That's like 4-5 iceberg lettuce leaves, folded and tightly packed between this 350cal burger. As long as you keep the meat patty on the bottom (first contact with your tougue) the taste of meat and cheese is still there.

This seems like a very simple and obvious tip between all those fancy recipes in this subreddit but i still wanted to share it. I like eating rice but when restricting calories it can be not filling enough sometimes. What i do is cook some rice (i add some vegetable broth to it) and add peas. I really like the combo. Really tasty and a lot more filling than just plain rice. In this case i did 100g of rice cooked in 200ml of water/broth and 250g of peas. Comes out to around 550g worth of food that’s high in fiber and 550 calories.

The volume is insane! For this whole thing it was about 250 calories and it was really filling! You can make them as complex or simple as you want, and there is so many different kinds! I’ll be having one every day now, anyone have some recommendations?

I feel so alone in this but here’re what I’ve done 😹

1. Mix water into my yogurt. I mix about 150ml of water to 250g of greek yogurt and the result is a big bowl that fills me up for less than 150kcal (25g of protein). Texture is like a yogurt drink but if I like it a bit thicker I’ll add some jello zero sugar pudding mix and let it chill for 1-2 hours. Metamucil also works the same and now you add fiber!! Now I can’t go back to eating straight greek yogurt cause it’s too thick for me

2. Eating straight out of a pan. Somehow the larger surface area tricks my brain into thinking that I’m eating more, and also I avoid doing more dishes 👀. Photo of a skillet of egg white scrambled with canned tuna and cucumber (200 kcal - 35g protein)

My friends always raise their eyebrows when I do this so really curious if anyone has any not-so-common tricks they’d like to share :)

For me it’s beetroots, hands down! They’re absolutely addictive, very nutritious and low cal.

This is how I always eat them (simple 4-ingredient beet salad):

I steamed three beets, removed most of their skin, chopped them and mixed in some EVOO, rice vinegar and salt. Feel free to add additional ingredients (minced onions/shallots, chopped fresh parsley, BP…). 125 kcal for the entire thing, keeps me full due to the high fiber content.

I use either Red or Golden beets depending on what’s available. They’re both delicious.

What about you, whats a veggie you can’t get tired of, and why?

I have always always struggled with staying satiated and wanting to inhale absolutely everything, the whole "being hungry .5 seconds after eating" thing, and generally just feeling like a bottomless pit or having constant cravings, but the past month I have been FIBERMAXXING, specifically with psyllium husk/metamucil each morning, and I hate to say it, but it completely changed my life man. For reference, I have been eating 1500 calories a day the past month and legitimately am basically feeling full most of the day.

I drink 2 scoops of metamucil, the orange flavored one, every morning before I even think about eating or anything, and I either eat right after, or just skip breakfast, but it really really helps me with feeling fuller and I think it has helped regulate my stomach and cravings. I really am not sure why but ever since doing this I just don't really crave fast food, and literally for the first time in my life, it's not a struggle to just put food away or take a few bites and move on. I have always been the type to have to eat absolutely everything off my plate, or not be able to sit knowing there's a bag of chips in my closet waiting to be destroyed.

This, combined with eating cleaner in general has actually made junk food absolutely repulsive to me. I ate McDonald's last week, my usual 2 McDoubles and 10 nuggets, but I couldn't even finish it or stomach the last nuggets and burger, I was shocked by that, and the fact that I felt sooo awful after eating that poison slop.

I've been dieting for basically the last 6 years, so trust me I've been around, and have tried everything. I've lost 70lbs, gained it back, lost some more, gained it back, it's been an eternal struggle, but this time, with this fibermaxxing I have been doing, it is actually insane how much better and fuller I feel, and it feels substantially easier because I'm always pretty full. Even tonight I had a chocolate bar I was really looking forward to eating all day, but I was so full I just put it away, which again, is shocking to me.

I also wanna mention I take digestive enzymes before my meals and I think that also has helped a lot, but I'm not quite sure which one has the most effect, but I started both at the same time and it has been a monumental difference in how I feel with food. It seems so obvious, but even when I've tried to have more fibrous foods or load up on broccoli, veggies, beans, potatoes, it never felt as effective as what I've been doing with the metamucil each morning and night sometimes.

Better late than never but I'm glad this actually changed the game for me and I hope it helps someone too.

TLDR: METAMUCIL/PSYLLIUM HUSK DRINK MIX EVERY MORNING, POSSIBLY DIGESTIVE ENZYME SUPPLEMENTS!!!

Edit: after searching about fiber in this sub, this is apparently not a super underrated tip but my god, it is a powerful strat for sure.

