Losing Weight What is healthy weight loss and why should you bother? Getting Started Check out some steps you can take to begin! Keeping the Weight Off Losing weight is the first step.

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Connect with Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. Last Reviewed: June 3, Source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity , National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. home Healthy Weight, Nutrition, and Physical Activity. To receive email updates about this topic, enter your email address. Email Address. These include type 2 diabetes , heart and blood vessel conditions, and obesity , which can lead to metabolic syndrome.

Between and , approximately People overeat for many different reasons. Some people eat too much when they feel stressed, while others overeat due to a lack of planning or because they use food as a pick-me-up. While overeating has many different causes, there are as many ways to avoid or prevent it.

Science-backed tips to prevent overeating include:. People often do other things while they eat. However, by not paying enough attention to what they are eating, many people overeat.

A review of 24 studies concluded that distracted eating could cause a moderate increase in immediate food intake and a more significant increase in the amount that people eat later in the day. Limiting distractions as much as possible during mealtimes will allow the body to focus on the task at hand, which is eating.

To do this, people should turn off computers, tablets, phones, and televisions when eating. Researchers are not entirely sure why, but it appears that people who eat slowly have a lower body mass index BMI and eat smaller meals.

Eating slowly might give the brain more time to realize that the stomach is full and send the cue to stop eating. Taking more time to eat may promote a greater sense of fullness and make people feel as though they ate more than they did.

In a study , adults who slowly ate milliliters of tomato soup reported feeling fuller after the meal than people who ate the same portion quickly. After a 3-hour interval, those who ate slowly also remembered the portion as being more substantial than those in the second group did.

To practice eating slowly, try putting the utensils down or taking a few deep breaths between bites. Some people also find it helpful to set a timer so that they are more aware of how quickly they are eating.

It is useful to know what meal sizes are healthful and how to portion out food. According to the CDC , people who have large portions on their plate often unintentionally eat more calories than they need.

It is hard to stick to a meal plan when the cupboards, fridge, or freezer contain unhealthful foods. According to the CDC , opening up a cabinet and seeing a favorite snack food is a common trigger of overeating. Parting with favorite snacks or treats is a vital step toward adopting a more healthful diet.

Try clearing the cupboards of tempting snack goods, and donate unopened items to charity where possible. According to the Food and Drug Administration FDA , eating both soluble and insoluble fiber can help people feel full for longer, which generally helps prevent overeating.

A small study found that participants who ate oatmeal for breakfast felt fuller for longer and ate less at lunchtime than those who had eaten cornflakes or just had water.

Fiber is a type of plant carbohydrate that occurs in many foods, including:. Most people who are eating 2, calories daily should aim to get 25 grams g of fiber each day. Most people in the U. do not eat this much fiber. Learn more about dietary fiber here.

Protein-rich foods tend to create a longer lasting sense of fullness and satisfaction than other foods. Eating protein-rich foods, especially at breakfast, also appears to reduce the levels of the hunger-regulating hormone ghrelin.

A study examined sedentary men and women who had obesity but not diabetes. The authors found that eating a high protein, high carbohydrate breakfast reduced ghrelin levels more than a low carbohydrate breakfast.

The high protein, high carbohydrate breakfast also seemed to improve fullness and reduce hunger and cravings more than the low carbohydrate breakfast.

In , a small-scale study that involved 20 young women found that eating high protein snacks that were less energy dense, such as high protein yogurt, improved satiety and appetite control compared with snacks high in fat. The high protein foods also helped reduce food intake later in the day.

Learn more about healthful high protein snacks here. However, according to the CDC , skipping meals can cause overeating at other times, leading to weight gain. Research also suggests that eating breakfast can help control appetite and reduce overeating later in the day.

Many experts recommend eating smaller, more frequent meals. However, the American Society for Nutrition note that most research now supports the idea of eating three structured, nutritious meals at regular times each day. According to a review , stress appears to contribute to overeating and the development of obesity.

After a stressful event, raised hormone levels promote hunger to encourage the body to replace lost energy.

