Are you on a calorie deficit and trying to find tips on how to stay full on diet?
You can stop scrolling and searching now because I got everything covered in this article.
I am going to give 10 tips and tricks I have used coaching thousands of online clients and helping them to lose and maintain lost weight.
Losing weight is not the hardest part, anyone can do it with a little bit of self discipline and motivation. Maintaining lost weight is the part most people are struggling.
In this article you will find 10 tips and strategies on how to feel full on diet and list of 10 foods that are going to keep you full the most on your diet.
I am sure you know the feeling when a diet is going great and you are killing it.
Then suddenly on a random day you just can´t resist temptation anymore. You are craving something sweet.
You feel bad eating it and might even end up thinking you have ruined the whole diet. Especially if your weight spikes up the next day.
You might think that the whole work you have done in past weeks is gone.
Don´t worry. After reading this article you will know why it happens and I also give you 10 tips and foods you can eat during the day to help this situation from happening again.
I am asking you to read the whole article. Do not skip the line.
Ready? Let’s do this.
10 Tips On How To Stay Full On A Diet
How To Stay Full On Diet
1. Protein
Protein is the most important macronutrient when your goal is to lose fat. Protein is the most filling macronutrient. Eating 500 calories from protein will keep you full a lot longer than the same 500 calories from fats or carbs.
Eating more protein will help you to lose fat as your body will be satisfied from eating more protein. This will often lead to you won’t feel hungry and will automatically eat less other foods.
Protein will also help you to not lose your weight from your muscles while dieting. If you don’t eat enough protein and eat really low amounts of calories, you will lose weight faster but it will be mostly water and from your muscles.
Eating protein will help you to maintain and build more muscle mass.
More than 80% of my Online Clients who start working with me, are under eating protein. Try to add more protein and you will feel a huge difference immediately.
Aim for 1,6 to 2,2 g per kilo body weight (0,7 to 1g per pound). So if you weigh 68 kg (150lbs) 68kg x 1,8 = 122g or 150 lbs x 0.8 = 120g
2. Vegetables
Veggies are important but your mom has already told you that so I don’t need to tell you more about vitamins and other health benefits they have.
For losing fat they are filling your stomach with high volumes and very low amounts of calories. As you don’t want to starve yourself and feel hungry while staying in a calorie deficit, the more veggies you can eat, the easier it will be.
Try to get salads and veggies 2-3 times per day. If that feels impossible, one BIG salad per day is a great way to get your veggies in.
It is true that preparing veggies might take some time but once you do it, you can prepare for several days ahead and your veggies are ready to eat and already prepared when you need them.
3. Don´t go too low on calories
It should be clear but I see a way too many people searching the fastest way to do it. Losing weight the fastest possible way is not the best way. Winner is not who loses weight the fastest but the one who maintains lost weight the longest. It might sound something you haven’t understood yet but let me explain.
If you do every single thing I mention in this article and eat 800 calories, you are going to be starving. It is not smart even though you might have a willpower to do it.
You are only racing against time how long you can do it. You won’t be able to do it consistently. You will get frustrated and upset. You will get off the track and binge because you are starving.
And that my friend will make you feel like you have ruined everything because you can’t stick to your diet.
This cycle will happen over and over again.
Avoid this from the beginning of your journey and you will be in a much better place in 6 months from now than trying to get as fast as possible results within the first month.
If you are not sure how many calories you should be eating, go to my calorie calculator. (Please do not start with -1000 calorie deficit unless you have a lot (more than 20 kg) to lose)
4. High Calorie Drinks
Marketers are pretty good at making your life harder. You are seeing these “healthy” juices and green smoothie drinks in a supermarket and you might want to have one of those as it is marketed as healthy.
Yes they are a better option than regular coke but next time you are drinking your Green Smoothie, please read the labels and check how many calories there is. You will be surprised as just drinking a bottle of healthy juice might have close to 300 calories.
Like this example picture of healthy juice has 300 calories.
It won’t make you feel fuller and most likely won’t make you eat less at dinner.
Another most common mistake I see is alcohol. I am not saying that you can’t drink anything. But if you are not making any progress and drink alcohol most days or every weekend you go over your calories because of alcohol.
5. Water / Zero Calorie Drinks
Water is filling you up and staying hydrated will also boost your metabolism. As your stomach is used to eating the same volumes, drinking water before and / or after a meal will help you with that feeling. Before you send me a message that I have read that you should avoid drinking water close to meal times, there is no science based research that proves this. One thing is sure, if drinking more water during your meal time helps you to avoid overeating, it is more beneficial than trying to optimize your digestion.
When it comes to zero calorie drinks, they are not most optimal for your health, but still a better way than drinking high calorie drinks.
6. Sleep
When you sleep too little, you will gain weight. Sleep deprivation can cause 5-20% change in your metabolism, which could be 200-500 calories per day. Less you sleep, the more you tend to choose low density, high calorie foods. Sleep is the best legal supplement you can take! If you want to read more, here is a link to my article: How sleep affects weight loss
7. Filling Foods / Fruits for Cravings
My favorite foods to stay full in a calorie deficit are fruits or berries with some lean protein source like Greek Yogurt. I love berries and try to freeze them in summer for winter. It is like a dessert when you have greek yogurt or skyr with berries or fruits. Fruits are also high in fiber, which help you with sweet cravings. Below some list of the fruits and berries I consider most filling and delicious:
Strawberries 33 kcal / 100g
Blueberries 57 kcal / 100g
Watermelon 30 kcal / 100g
Apple 52 kcal / 100g
Oranges 47 kcal / 100g
Blackberry 43 kcal / 100g
8. Allow yourself to eat your favorite foods in moderation (rule to yourself eat something before)
Please do not cut your favorite foods. Yes I am telling you to allow yourself to eat high calorie and low density foods like chocolate.
