When working to lose weight in a healthy manner, it’s no secret that you must fall within a safe calorie deficit to be able to see any real changes in your body. This can be done through increasing your physical activity, decreasing your food intake, or doing a little bit of both. However, if you don’t love the idea of eating less food (and who can blame you), creating meals that keep you full for longer will be great assets within your weight loss journey to allow you to eat to satisfaction while still seeing results.
We spoke with Brynn McDowell, RDN who explained the primary nutrient you should be prioritizing within your diet for weight loss, so you’ll never have to deprive yourself to feel good in your body.
Fiber
Often found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, fiber is the best nutrient to focus on eating enough of when working to lose weight. While the three macronutrients (protein, carbs, and health fats) are all great for creating positive changes in your body, it’s fiber that can effectively increase satiety and make it easier to maintain the necessary calorie deficit for weight loss. “Fiber not only helps you stay full longer after eating but it can aid in stabilizing blood sugar levels, reducing cholesterol and reducing risk for heart disease and certain cancers,” explains McDowell.
Keeping your blood sugar levels even will also help to achieve healthy weight loss as glucose is intrinsically tried to satiety as well. “When you eat foods high in fiber (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, legumes) it slows down the rate at which the sugar in those foods is absorbed into the bloodstream,” notes McDowell. “When blood sugar levels rise quickly and then crash back down, typically seen after eating foods that don’t contain fiber, it can make you feel hungry again soon after eating.”
Thankfully you can double down on fiber and protein, the nutrient responsible for muscle growth and metabolic rate, by focusing on including more plant-based protein sources into your diet. “The reason we ought to be eating [legumes and lentils] is because they are filled with plant-based proteins that help keep us fuller longer than just fruits or vegetables. They are [also] full of fiber which helps keep us fuller longer because it takes longer to digest foods that have a lot of fiber in them. They are high in super healthy fats including monounsaturated and polyunsaturated omega-3‘s,” notes Dana Ellis Hunnes,PhD, MPH, RD and author of Recipe for Survival.
It may seem simple that fiber is the solution to increasing satiety and achieving healthy weight loss, but the reality is that most people are not consuming enough fiber throughout their day in order to reap the benefits of this powerful nutrient. “The recommended amount of dietary fiber is based on age and gender: Females = 28 grams (19-30 years old), 25 grams (31-50 yrs old), 22 grams (51+) / Males = 34 grams (19-30 yrs old), 31 grams (31-50 yrs old), 28 grams (51+),” says McDowell. “According to the American Heart Association, 97% of men and 90% of women don’t get enough dietary fiber.”
Amping up your fruit and vegetable intake as well as including lentils and legumes as sources of plant-based protein will all be useful in increasing your fiber intake for the day, so making these small changes to your diet can make all the difference in increasing satiety after your meals, leading to healthy and sustained weight loss without deprivation.