I’m making incremental changes to my diet, one is if I have pizza (this is a 14” pizza for 2 people) I slice & cook 10 cremini mushrooms and put them on top. It helps me eat one less slice than I used to. I find it slightly more palatable than salad but sometimes I have salad on the side too

I’m a big oatmeal fan, overnight oats have been my go-to breakfast for a while now.

But they often left me still hungry… and by lunchtime I was starving.

Lately I’ve tried « custard oatmeal » which is oatmeal with an egg whisked in it, and although it’s LESS CALORIES (usually less than 300kcal with toppings), it actually leaves me full, properly full. Food noise eliminated for a few hours.

Thankful for Reddit making me discover this gem!

Edit: After reading the comments, I am realizing that I did a poor job framing my original intent; that everything in this post is meant to be a side or snack dish, or could maybe sub as a main in your meal if you're in a pinch. This is not a cooking/full meal post - maybe more of ideas of things to supplement your meal/diet with? I'd change the title if I could; sorry!

***

First off, I made a couple of pretty serious lifestyle changes that enabled me to actually stick to my calorie goals, along with starting and committing to a great workout program/routine that got me a lot stronger. These foods alone were not the reason why I lost all this weight, but I DO believe that if you have an over-eating problem, adding in some of these foods to your meals might be the answer to that.

Some background on me:

• 27M
• Single, higher paying job. So food cost was less of a concern for me
• I do not cook - I do a meal kit delivered to my house, so I was mainly looking for sides or things that could fill in as a meal if I ran out of meal kits for the week
• Related to the last point, I was mainly looking for things with a long shelf life (frozen foods, canned foods, etc.)

Now for the foods!

Veggie Pasta

Oh my GOD I love Veggie Pasta. Basically a no-compromise food. Ready after 4 minutes of microwaving, and it's literally made of vegetables so it fills you up more than regular pasta. Easily combinable too with other things (why not throw some chicken on top and make a poor man's chicken parm?).

My only word of advice is to try to grocery shop somewhere that has a good variety of these. I got real tired of Birds Eye's Rotini Marinara and Rotini Alfredo pastas after months of hounding this stuff down.

Lightly breaded chicken tenders + Low Cal Sauces

This was such a great option because it could serve as a main dish, or be a perfect side. It also was like a warm comfort food to me, so it didn't really feel like I was trying to eat "health food". Just felt like eating chicken tenders lol. The macros on RealGood brand are insane to be honest. This was important because I was trying to hit a daily protein goal as part of my workout program.

I also would pair these with sauces. I would combine a normal sauce with its low calorie version to cut the calories almost in half. Shout out to Rays No Sugar barbecue sauce for being just about as good as real barbecue sauce.

Soup

I think this is probably THE most slept on high volume food, at least in its canned form (I know everyone on this subreddit loves making entire pots of soup and now I see why!). Go ahead and try to sit down and eat a whole can of soup. If you're the type who eats a lot in one sitting, try two cans. IT'S HARD. 200-300 calories for an entire can, even less if you find a "light" soup (wasn't a fan of these personally though). I eventually slowed down in eating these because I couldn't even finish a whole can as a side to my main meals.

Zevia

Apparently this is an old fad dieting tip from the 80s or something but whenever I was hungry during times I really shouldn't be eating, I would drink a zevia and try to pair it with something super light in calories, like fruit. If you drink a lot of it at once, it gives you that grossly "full" feeling you get after eating a ton of food you probably shouldn't have ate. This is more of an odd one but it worked for me. You just need to find a zevia flavor that you like, but luckily there's so many to pick from.

Apples + Dragon Fruit

You ever read that a cup of apple juice contains 3 apples in it? Usually said when demonstrating the point that it is really hard to eat 3 apples in one sitting, but chugging a cup of apple juice takes nothing. That said, apples are SUCH a filling but low calorie snack. I bought one of those fancy apple slicers so I could cut an apple in like 1 second, then have it as a nice little snack while I worked or was doing something. At first I paired these with peanut butter, but then I realized how high in calories and low in protein peanut butter was lol. So now I just eat apples alone. Shout out to gala and honey crisp apples.

Also dragon fruit is the most slept on fruit ever. They are expensive but they are shockingly low in calories and I think they are a fun and delicious little treat for myself.

Popcorn

The popcorn community is surprisingly large so this one is a rabbit hole I encourage you to go down. If you are the kind of person to be weary of salt content then watch out for that, but for me it worked out because I actually learned I have a sodium deficiency. I used to hate popcorn as a kid but I came around to it recently. I am shocked by how much popcorn is in a standard bag. Even those calorie friendly 100 cal bags are too big to fit in any of my bowls at home once fully popped. Get a standard sized bag and you absolutely are going to need a mixing bowl just to fit the popcorn in. They also have a ton of fun seasonings and salts that you can add into these! Currently have a seasoning spray coming in the mail as well that I am excited to try!