As a result, chronic stress could lead to persistent hunger, overeating, and excessive weight gain. Learn more about chronic stress and how to manage it here. Food diaries, journals, and diet tracking apps can often help minimize overeating and allow people to identify poor eating habits or patterns.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute , food tracking helps make people more aware of what they eat. This awareness may help people stick to their dietary plans and either lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.

People can start using food tracking tools by recording what they eat and when they eat it. Once this has become routine, they can also track other factors, such as how much they eat and the calorie content of meals and snacks. Plenty of free resources exist to help people keep a record of what and when they eat.

The National Institutes of Health NIH offer a daily food and activity diary that people can use. People who practice mindfulness aim to focus on their moment-to-moment experiences, emotions, and thoughts in a nonjudgmental way. More conclusive evidence is necessary, but it seems that mindful eating may help prevent overeating.

A review of 21 studies found that 18 reported that mindful eating habits led to an improvement in targeted eating behaviors, such as binge eating and emotional eating.

To practice mindful eating, focus on the sensations that food produces on the tongue, how it smells, its texture, and whatever other qualities it may possess. While doing so, observe the thoughts and emotions that eating causes.

People have used alcohol to increase the appetite for centuries, and many studies show that alcohol intake often correlates with obesity.

Researchers do not know exactly why alcohol provokes hunger and eating. However, a study using preserved brain matter found that exposure to ethanol, the active ingredient in alcohol, can cause hyperactivity in the brain cells that starvation typically activates. To avoid accidentally overeating, try cutting back on or limiting alcohol intake.

Alcohol is also full of empty calories, meaning that it may cause weight gain without providing any nutrition. Making last-minute meal and snack choices is a common trigger for overeating.

When people make impulsive food decisions, it can be easy to pick nutritionally poor, calorie-dense foods. To avoid overeating, prepare or plan meals for the week or days ahead. At the same time, prepare healthful snacks, such as chopped vegetables in containers.

Staying hydrated is an important way to prevent overeating. A study found that there was a significant relationship between being dehydrated and having an elevated BMI or obesity. Researchers are still trying to work out the link between dehydration and overeating. One possibility is that people might sometimes eat when they are actually thirsty.

Choosing water over other drinks is also likely to help prevent overeating because water is free of calories. People may be unaware of the calories, carbohydrates, and fat in other drink choices, such as sodas, juices, smoothies, and coffees.

Keeping the Weight Off Losing weight is the first step. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to search. Español Other Languages.

Improving Your Eating Habits. Minus Related Pages. Want to learn more? Top of Page. Connect with Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. Last Reviewed: June 3, Source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity , National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. home Healthy Weight, Nutrition, and Physical Activity. To receive email updates about this topic, enter your email address. Email Address. What's this? Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity.

Discover our best high-protein snack recipes to try chicken satay strips and protein balls. Learn more about how to eat mindfully. Fibre fills us up, so a fibre-rich diet helps slow digestion, which increases satiety and improves appetite control.

Fibre is also important when it comes to our gut microbiome , so choose wholemeal breads and brown rice and pasta instead of white. Try adding beans and pulses to salads, stews and soups, and add more fruit and vegetables into your day, especially those that can be eaten with their skin intact, like apples, pears, berries and potatoes.

Increase your fibre intake with our high-fibre recipes , including spicy red lentil chilli , vegetarian enchiladas and high-fibre muesli. Did you know enjoying a healthy fruit snack, such as an apple, before you go shopping may help improve your buying choices in the supermarket?

Aim to increase the amount and variety of fruit and vegetables you eat, and look to combine it with some protein. Discover the top 20 healthiest fruits and healthiest vegetables to add to your diet. Many people fear that drinking water before or while eating will dilute gastric juices, and as a result impact the efficiency of their digestion.

However, this assumes that your body is unable to adapt to the consistency of your meal which, research suggests , is not the case. Find out more, including how much water you should be drinking each day and the benefits of staying hydrated.

