Less food = more hunger = eat more = Weight-loss failed

More food = less hunger = (anyways) = weight-loss failed

Less food = less hunger = eat less = weight-loss SUCCESS! How?

What you read above was the formula I’ve been scribbling and scrabbling while planning on “What to eat?” during my weight-loss mission. Well, I will talk about what worked for me. The trick is that I should eat less and still feel no hunger for a long time. In the previous post, https://appleman.health.blog/2023/04/21/5-tips-to-eating-less-in-our-journey-towards-better-health/  I’ve given tips to eating less, and in this post, I’m talking about specific food items:

1. Oats

Oats can be an excellent food that is light, has lot of fiber, and stays in your belly for a long time. I usually drink one cup (90 ml) of oats with skimmed milk for my breakfast. Or, I take 1/2 cup (75 g) of oats upma, or 1 oats Dosa for my breakfast.

2. Salad with sprouts

Take a handful of sprouts (green gram, or peas, or chena) drop it into a bowl, add sliced onions, cucumber, tomatoes, sprinkle salt, pepper and a dash of lemon juice – Voila, your salad for the day is done. (Adding carrots, raw or slightly boiled radish or cabbage is optional) this salad can last long in your belly. In fact, it keeps me full throughout the afternoon. Yes, I eat this salad for lunch along with a glass of buttermilk, and may be, half a cup of boiled/grilled vegies.

3. Thick soups

Thick soups are filling as a meal for lunch and dinner. Watery soups like clear soups do not last longer in the belly, whereas, thick soups definitely last longer, in fact, they last longer than solid foods. I usually make my soup thick with a tea spoon of corn starch mixed in water (called slurry), or a couple of table spoons of milk, or better dhal powder. Even a spoon full of cooked rice, all smashed can be an excellent thickening ingredient that can give body to the soup. Besides soups, south Indian traditional dishes like millet gruel can also last long in the belly. Personally, I don’t like them, so I don’t have them.

4. Egg, Chicken, and Fish

All protein-rich foods last long in the belly. Usually, it takes longer for these foods to be digested, and so they also can keep you hunger-free for a long time. A single egg, boiled, is alone enough for me to survive a day’s breakfast, or lunch. But I don’t eat them for dinner. However, preparing these non-vegies should avoid oil and frying if possible. Steaming or Sous Vide cooking can be used. Grilling with less oil is also Okay, (I usually make Tawa-roasted egg in this method and have it as a stand-alone meal.

5. Milk, Curds, and Buttermilk

Once again, these are protein rich liquid foods that can last considerably longer if you make them a little thick. Of course, there is fat content, but I usually prefer drinking one glass of buttermilk that is flavored with salt, chili powder, asafetida powder, curry leaves, coriander leaves, and minced ginger. I drink buttermilk along with one small portion of cooked vegies for a complete meal.

Let me repeat myself: semi-solid foods and protein-rich foods last long in the belly, and it means that you can eat lesser portions and go hunger-free for a long time. Furthermore, they play an important role in our journey towards better health. Obviously, these foods should be substituted with fresh fruits as they contain the essential vitamins and minerals that keep our body running. It’s that we have to avoid process foods and the so-called junk food that contains anything and everything to taste tasty. Avoiding sugar and sweets is another important thing in our journey. It is very difficult to overcome sugar craving – especially when we decide not to eat sweets. We shall talk about this in another post. Until then,

Happy journey