Here is why.
What happens when you tell your kid “do not touch it”? Within a second they will touch it or will try it later.
When something is “you are not allowed” to do it, it becomes an obsessive voice in your head and it is only a matter of time before you do it again.
Eventually you will eat it and most likely you will say “fu`k it” and end up to binge all of it.
Stop doing that.
When you stop cutting out your favorite foods and have them in moderation, your cravings will be a lot less.
Less cravings, leads often to eating less calories.
Great rule to use is “I can have it, but only after eating something before”.
Let’s say you want to have chocolate, before eating chocolate, eat an apple or other fruit and only after eating an apple eat chocolate you want.
This rule gives you the possibility to eat your favorite foods but at the same time it helps you to eat less calories as after an apple, most likely you will eat a bit less chocolate.
Again, calories saved.
9. Meal Frequency that works for you
As you know, calorie is a calorie and it doesn’t matter what time you are eating it. 6 smaller meals might help you to stay full throughout the day and avoid feelings of being tired after a big meal.
If you prefer doing intermittent fasting and eating your meals in a shorter period of time, it is a great strategy to limit your calories.
There is no right or wrong way to do it.
If you tend to snack or binge late at night, maybe eating more on lunch would not be a bad idea.
If you have low energy in the morning and end up eating too much on lunch, try to eat something more in morning.
The key is to find the best balance that works for you.
10. Hunger is not emergency – wait 15-20 minutes
Previous 9 points you learned how to control your hunger on your diet.
Now I´m telling you that hunger is not necessarily a bad thing.
Because it is a feeling that tends to come and go, especially if you have the same eating times. Like if you are used to eating your lunch at 12, a little bit before you will feel hungry. If for some reason you can’t eat at 12, you might feel that hunger is gone when you just wait.
It is hard to know if you are actually hungry or are you just bored / stressed and want to eat more. Try waiting 15-20 minutes and if you still want to eat, go for it. It gives you often enough time to realize if you become that feeling or being bored / stressed or were you actually hungry.
Being in a calorie deficit means that you will feel hunger some times. It is not a sign of panic. It is a feeling what comes and goes as your body is very good at surviving, not losing fat.
And no, I´m not telling you to starve yourself like I explained in point 3. Deal with tips I gave above and foods I am going to tell below.
10 Foods to eat more in a diet – How To Stay Full On Diet
The key point is to eat something more than resisting too much. It is a lot easier to add more foods than trying only to reduce. When you are able to add these foods, most likely you will eat less of something else, which will make your calorie deficit more enjoyable.
How To Stay Full On Diet
1. Lean boneless/skinless Chicken, Turkey, Beef
Any quality source of lean meat is going to help you eat more protein. Low in calories, high in protein is the best type of food you can eat. The key point is to not add stuff to it too much which is high in calories.
2. Greek Yogurt, Skyr
Quick and easy source of proteins with less calories. As you learned, protein is the most filling macronutrient. My personal favorite food how to stay full on diet.
3. Strawberries 
33kcal per 100g is no brainer. Combined with Greek Yogurt or Skyr you have a low calorie, high volume and protein snack.
4. Watermelon
30 kcal per 100g! Tasty and filling!
5. Oatmeal
A great source of carbs, which is high in fiber. It gives you long lasting fullness and energy. That’s why it is such a popular breakfast.
6. Cottage Cheese
My personal favorite snack. 13g of protein with 60-80 calories per 100g is a very good rate.
7. Protein Pudding
My favorite dessert. Tasty, high in protein and pretty low in calories. Check nutrition labels next time you do shopping. I found some brand that has 75 kcal, with 10g of protein and absolutely loving it.
8. Potatoes
On satiety index potatoes are ranked as one of the most filling foods. Very good source of carbs and have high nutritional values like potassium.
9. Popcorn
This is a surprising one. It is high in fiber and don´t have only 31 calories per cup. Just be careful with butter.
10. Beans
High in fiber and protein, they are surprisingly satiating. It is a matter of your taste if you go for Chickpeas, White Beans or Black Beans. They are all very good.
Are You Convinced On How To Stay Full On Diet?
I hope this article gave you actionable tips you can take already today and start applying how to stay full on diet
You don’t need to starve yourself and you can make your diet more enjoyable.
Yet it won’t be easy.
Use these tips above and it will suck less.
If you want some extra help, I would love to help.
You can send me an email at turo@fitmitturo.com with the subject title “how to stay full on diet”.
I would love to help you out.
If you are looking for some extra help, accountability and guidance along your specific journey, you can head HERE to fill out my coaching application form to see if we may be a good fit to work together.
Regardless if you want to start coaching or not, I am always here to help. More tips you will find from my INSTAGRAM
Looking forward to hear from you soon.
Turo