The food we eat also helps us stayed hydrated; examples include watermelon, cucumber and citrus fruits. Lay your knife and fork down between each mouthful. Find out how to stop binge eating. Try swapping mashed potatoes and creamed carrots for whole new potatoes in their skins and chunky carrot batons.

If you need more ideas, try carrot fries and hasselback potatoes. Starting your day with a healthy breakfast helps your body keep its blood sugar stable during the morning, which leads to better food choices later in the day.

In fact, recent research has indicated that having a bigger breakfast may help reduce hunger cravings for the rest of the day. Replace your bowl of cereal with healthy porridge , peanut butter overnight oats or blueberry baked oats.

Healthy breakfast recipes Healthy, filling lunch recipes Quick, healthy recipes Low-carb recipes What is intuitive eating? How do you manage your appetite?

Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. She is a member of the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine BANT and a member of the Guild of Food Writers. Over the last two decades she has been a contributing author to a number of nutritional and cookery publications including BBC Good Food.

All health content on bbcgoodfood. com is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other healthcare professional. If you have any concerns about your general health, you should contact your local healthcare provider.

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In addition to making you feel full, other Greek yogurt benefits include a healthy gut, strong bones, and a boosted immune system. Greek yogurt is better than skim or whole milk at suppressing appetite, according to an article in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.

When it comes to hot sauce as an appetite suppressant, the hotter you can go the better. So get some Tabasco or any hot chili sauce and sprinkle some heat on your burrito, scrambled eggs, or even soup!

According to research reviewed in the journal Appetite , consumption of hot sauce containing hot chili peppers will help you stay fuller for longer. Not only that, the spiciness keeps you from eating too much.

With a nutritional mix of soluble fiber and essential fatty acids, flax seeds are the perfect addition to your yogurt, smoothie, or salad. Just make sure you grind them first because the human body can't digest whole flax seeds. As a natural appetite suppressant, they'll help you stay full and fueled.

Although the research on flax seeds and satiety is limited, a review in the journal Phytotherapy Research found that the available studies suggest a potential role of flax seeds in decreasing appetite and hunger.

If you want to keep the hunger monster away, eat a small salad before you sit down for a meal. Since it takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to signal to your brain that you're full, starting with a small salad before your meal is a perfect way to get a head-start on that hunger signal.

In a study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics , participants who ate a salad before a meal were less hungry and ate less of the meal than participants who did not have a salad as a first course.

A salad can also be a great way to up your veggie intake. Protein is known as an appetite suppressant, but it seems that whey protein is especially good. A review article on the effects of whey protein on appetite found that consuming this protein supplement in shakes or smoothies is effective a suppressing hunger.

A study in the journal Nutrients on the impact of a high-protein meal replacement on appetite found that consuming a high-protein meal replacement instead of a standard North American breakfast prior to exercise resulted in a greater suppression of hunger both during and after exercising.

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Categories Health Nutrition and Food Health Feeling Hungry How to Suppress Appetite. Download Article Explore this Article methods.

List of Foods and Meal Plan to Help Suppress Appetite. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Co-authored by Courtney Fose, RD, MS Last Updated: January 23, Fact Checked.

Method 1. All rights reserved. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U. and international copyright laws. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. Start your day with oatmeal.

Eating either rolled oats, steel-cut oats or quick oats is a great way to suppress your appetite until lunchtime.

Oatmeal is low on the glycemic index. This means that it doesn't cause a hunger-inducing blood sugar spike. Oatmeal is also high in fiber, which slows the rate at which carbohydrates are digested and absorbed by your body. The benefits of oatmeal are counteracted if you top it with brown sugar or maple syrup, which can cause a blood sugar spike followed by a drop in blood sugar.

This can make you hungry long before lunchtime. Eat lean protein in the morning. Another great breakfast choice is some sort of lean protein - eggs, lean meat or yogurt. Eating lean protein in the morning will help you stay satisfied throughout the day.

