzle a little canola, olive or rice bran oil over salads or vegetables.

5: Low-GI foods

High glycaemic index (GI) foods give a sharp peak to our blood glucose with the trough afterwards triggering hunger. Foods with a lower GI are digested more slowly and give a more steady release of glucose into the blood stream, so they don’t trigger hunger in the same way. A recent Australian study found that when obese people replaced a high GI meal with a low GI meal at breakfast, they reported higher levels of satiety before lunch, even when the kilojoule content of the breakfasts were the same. Add low-GI foods such as reduced-fat milk and yoghurt, wholegrain bread, oats, sweet potatoes and legumes at each meal and snack, or turn to p87 for more clever ideas.

 Nutritionist Rose Carr is currently completing her Masters degree in Human Nutrition

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Healthy Food Guide
www.healthyfoodguide.com.au