In This Article
In This Article
Many people think they should eat less to lose weight. This could mean eating fewer meals in a day or reducing meal portions.
For example, if you’ve been eating five (5) meals daily, you can lessen it to three (3) meals. Or, if you used to be on a carbohydrate-rich diet, you can switch to a low-carb diet and cut down on carbs.
Most people find these methods too restrictive. They also involve a bit of calorie counting, which can be time-consuming. One alternative is to eat foods that make you feel full on fewer calories.
Foods that make you feel full on fewer calories have a low energy density. These choices provide you with volume and satisfaction without loading you up with extra calories.
We consulted Dr. Rizza Mira, our resident medical reviewer, to talk about foods that can reduce your calorie intake while still keeping you feeling full. She's a general practitioner and an expert in diet and nutrition.
Low-energy-dense foods are key to healthy eating. They’re the foods that make you feel full longer without loading you up with tons of calories. They keep you satisfied without making you gain weight.
Foods have different energy densities. Energy density is the total calories per weight of food.
Nutritionists usually measure energy density by kilocalories per gram (kcal/g).1 Low energy-dense foods contain fewer calories per serving.
Some examples of these filling foods are:
Foods with high water and soluble fiber are usually low in calorie density. They can fill you up while you eat fewer calories.2
Each person has a recommended daily caloric limit. Health experts calculate it based on numerous factors, such as your:
Eating low-energy-dense foods reduces your calorie intake. Since they contain fewer calories, you can eat larger portions without adding too many calories to your meals.
To appreciate how low-energy-dense foods can help you keep a healthy body and diet, it is crucial to understand the satiety index.
The satiety index measures how full and satisfied a particular food makes you feel after eating it.
High-satiety index foods help you feel fuller longer. Because of this, they keep cravings to a minimum. They also manage hunger and don’t make you obsess about your next meal.
In contrast, low-satiety index foods make you feel hungry immediately after eating. This leads to snacking and the consumption of unnecessary calories.
Knowing the satiety index can help you pick foods that nourish your body and keep you fuller longer.
To make the most out of the satiety index, here are some tips:
According to Dr. Mira, the key to weight loss is reaching a calorie deficit.
"If your total calorie intake is less than the amount of calories your body burns, a calorie deficit is achieved," she adds.
Here’s how low energy-dense foods can help with weight loss:
Low energy-dense foods primarily include fruits and vegetables. They contain plenty of water and soluble fiber, which adds volume and weight to food—but not calories.
Studies show that if you eat more low-energy-dense foods high in water, you can reduce your calorie intake.2 Dr. Mira adds that vegetables are also high in fiber and can make you feel full longer.
Many fruits and vegetables make great choices, including:3
You can add these foods to your recipes and meal plans. Aside from that, you may also add broth-based soups before meals.
A low-calorie soup can help reduce your meal intake by making you feel full.
Women who ate a bowl of chicken rice soup before meals ate less than those who received a chicken casserole. They also ate less than the women who drank water with their casserole.4
You can still include some high-calorie-dense foods in your diet with high-fiber foods. This can help reduce your calories.
Chewing is an important part of digestion. But it doesn’t just break down your food. When you chew, it triggers gut hormones.
Fiber-rich foods usually take us more time to chew. A study showed that the more you chew on them, the more gut hormones are released.
These hormones can decrease hunger and food intake.5
Some low-energy-dense foods are also rich in proteins. Protein-rich foods can alter your digestive hormones and decrease your appetite.
High-protein meals suppress hunger and enhance satiety after meals. They do this by increasing the production of peptide YY and decreasing your ghrelin.6
"Proteins are essential macronutrients needed by the body to repair tissues and metabolism. They can also regulate and control your hunger," says Dr. Mira.
Below are healthy sources of high-quality protein. They are also low in fat and calories:
Solid foods high in soluble fiber add bulk to your diet, which helps slow down your digestion.
They can help you stay full longer since they take more time to digest. This delay decreases the number of meals you eat in a day. In turn, this can reduce your total calories.
Remember: High-fiber foods enhance fullness at different levels. How you prepare them may also influence their effects on your appetite. Generally, it’s best to keep it simple.
Whole foods like peeled carrots are also more satiating than if they are blended or juiced.
One study shows that a whole apple is more filling than apple sauce and juice, even though they have equal dietary fiber and calories.9
People who ate the apple ate less food during lunch than those who ate apple sauce and drank apple juice.
Foods that make you feel full easily and longer contain high fiber, enough protein, and enough water to promote satiety.
Incorporating these factors into your meal plan can help you feel full easily and longer. It may not be easy to change your eating habits and lifestyle. Creating a meal plan based on energy density is no different.
Here are some foods that you can add to your diet:
Most vegetables are low calorie but have high volume or weight.
You can substitute some energy-dense ingredients with vegetables when cooking or preparing food. For example:
Most fruits can fit into a healthy diet. But some make better choices in terms of calories.
Frozen and canned fruits without syrup are practical options when whole fresh fruits are unavailable. On the other hand, fruit juices and concentrates tend to have a high energy density.
However, Dr. Mira says to be careful with processed fruit products.
"Be sure to check the labels of processed fruit juices and concentrates as some may contain hidden amounts of sugar," she says.
Here are some tips on how you can include fruits in your meals:
A good deal of carbohydrates are either refined grains or made of them. Examples include cereal, rice, bread, and pasta.
Whole grains are a better option. Not only are they low on calories, they are also nutrient-dense foods.
They are rich in fiber and other essential nutrients like B vitamins, iron, folate, potassium, and magnesium.7
Here are examples of whole-grain foods:
Still, be mindful of your portions. Processed whole-grain foods (like whole wheat bread and pasta) contain more calories.
Some of the most filling foods are rich in protein but low in saturated fat and calories.
Even though they have a higher energy density than the other foods we recommend, they can still be part of healthy eating.
Here are some excellent sources of protein:
Lean meats are great. But keep in mind that fats aren’t always bad for you.
Some studies point out that healthy fats can trigger hormones that decrease appetite. However, other studies show conflicting results.8
A low-energy-dense diet may be a sustainable way of controlling your daily calorie intake. It allows you to eat more fiber and protein and still lose or maintain a healthy weight.
The key is to limit your intake of high-calorie-dense foods that aren’t healthy or don’t contain as many nutrients. Substitute unhealthy options with healthy foods, including:
Eating them can make you feel full, help you delay the next meal, and help you be more in control of your food choices. You can consistently stick to a weight loss plan when you don't feel deprived during a diet.