Studies show that eating lean protein at other times of day doesn't have quite the same effect, so be sure to eat it for breakfast. When it comes to protein, don't go totally fat-free. Eating healthy fats like olive oil and avocados will keep you full longer than eating fat-free meals.

Add grapefruit to your diet. While going on an all-grapefruit diet is a diet fad you want to avoid, having half a grapefruit with every meal has been shown to help people lose weight. One study indicates that grapefruit might have properties that lower your insulin after meals, keeping hunger at bay.

However, it is very important, if you take medication, to check if it interacts with grapefruit, as it is known to interact adversely with 85 different drugs, 45 of which are very serious.

Do not consume grapefruit if you take drugs for erectile dysfunction, estrogens, statins for high cholesterol, calcium channel blockers, many blood thinners, benzodiazepines, thyroid hormone replacement, certain chemotherapies and immunomodulators, anti-fungal antibiotics and certain other antibiotics, beta-blockers, opiates, and anything else that might be metabolized by the liver and P cytochrome family.

Eat fibrous vegetables and fruits. Most vegetables and fruits are high in fiber and water, both of which keep your stomach feeling full. Each of your meals should be mostly composed of vegetables and fruits along with portions of both protein and fat.

Leafy greens are satisfying and packed with nutrients. Choose spinach, collards, mustard greens, kale, or chard over lighter greens like iceberg lettuce. Potatoes have a chemical component that counteracts ghrelin.

Eat baked, boiled or lightly sauteed potatoes, but avoid french fries and potato chips. Eat nuts. Research shows that people who eat a serving size of nuts, especially almonds, on a daily basis feel less hungry than those who don't.

Add raw flaxseeds to your diet. You can sprinkle them on foods like yogurt, smoothies , salads and vegetables. Flaxseeds are high in fiber, which keeps your blood sugar from rising too quickly, thereby suppressing your hunger. Find the good fats, like oleic acid, that slay your hunger.

Oleic acid, which is found in peanut butter, avocados, nuts and olive oil, sends signals to your brain to curb your appetite. Enjoy dark chocolate. When you feel a craving for sweets and fruit just won't satisfy, eat a few pieces of dark chocolate.

Unlike milk chocolate and other candies, the intensity of dark chocolate's flavor naturally tells our bodies when enough is enough. Make sure you check the label when you buy dark chocolate.

Eat spicy foods. It's easy to eat more than a serving size of bland, uninteresting food. You keep eating in an effort to satisfy your hunger, even when your belly is already full.

Spicy foods, on the other hand, engage the senses such that you're paying more attention to how much you eat, and when you become full. Cayenne is an excellent spice to add to your cooking.

Sprinkle it on omelets, add it to soup, or add a bit to your avocado for a delicious kick. Unlike ketchup, most hot sauces don't have too many calories per serving, so there's no need to stop yourself from using as much as you want.

Just check the label first to make sure there's no added sugar. Wasabi is another great hot condiment that causes you to feel sated more quickly.

Method 2. Drink water. You've heard it a million times, but it's true - when you're on a diet, drinking tons of water can be a lifesaver. Drinking water before, during and after meals keeps your stomach full.

When you feel hunger pangs, drink a glass of water before grabbing food; it'll help prevent you from eating too much. Here are a few creative ways to drink plenty of water throughout the day: Make ginger tea. Adding a few slices of fresh ginger to boiling water and letting the steep for a few minutes before drinking makes for a delicious beverage.

Ginger aids digestion and stimulates the metabolism. Make cucumber or lemon water. Adding a flavor to your water will make it more interesting to drink and stimulate your sense of taste, which helps you stay full longer.

Squeeze a lemon or float some cucumber slices in your water glass. Consider caffeine. Caffeine has mixed reviews when it comes to suppressing appetite.

Drinking a cup of black coffee or tea works well to suppress hunger for some, but others experience big hunger pangs once the caffeine rush is gone, negating the positive effect.

Try drinking a cup of coffee or black tea without milk or sugar and pay close attention to what happens over the next few hours.

