Diet Tips to Feel Full

When you're dieting, feeling hungry creates a challenge that can sabotage your best weight-loss efforts. Feeling full can help you meet your goal while giving you the freedom to think of something other than food and deprivation. Learn how to feel full and still lose weight with proven tips and strategies.

Start with Soup

Feel full with soup. Studies show that a bowl of soup before a meal fills you up so you'll eat significantly less, according to an article by Julie E. Flood and Barbara J. Rolls in the November 2007 issue of the journal Appetite. Choose low-calorie, broth-based soups, such as chunky vegetable, for the best appetite control. Avoid cream-based soups, which are typically high in calories and fat.

Go Slow

Slow down during a meal, and you may eat less. Feeling full is based on more than just a full stomach. Fullness also results from the release of the hormones cholecystokinin and leptin, which send the signal that you've had enough. It takes time for these hormones to act, so make a conscious effort to eat slowly. To slow yourself down, the Mayo Clinic recommends setting a timer for 20 minutes, chewing slowly and noticing the texture, aroma and flavor of the food you're eating.

Have Eggs for Breakfast

An egg breakfast can help you feel full. Researchers found that when dieters started the day with eggs, they felt full longer than those who ate a bagel, and they ate less for lunch. This effect is attributed to the protein in the egg. According to Harvard Health Publications, eggs can be consumed safely by healthy people, but if you're concerned about cholesterol, substitute eggs with egg whites or egg substitute -- or choose a different high-protein food such as low-fat cheese or lean meat. Have whole-wheat toast or another whole-grain food along with it.

Use a Small Plate

Use smaller plates to feel full with less food. You'll put less food on a small plate, but chances are you won't miss it. Dieters who dined from a lunch-size plate at dinner ate 100 to 200 calories less and felt just as full, according to a 2007 study by Brian Wansink, Ph.D., from Cornell. That adds up to a potential weight loss of 10 lbs. to 20 lbs. in a year.

Go for Volume but With Low Calories

Eat foods low in calories but high in volume to feel full. Instead of a 275-calorie candy bar, have a pita stuffed with low-fat chicken salad with grapes for equal calories. Instead of a 600-calorie bacon cheeseburger, feel fuller with a sandwich of turkey, low-fat cheese, lettuce and tomato on whole-wheat bread, a bowl of vegetable soup, a piece of fresh fruit and celery sticks for the same amount of calories, the Mayo Clinic says.