Losing weight is not easy, but you know what’s even harder? Keeping it off. A lot of the time all that hard work you put in, the dieting, the grueling workouts, the hours you put in at the gym, is gone within months or even weeks. All because we stop dieting and go back to our usual bad habits. You see, all those snacks that you know are bad for you (like chocolates or chips) are very calorically dense, but at the same time, they’re not filling. You can eat a lot of them and still feel hungry. The key to staying fit is to eat foods that are filling and healthy at the same time. Here’s a list of the most filling foods that you could add to your diet.
1. Watermelon
Fruits have a bad rep because people keep focusing on the natural sugars that fruit contains. But fruit is very healthy for you, and watermelon is a great example of a high-volume food that’s low in calories. Yes, watermelon contains sugar, but it’s also 90%water, so you can eat quite a lot of it without any harm to your figure. In fact, eating watermelon can help relieve muscle soreness after a workout.
2. Chili Peppers
Studies show that spicy foods actually can suppress your appetite. So if you can handle it, we suggest you add some chili peppers to some of your meals and enjoy both the spice and the benefit of knowing that you won’t overeat.
3. Potatoes
A lot of us have been told that eating potatoes is bad for you, it’ll make you fat, etc. But the truth is, potatoes are great, they’re lower in calories than such healthy grains like buckwheat or rice. You see, potatoes only have about 75 kcal per 100 grams, while most grains have about 350 kcal per 100 grams. What can make potatoes bad for you is deep-frying them, adding a ton of butter to them, or smothering them in cheese. So yeah, perhaps adding a lot of milk and butter to your mash isn’t a great idea, and fast-food fries are the devil, but if you bake or boil your potatoes at home — they’re a very filling and healthy meal.
4. Oats
There’s a reason oats are always talked about as a healthy breakfast option. You see oats are filling, they expand a lot when you add water to them and they have a decent amount of protein and fiber in them. All that together means that you’ll stay full for a long time. The key to making oats taste good is buying plain ones and adding some fresh or frozen fruit and berries to them. But avoid flavored pre-packaged oats, because they might say “blueberry flavored” but we all know it just means “3 blueberries and a ton of sugar.”
5. Vegetables
Veggies are your best friends when trying to stay fit, they’re super healthy, they’re packed full of vitamins and nutrients and there’s a huge variety of them to pick from, so you’ll never get bored. Celery, cucumber, spinach, salad, and cabbage are great for filling out salads. Broccoli and cauliflower are very satiating and are good baked, grilled, and steamed. Sweet potatoes, potatoes, zucchinis, pumpkins are a great base for a roast and stir-fries. We could go on forever.
6. Popcorn
Let’s talk about snacks. Not all snacks are bad. For example, pop-corn is harmless, as long as it’s air-popped and not smothered in butter. You can easily make it at home and add some salt and spices to it if you don’t like it plain.
7. Berries
Berries are the best when it comes to snacking. They’re fresh, they’re juicy, they’re sweet and delicious and they’re very low in calories, so you can have a few handfuls of them without really worrying about it. Berries are also rich in antioxidants, which is always good, and they’re actually rich in fiber, so you’ll feel full after eating them.
8. Soup
Soups are great for satisfying hunger. They’re full of veggies, which means you can easily squeeze in your 5 a day in a bowl of soup, but they’re also low in calories and mostly liquid, so it’ll fill your stomach and make you feel full and satisfied. If you get super hungry, we suggest you have soup before your main meal, and you’ll see that you won’t eat as much afterward.
9. Eggs
We hope that at this point in your life you already know that eggs aren’t going to make your cholesterol levels spike. Eggs are great for you because they contain a good amount of protein and some healthy fats, not to mention calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, and a whole bunch of other vitamins and minerals. They’re a perfect little meal in a shell. And they’re very filling too! Try eating more than 3 at a time, we dare you.