According to the CDC , opening up a cabinet and seeing a favorite snack food is a common trigger of overeating. Parting with favorite snacks or treats is a vital step toward adopting a more healthful diet. Try clearing the cupboards of tempting snack goods, and donate unopened items to charity where possible.

According to the Food and Drug Administration FDA , eating both soluble and insoluble fiber can help people feel full for longer, which generally helps prevent overeating.

A small study found that participants who ate oatmeal for breakfast felt fuller for longer and ate less at lunchtime than those who had eaten cornflakes or just had water. Fiber is a type of plant carbohydrate that occurs in many foods, including:. Most people who are eating 2, calories daily should aim to get 25 grams g of fiber each day.

Most people in the U. do not eat this much fiber. Learn more about dietary fiber here. Protein-rich foods tend to create a longer lasting sense of fullness and satisfaction than other foods.

Eating protein-rich foods, especially at breakfast, also appears to reduce the levels of the hunger-regulating hormone ghrelin. A study examined sedentary men and women who had obesity but not diabetes.

The authors found that eating a high protein, high carbohydrate breakfast reduced ghrelin levels more than a low carbohydrate breakfast. The high protein, high carbohydrate breakfast also seemed to improve fullness and reduce hunger and cravings more than the low carbohydrate breakfast.

In , a small-scale study that involved 20 young women found that eating high protein snacks that were less energy dense, such as high protein yogurt, improved satiety and appetite control compared with snacks high in fat.

The high protein foods also helped reduce food intake later in the day. Learn more about healthful high protein snacks here. However, according to the CDC , skipping meals can cause overeating at other times, leading to weight gain.

Research also suggests that eating breakfast can help control appetite and reduce overeating later in the day. Many experts recommend eating smaller, more frequent meals. However, the American Society for Nutrition note that most research now supports the idea of eating three structured, nutritious meals at regular times each day.

According to a review , stress appears to contribute to overeating and the development of obesity. After a stressful event, raised hormone levels promote hunger to encourage the body to replace lost energy. As a result, chronic stress could lead to persistent hunger, overeating, and excessive weight gain.

Learn more about chronic stress and how to manage it here. Food diaries, journals, and diet tracking apps can often help minimize overeating and allow people to identify poor eating habits or patterns. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute , food tracking helps make people more aware of what they eat.

This awareness may help people stick to their dietary plans and either lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. People can start using food tracking tools by recording what they eat and when they eat it.

Once this has become routine, they can also track other factors, such as how much they eat and the calorie content of meals and snacks.

Plenty of free resources exist to help people keep a record of what and when they eat. The National Institutes of Health NIH offer a daily food and activity diary that people can use. People who practice mindfulness aim to focus on their moment-to-moment experiences, emotions, and thoughts in a nonjudgmental way.

More conclusive evidence is necessary, but it seems that mindful eating may help prevent overeating. A review of 21 studies found that 18 reported that mindful eating habits led to an improvement in targeted eating behaviors, such as binge eating and emotional eating.

To practice mindful eating, focus on the sensations that food produces on the tongue, how it smells, its texture, and whatever other qualities it may possess.

While doing so, observe the thoughts and emotions that eating causes. People have used alcohol to increase the appetite for centuries, and many studies show that alcohol intake often correlates with obesity.

Researchers do not know exactly why alcohol provokes hunger and eating. However, a study using preserved brain matter found that exposure to ethanol, the active ingredient in alcohol, can cause hyperactivity in the brain cells that starvation typically activates.

To avoid accidentally overeating, try cutting back on or limiting alcohol intake. Alcohol is also full of empty calories, meaning that it may cause weight gain without providing any nutrition. Making last-minute meal and snack choices is a common trigger for overeating.

When people make impulsive food decisions, it can be easy to pick nutritionally poor, calorie-dense foods. To avoid overeating, prepare or plan meals for the week or days ahead.

At the same time, prepare healthful snacks, such as chopped vegetables in containers. Staying hydrated is an important way to prevent overeating.

A study found that there was a significant relationship between being dehydrated and having an elevated BMI or obesity.