Tips on Appetite Suppression

Aside from cravings for foods you recently eliminated from your diet, hunger pangs are probably the toughest problem to tackle when attempting to lose weight. Though there are a variety of synthetically made appetite suppressants available, you can naturally suppress your appetite with a few changes to your lifestyle.

Eat Slowly

• No matter how hungry you are, eat slowly. Your body works by sending messages from one area to the other, and the same is true for your digestive system. A message is sent from your stomach to your brain, alerting it that it is full. However, until that message is received, your stomach doesn't feel full. Eating slowly gives your stomach time to alert your brain that it has had enough, allowing appetite suppression or control to take place. This process takes approximately 20 minutes.

Eat Frequently

• Make sure you eat often. This sounds counterintuitive in terms of losing weight, but one of the best ways to control your appetite is to eat five to six small meals a day. This boosts your metabolism and keeps you feeling satisfied through the day. To prevent overeating, each meal should be between 200 and 400 calories.

Drink More Water

• Attack that hunger with water. Often, hunger can be confused for thirst. Drinking more water keeps you hydrated, flushes toxins from your body and helps ward off cravings between meals by filling you up. Drinking a full glass of water before each meal helps you avoid overeating at meal time.

  It also helps to eat foods that have a high water content, such as lettuce, cucumbers and watermelon. They are low in calories and keep you feeling satisfied.

Increase Your Fiber

• Consider another source for making you feel full: fiber. It's a wonderful way to control your appetite, especially when accompanied by a glass of water. The water helps it expand in your stomach.

  Good sources of fiber include vegetables such as spinach, broccoli and cauliflower, along with whole grain products such as bread, cereals and pastas. Because whole grain products aren't refined--as are their sister products white bread, white rice and macaroni--they contain nutrients that fill you up faster and keep you feeling fuller longer.

Keep This in Mind

• Don't overdo. Controlling your appetite to an extent is helpful while dieting, but don't completely eliminate it. You have to know when your body is under its required calorie count; if you don't have enough calories to burn, your body begins burning lean muscle for energy instead. This can hurt your weight loss efforts.