How to Curb the Hunger After Eating Carbs

Weight gain caused by overeating can have serious health implications. It increases your risk of developing diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke and some cancers, according to the Weight Control Information Network. You can curb the postmeal hunger pangs that cause you to reach for that extra helping by choosing complex carbohydrates over unhealthy, refined carbohydrates, avoiding sugary snacks, eating your meals slowly, and dealing with emotional eating.

Instructions

• 1

  Eat a diet rich in complex carbohydrates. Foods such as brown rice and whole grains provide valuable nutrition and their fiber content means you will feel fuller for longer.

• 2

  Avoid junk food and sugary snacks. Simple carbohydrates -- usually high-fat or sugary foods -- release glucose into the blood quickly, causing your blood-sugar levels to fluctuate dramatically. This creates a vicious circle of carbohydrate cravings.

• 3

  Eat three balanced meals a day with two or three healthy snacks in between. Eating regularly helps control hunger pangs and regulate blood-sugar levels. Denying your body the calories it needs to function efficiently means you are more likely to binge eat to satisfy your cravings.

• 4

  Take the edge off your hunger by drinking a glass of filtered water half an hour before eating or starting your meal with a salad. Eating a large green salad at the beginning of a meal enhances feelings of fullness, according to a study by the Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior at The Pennsylvania State University, as cited by the University of Wisconsin Extension.

• 5

  Eat your meal slowly and chew your food well. Chewing every mouthful 25 to 50 times before swallowing kick-starts the digestive process so your body is more likely to feel fuller sooner. Paying attention to your meal and savoring every mouthful -- rather than eating mindlessly while doing another activity -- will make you feel more satisfied. Allow at least 15 to 20 minutes to eat a meal.

• 6

  Wait 15 to 30 minutes before reaching for a second helping whenever you are still hungry after a meal. This gives the food you have eaten time to reach your stomach and be absorbed by your body. Chances are your body will recognize you have consumed enough calories and your hunger will subside.

• 7

  Take a chromium supplement. Regular intake of chromium picolinate helps regulate blood sugar and modulate food intake in people with carbohydrate cravings, according to a study by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University.