The 10 Food For Healthy You Can Eat a Lot Without Getting Fat

One dog that is regularly given to dieters is to eat before you
reach satiety – that is, until you feel full.

The problem is that different foods may have different effects on hunger and satiety.

For example, 200 calories of chicken breast can make you feel full, but 500 calories of cake can have the same effect.

Thus, losing weight is not until you feel full.  It is about choosing the right foods that make you feel full of the least calories.

What Makes a Food Filling?

Several factors determine a food’s satiety value, or how it is filled is relative to its calorie content.The calorie / saturation ratio is measured on a scale called the Scaling Index (1Trusted Source).

The satiety index measures the ability of a food to make you feel full, reduce your hunger, and reduce your calorie intake during the day.

Some foods simply work better at satisfying hunger and preventing more food than others.

Filling foods have the following properties:

High amounts: Studies indicate that the amount of food eaten strongly affects satiety. When foods contain too much water or air, the volume is increased without adding calories (2Trusted Source, 3Trusted Source).

High Protein: Studies show that protein is more than carbohydrate and fat.  Diets high in protein increase satiety and consume fewer calories than low-protein diets (4Trusted Source, 5Trusted Source).

High Fiber: Fiber provides bulk and help you feel full. This slows down the speed of food through your digestive system, making you feel full for a longer period of time (6Trusted Source).

Low energy density: This means that a meal is low in calories for its weight.  Foods with low energy density can help you feel full for fewer calories (7Trusted Source).

So if you eat foods with the above characteristics, you can usually eat them to perfection without getting too many calories.

Here are 12 filling foods that you can eat without fat.

1. Boiled Potatoes

Due to their high carb content, many people avoid potatoes when trying to lose weight, but they should not do so.

Whole potatoes are full of vitamins, fiber and other important nutrients.  They also contain a certain type of starch, called resistant starch (8, 9Trusted Source).

Resistant starch contains halfs the calorie of regular food starch (2 instead of 4 calories per gram).  It acts as soluble fiber in your digestive system, which makes you feel full.

Because adding resistant starch to food helps to satisfy hunger, it causes people to eat fewer calories (10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source).

Interestingly, cooling the potatoes after ripening increases their resistant starch content.  In fact, studies show that freezing and heating potatoes several times increases their appetite suppressing effect (12Trusted Source).

In a study that measured the ability of 38 foods to satisfy hunger, boiled potatoes were rated the highest (1Trusted Source).

While boiled potatoes were the most satisfying meal tested, fried potato chips were found to be three times less full.

2. Whole Eggs

Eggs are another food that has been incorrectly portrayed in the past.  The truth is, eggs are incredibly healthy and high in many important nutrients.

Most nutrients are found in eggs, including about half of eggs.

Eggs are a complete protein, meaning that they contain all nine essential amino acids.

Also, they are filling a lot.

Several studies found that people who ate eggs for breakfast were more satisfied and consumed fewer calories throughout the day than those who had a bagel for breakfast (13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source, 15Trusted Source)  .

Specifically, one study found that people who eat eggs for breakfast reduced their body mass index (BMI) and lost more weight than those who ate bagels (16Trusted Source)

3. Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a type of oatmeal, or hot cereal, often eaten for breakfast.

It ranks third on the Incredible Filling and Satisfaction Index.

This is mainly due to its high fiber content and water-absorbing ability.

Oats are a good source of soluble fiber called beta-glucan, which helps slow digestion and absorption of carbs (17Trusted Source).

Compared to prepared breakfast cereals, oatmeal was good for suppressing appetite, increasing satiety and reducing calories during the day (18 reliable, 19 reliable).

4. Broth-Based Soups

Liquids are often considered to be less filling than solids.

However, research suggests that soup may be higher than solid food with the same content (20Trusted Source, 21Trusted Source).

When soup was eaten at the beginning of a meal in a study, 20% fewer calories were consumed in that meal (22Trusted Source).

Several studies have found that eating soup regularly can reduce calorie intake, increase weight over time, and promote weight loss (23Trusted Source, 24Trusted Source, 25Trusted Source).

Broth-based soups tend to stick, as they are lower in calories than cream-based varieties.

5. Legumes

Legumes, such as beans, peas and lentils, are known to be good sources of fiber and protein.

This, together with their relatively low energy density, makes them a filling food that can also promote weight loss (26Trusted Source).

A review of several studies indicates that beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils are 31% higher than pasta and bread (27Trusted Source).

6. Apples

Fruit are an important part of a health diet.

Several studies indicate that eating fruit is associated with fewer calories and may contribute to weight loss over time (28Trusted Source, 29Trusted Source, 30Trusted Source, 31Trusted Source).

In particular, apple scores very high on the 1Trusted Source.

Because apples contain pectin, a soluble fiber that naturally slows down digestion, they help you feel full (32Trusted Source).

They are also over Health 85% water, which provides volume Of and improves satiety without adding calories.

It is important to note that whole, solid fruits increase satiety more than pureed fruit or juice, both are not particularly filling (33Trusted Source).

One study looked at the effects of eating solid apple segments, eating apples, or drinking apple juice at the beginning of a meal.

It found that those who ate the solid apple segment ate 91 fewer calories than those who ate apple sauce and 150 fewer calories than those who consumed apple juice (34Trusted Source).

Eating apple segments yielded higher fullness ratings and lower appetite ratings than other forms of fruit.

7. Citrus Fruits

Similarly in apples, citrus fruits are high in pectin, which can slow digestion and increase satiety.

The amount of water in them is also high.  Oranges and grapes both contain more than 87% water, which means they are able to fill you with very few calories.

It has often been suggested that eating grapes may promote weight loss.

In one study, grape-eating obese participants lost significantly more weight than the placebo (35Trusted Source).

In another study, eating half a grapefruit daily at meals for six weeks was associated with a significant reduction in weight and a significant reduction in waist circumference (36Trusted Source).

When combined with low calorie intake, eating grapefruit or grapefruit juice before meals results in a 7.1% weight loss, a significant reduction in body fat and weight loss (3 reliable sources).

However, these results may not be specific to grapes, as drinking water before meals had similar effects.

8. Fish

Omega-3 fatty acid-rich fish increase satiety in those who are overweight or obese (38Trust Source).

They are also loaded with high-quality protein, which is known to be very filling.

In fact, fish satiety is higher on the index than all other protein-rich foods and ranked second among all foods tested (1 source).

One study found that the effect of fish on satiety was significantly greater than that of chicken and beef (39Trusted Source).

Another study found that fish eaters consumed 11% fewer calories in their next meal than those who ate beef (40Trusted Source).

9. Vegetables

Vegetables are lows a calories and high in volume.

They are also full of all kinds of beneficial nutrients and plant compounds that make them an important part of a healthy diet.

In addition, they are high in water and fiber, both of which help you fill up.

Research shows that lettuce, in particular, helps satisfy hunger, especially when consumed before meals.

In one study, participants who ate a salad at the beginning of a meal consumed fewer-12% fewer calories (43Trusted Source).

Another study showed that eating salad at the beginning of a meal increased vegetable consumption by 23%, while it was eaten along the main course (44Trusted Source).

10. Popcorn

Popcorn is a whole grain and contains more fiber than many other popular breakfast foods.

It contains a lot of volume, so it takes up a lot of space in your stomach, although it has relatively few calories.

Studies have shown that popcorn will fill you with other popular snacks such as potato chips (45 reliable sources).

Popcorn air is healthy. Commercially prepared popcorn or microwaves may contain too many calories and contain unhealthy ingredients.

To keep popcorn low in calories, you should not get much fat.