Apples of all varieties and types act as appetite suppressants for a number of reasons. First, apples are filled with soluble fiber and pectin, which help you feel full.

One large apple with skin contains over 5 grams of fiber. In addition, apples regulate your glucose and boost your energy level. Apples also require lots of chewing time, which helps slow you down and gives your body more time to realize that you're no longer hungry. Plus, they just taste good!

A study in the journal Nutrients suggests that foods, such as apples, with low calorie density can help promote fullness and support weigh loss in obese adults. Eggs are filled with highly-digestible protein. One large egg contains 12 grams of protein.

The journal Nutrients found that egg protein is especially helpful in reducing calorie intake due to a decrease in appetite. A study in Nutrition Research also showed that eating an egg or two for breakfast can help you feel more full over 24 hours than if you eat a bagel with the same amount of calories.

In the same study, those who ate eggs ingested fewer calories over the course of a day than the bagel-eaters. Feeling hungry, but just had breakfast?

If you're not drinking enough water, it could be thirst instead. Aim for even a glass more every day and you could notice a huge difference in not just your appetite but your skin and digestion, too.

In one study in the journal Obesity , people who drank two glasses of water before a meal ate between 75 and 90 fewer calories at the meal than those who didn't drink water, but it's not about eating less — it's about drinking more! Sweet potatoes are vitamin-rich vegetables that are loaded with water and filling fiber.

Each gram sweet potato contains nearly 4 grams of dietary fiber. Plus, they're full of vitamin A and vitamin C! Have a sweet craving you just can't shake? Sometimes the best thing to do is to shock it with something sour. Umeboshi plums are basically pickled plums and can be fantastic for squashing sugar cravings.

Find them at your local specialty store, Asian grocer, or on Amazon. Hot vegetable soups — broth-based with vegetables, chunky vegetable soup, chunky-pureed vegetable soup, and pureed vegetable soup — can fill you up and take the edge off of your hunger with minimal calories.

Try having a cup before your next meal or a big bowl for lunch! A study in the journal Appetite found that having a cup of soup before a meal can reduce your appetite so that you are less likely to consume as much during the subsequent meal. Yes, chocolate is a natural appetite suppressant.

Just try slowly savoring a piece or two of dark chocolate not milk chocolate with at least 70 percent cocoa the next time you crave it.

If dark chocolate is too bitter for you, try having a piece with a cup of black coffee — it'll bring out the sweetness! They found that a little dark chocolate helps to lower your cravings because the bitter taste signals the body to decrease your appetite.

Not to mention that the stearic acid in dark chocolate helps slow digestion to help you feel fuller longer. A rich plant-based protein source, tofu isn't just for vegetarians!

For an easy way to introduce tofu in your diet , try adding it to your next healthy stir-fry or in a grain bowl with tofu and veggies. Tofu is high in an isoflavone called genistein, which, according to a study in Advances in Nutrition , has been shown to suppress appetite and lower food intake. Ever notice how when you eat sushi it doesn't seem to take as much food to fill you up?

Well, part of that is because of the healthy fish in sushi, but the other part is due to that spicy green stuff: wasabi! According to a study in the journal Foods , the spiciness in wasabi makes it a natural appetite suppressant and anti-inflammatory.

If you're not a coffee drinker and get sick of water easily, try a natural appetite suppressant tea. Green tea can help you stave off hunger that results in mindlessly snacking. According to a research report in Appetite , the caffeine and catechins in green tea are the reason.

They suppress your appetite and make you feel full. Packing over 5 grams of protein and 4 grams of dietary fiber in a half-cup serving, oatmeal is a nutritionally rich food you can easily incorporate in your life.

The high fiber content helps slow digestion which prevents uncomfortable spikes in blood sugar. And while oats are also high in carbohydrates, the carbs in oatmeal provide energy and make you feel fuller for longer.

According to research in the American College of Nutrition , oatmeal kept participants from feeling hungry for longer than regular breakfast cereals.

They can be eaten alone, mixed in a stew, or tossed in a salad. A study in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism considered the effect on appetite of eating lentils and other beans before meals. Lentils were found to be a better appetite suppressant and resulted in less food intake than chickpeas in the study.

If you're looking for a highly nutritious food that will fill you up for hours, you can't beat green leafy vegetables — they're the ultimate natural appetite suppressant.

Fibrous greens eaten raw or gently sautéed with a little olive oil are a delicious way to keep hunger at bay. A study in Plant Foods for Human Nutrition found that foods that are high in thylakoids, like spinach, kale, broccoli, and mustard greens, are particularly beneficial in reducing hunger.

Each 3-ounce serving of fresh salmon contains nearly 17 grams of protein. Not a fan of salmon, tuna and herring have similarly high levels of protein and omega-3s. Here's a super-easy way to make anything you're eating a natural appetite suppressant: Next time you have cereal, oatmeal, fruit, or even coffee, sprinkle some cinnamon on it.

A research article on the medicinal properties of cinnamon found that cinnamon helps lower your blood sugar levels which helps to control your appetite. Another protein powerhouse, just one 7-ounce container of plain Greek yogurt contains a whopping 20 grams of protein. 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.

Learn to distinguish hunger from cravings. Next time your body is calling out for chocolate or chips, ask yourself if you're truly hungry. Physical hunger has a variety of indicators, including fatigue, lightheadedness, or an emptiness you feel in the pit of your stomach.

A craving is more likely to be a sense of discomfort or agitation in your mouth or your head. Hunger disappears with any food you eat, while a craving is satisfied only by the particular food you're longing for. If you've recently eaten—and especially if the urge is for a specific comfort food like ice cream—it's more likely to be a craving.

If so, try distracting yourself. Go for a walk, call a friend, or put on some music and dance around the house. Most cravings go away in 15 or 20 minutes. Hunger doesn't.

It only gets stronger. Pace yourself. It's standard advice to chew slowly, so that you'll feel full after eating less food than if you ate quickly.

Eating slowly doesn't always work, but when it does, the reason has as much to do with the brain as with the gut.

Scientists have known for some time that the fullness of your stomach is only part of what makes you feel satisfied after a meal; the brain must also receive a series of signals from digestive hormones secreted by the gastrointestinal tract.

The complex signals that control appetite are only partially understood, but by eating too quickly, you might not give this intricate hormonal cross-talk system enough time to work.

To learn how to create week-by-week action plans, and to get our weight control tips and recipes, buy the 6-Week Plan for Healthy Eating , a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School.

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