Have you been sucked in by late night infomercials hawking the latest miracle supplement which will help you to lose weight without changing your diet or adding to your exercise routine? Don’t be embarrassed, I’ve tried many of them. Of course, I can pretend that I’m doing it as research for this blog, but the truth is that I had high hopes when I opened each little bottle of miracle pills. I had the highest hopes for the ones that were made of natural ingredients. But let me tell you – EVERY SINGLE ONE WAS A DISAPPOINTMENT AND A WASTE OF MONEY. At least with the whole food supplements I could console myself that I was putting good things into my body, but as to weight loss – NADA.
In the end, the same thing that I’ve been telling you since day one on this blog and earlier with the website, eating whole, minimally processed foods is the path to weight loss. But did you know you can use food to suppress hunger naturally.
Eating a whole apple slows down the the digestive process due to the pectin which is an indigestible fiber. Almonds are another food that works to keep hunger under control. They are a good source of fiber and protein, but they can be high in calories so eat a small amount (6 to 10) as a snack. Oatmeal for breakfast is a good fiber source and also very filling. These natural appetite suppressants are also a part of a healthy eating plan.
If a sweet tooth is your diet downfall you can suppress that sweets craving using natural sweeteners such as Stevia. Stevia is an herb that sweetens foods but has zero calories and zero carbs!
One last tip – drinking plenty of water (plain water, herb tea and citrus flavored water) throughout the day is one of my biggest ways to help decrease hunger. Water cleanses the body of toxins and contains minerals your body needs.
What it all boils down to is that eating whole foods in place of highly processed foods works to decrease your hunger simply by giving your body the nutrition it craves. When you try to satisfy a craving by eating something such as a bagel made with white flour or a sticky cinnamon roll your body still cries for you to feed it because it didn’t get the nutrition it needed.
So add more whole, unprocessed foods and unprocessed water drinks to your day and you’ll find that your hunger will be safely suppressed without needing to waste your money on questionable supplements.
