Eat Less without Being Hungry

Yes, it’s true, assuming my experiences reflect what other people might experience, you really can eat less – a lot less – without being hungry. Well, that’s not entirely true; you might be hungry the first day, or the first few days, but after that, you won’t be left hungry, and when you are hungry, you will eat, and that will be ok, because you will be eating a lot less.


Eat breakfast, and make sure that breakfast doesn’t contain too much sugar, but does contain protein and fiber. Protein and fiber are filling, so they will reduce the likelihood of your getting hungry before your next feeding. Sugar makes you hungrier after you eat the sugar, as I’ve learned from the TV and other places. From what I’ve heard and/or read, it seems eating sugar raises your blood sugar too abruptly, which means your blood sugar will also drop abruptly. When the dropping happens, you will probably get hungry again, as well as tired and crashy. I was eating a yummy Thomas' whole wheat English muffin with Smucker's strawberry preserves every morning (along with my coffee and sugar), and I would eat an awful lot during the day. At some point, I discovered that the preserves contain high fructose corn syrup; feeling betrayed, I angrily shunned those tasty preserves and all its jelly brethren (I now will eat such things again, but only if I crave it, but not in the morning). I don't believe the English muffins contain any of the evil high fructose corn syrup. I now eat a slice of delicious Costco 8 grain toast with a little bit of Smart Balance Buttery Spread, crushed walnuts and toasted sesame seeds on it. It is absolutely delicious. I also drink my morning coffee with honey and cinnamon, because I read and heard that both honey and cinnamon don’t make your blood sugar spike the way sugar and syrups do. This is also delicious. After making these changes, I found myself eating a lot less during the day, without being hungry when I wasn't eating.

Quit or cut down on soda and other things containing massive amounts of sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup. I gradually and almost accidentally cut down on soda until I eventually quit, almost unintentionally. I now have soda very occasionally if I have a craving for it, which happens very rarely if at all. As I mentioned above, I’ve heard and read in various places (for example, I think I heard this from Dr. Oz) that consuming sugar without fiber or protein attached to it will make you more hungry later on, so that’s another reason, aside from just cutting down on massive amounts of sugar in general, for why cutting down on soda could help you lose weight. I’ve never been a fan of diet soda; I think I’m allergic to the fake sugar or probably more accurately, sensitive to the aspartame, so I can’t speak from experience regarding those. However, I have heard (I don’t remember where) that the fake sugar has a similar effect on people as real sugar in that it makes you hungrier later. I don’t know if that’s accurate, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Eat fiber. As Dr Oz says, colonics aren’t necessary to clean out your insides, when you can do the same thing with fiber -- I mean eating fiber, with your mouth. But be careful to introduce fiber gradually to your diet, because (as I think one of my doctors told me) sudden large amounts of fiber can actually swell in your tummy and make you constipated, and that wouldn’t be good at all.

Drink water. Sometimes, I think I’m hungry, but it turns out that I’m actually thirsty. Drinking water, or sometimes a little bit of fruit juice or tea or coffee makes the alleged hunger go away. I’ve also heard this somewhere, but I have no idea where. Furthermore, I’ve also heard somewhere (maybe on the John Tesh Radio Show?) that drinking water before you eat a meal can reduce the amount of food you end up eating during that meal. I think that intuitively makes sense, however, I haven’t intentionally or consciously tried it.

I have some other tips about eating less, such as eating consciously, at this blog posting, the very blog posting that inspired this one.

Good luck in your reduced eating endeavors, and don't forget to look at the disclaimer on the right.