Preoccupation with thoughts of food along with a lack of feeling full while trying to lose weight can interfere with your adherence to a weight loss plan. To prevent these side effects of dieting, approaches to weight management have been proposed that focus on altering your eating frequency throughout the day (e.g., eating more frequent, smaller meals) and/or shifting the balance of your macronutrient intake (e.g., high-protein, low-carb diet). But, do these suggestions really work?
A study published online in the September 16, 2010 issue of Obesity reports that consuming a high protein diet (i.e., 25% protein, 49% carbohydrate, and 26% fat) leads to a greater feeling of fullness throughout the day, a decreased preoccupation with thoughts of food, and a reduced urge to snack late at night. Interestingly, they found that increasing the number of meals from 3 to 6 had no effect unless a high-protein diet was followed compared to a normal protein diet (i.e., 14% protein, 60% carbohydrate, 26% fat); in this situation, the perception of nighttime fullness was actually decreased.
Twenty-seven overweight and obese men participated in this study. All participants consumed an energy-restricted diet that was equal to 750 calories per day below their daily energy need for 12 weeks. They were randomly assigned to either the high-protein diet or the normal protein diet protocol. Within this 12 week intervention a substudy was also conducted that evaluated the impact of meal frequency on perceptions related to hunger, thoughts of food, satiety, and eating desire. Starting at week 7, each subject was randomly assigned to either eat 3 or 6 meals a day of which energy intake was equally divided among the eating sessions. During the study, the participants filled out appetite questionnaires.
The researchers concluded that consuming a high-protein diet versus a normal protein diet can improve appetite control and satiety. However, they note that when following a higher protein diet, it is best to consume 3 meals per day rather than 6 in order to maintain these beneficial effects.
How do you curb hunger while trying to lose weight? Share with us, we want to know!
Source
Obesity; September 16, 2010; pp. 1-7; “The Effects of Consuming Frequent, Higher Protein Meals on Appetite and Satiety During Weight Loss in Overweight/Obese Men”; Leidy, H.J., et al.,.
Great post. I went to hear a speaker this weekend talk about the importance of snacks. It all makes perfect sense – it’s just putting it into practice that takes a bit of work for me.
I have found the protein thing to be very helpful for controlling hunger. Now I just have to learn to LISTEN to my body’s “full signal” and STOP eating! I also think it’s important to gravitate towards proteins whose production does the least harm to the earth (e.g., local, sustainably-raised meats; maybe some non-animal proteins, too.) Can’t have healthy people without a healthy planet and happy animals. I discovered an organic canned chicken that works well to stave off my 5:00 hunger attack. Here’s my blog in case you want to read how I’m tilting my diet to include a little more protein: http://bit.ly/a2WRHF
It’s all about drinking water! My trick is to carry a glass of water with me all day long and sip through my tendencies to snack. The other, albeit less attractive trick, is to chew gum. It keeps my mouth busy without constantly packing in the calories!