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High-Volume, Low-Calorie Foods: How to Stay Full on a Diet

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When you start eating fewer calories to lose weight, you might feel hungry. That is a normal part of the process. But you do not have to walk around feeling starving all day.

The secret to feeling full while losing weight is something called "volume eating."

What is Volume Eating?

Imagine your stomach is like an empty bowl. If you put a candy bar in the bowl, it barely takes up any space, but it has 250 calories. Your stomach still feels empty, so your brain tells you to keep eating.

Now, imagine filling that same bowl with fresh strawberries. Two whole cups of strawberries also have about 100 calories. But those strawberries will fill your stomach all the way up. Your stomach stretches, and it sends a signal to your brain that you are completely full.

Volume eating means choosing foods that are very big in size (high volume) but have very few calories. This allows you to eat a mountain of food without ruining your daily calorie goal.

The Best High-Volume Foods

If you want to feel full while sticking to the goal our Weight Loss Calculator gave you, fill your plate with these foods:

• Leafy Greens: Spinach, lettuce, and cabbage have almost zero calories. You can eat huge salads that fill you up for a long time.
• Watermelon and Berries: Fruits that hold a lot of water are great for volume eating. Watermelon is mostly water, so it is very filling but very low in calories.
• Air-Popped Popcorn: Instead of eating a tiny handful of greasy potato chips, you can eat three whole cups of air-popped popcorn for around 100 calories. No Oil Popcorn Popper
• Soup: Broth-based soups (like chicken noodle or vegetable soup) take a long time to eat and are full of hot liquid. The warm liquid helps stretch your stomach so you feel very full, very quickly. Broths of All Kinds

How to Make it Work

If your calculator says you need to eat 1,800 calories a day to lose weight, it is up to you how you spend those calories. You can spend them on small foods that leave you hungry, or you can spend them on high-volume foods that keep you stuffed.

Try to make half of your lunch and dinner plate out of vegetables. This simple trick will keep your stomach full and make sticking to your diet much easier.

Disclaimer: The information on this website is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to replace advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a medical doctor.