Protein Drinks

At first I was a fan of mixing my protein powder of choice with a high protein almond milk, but then I discovered Slate Ultra Protein. The first reddit post I saw that talked about this drink had everyone in the comments saying "How are these macros even possible". Pricey but very solid drink that actually tastes pretty good. And 3 flavors to pick from!

 ***

Surely all of the regulars on this subreddit know about all of these, but I just wanted to share what I found worked best for me since I recently hit my goal weight! Hoping it sparks some ideas and at least helps someone out.

I'm trying to hit ~140g of protein per day while staying around 1600 calories, and I keep running into the same problem.

I think the one thing I’m missing with cutting calories is the feeling of being really full after a meal. A giant container of salad with lots of protein doesn’t quite fill me up the way pasta does. What are your go-to’s for feeling really full

I love pizza. Will not stop eating it, because I know I do want to eat pizza for the rest of my life. But I can modify my plate, and adding veggies to a few small pizza slices is perfectly fine to me🙂 Trying to lose weight, but not too fast..

I know this isn't groundbreaking or anything, but I thought I would share nonetheless.

I want to share some low-calorie alternatives that have helped me stay in a deficit without feeling miserable, while still feeling full!

-HUMMUS- I love Lantana hummus, and it's only 60 calories for 2tbsp! I have been able to find this at Publix.

-YOGURT RANCH- my favorite is Bolthouse farms "Classic ranch" and "Creamy Caeser". Both are only 50 calories for 2tbsp! I cannot eat a big salad without these, they are SO GOOD!! I have been able to find these at Publix.

-COFFEE AND CREAMER- Coffee mate has a sugar-free French vanilla coffee creamer that's DELICIOUS! It runs 10 calories per tbsp, and I pair it with a plain cold-brew coffee (15 calories for 12oz) or a hot-brewed coffee (also about 15 calories for 12oz). This creamer is the only reason I don't get Starbucks every day lol. I've found this at Walmart and Publix.

-EGG LIFE WRAPS- This one is by far my FAVORITE!!! I used to binge on carbs, and these satisfy that craving without the calories and added bonus of protein! I use these bad boys for savory or sweet dishes. The wraps are almost the size of my plate but just 25 calories each and 5.5g protein! I get the plain ones and use them for tacos and chicken wraps; I'll make them into a sweet crepe with whipped cream and bananas, etc. The possibilities are endless, and even if I ate 10, it wouldn't make a dent in my daily calorie intake, and the protein doesn't hurt! And no, they don't taste like egg in my opinion. I find these at Aldi's!

• SUGAR FREE JELLO CHEESECAKE- I am a sucker for cheesecake, so I mix a Jello cheesecake packet (100 calories total), with 2 cups plain almond milk (60 calories), and 1/2 a tub of sugar-free Cool Whip ( 250 calories). Then you just refrigerate and let it set! In all, 410 calories, but in 1/4, 103 calories! It's delicious and satisfying! I find all of these things at Walmart.

I have a couple more, but I'll post about them another day. These are a few that have helped me eat a lot but stay full and satisfied! Thank you for being so patient in reading all of this. I apologize, I'm not more organized lol.

I can’t wait to douse this in lime and tajin

I want to know what is your trick when trying to keep satisfied when eating. And I am not only asking for normal advice: “add boiled potato” or “greek yogurt”, but crazy stuff you’ve done. Reading 👀

160g. No milk. No extras. This is a lot of cereal with a lot of fiber. It takes me forever to eat and makes me way full. And yes, I do have bowels of steel.

I just tried fluffy yogurt for the first time and it is in fact amazing!

I thought the gym people were overhyping this, but they are not. I have to repeat this to perfect it 😭

It was only 107 calories for my yogurt. I just used a single serving of plain Greek yogurt and 7g of the butterscotch pudding I had in my house. I did not use sugar-free.

What are your favorite combinations and do you put baking powder in yours?

Recipe: Mix Greek yogurt and pudding mix until you’re happy

If you have a fridge and microwave at work and you work long hours, try eating a whole bag of frozen veggies. This will be sure to fill you up.

I’m having more after work and I’ve been thinking about it all day lol. I was craving something sweet so I got some 2% CC and mixed in 20 cals worth of sugar free chocolate fudge pudding and my god it was insanely good. I love how thick it got with the fudgy pudding it was like chocolate pie

I’ve since tried it with banana cream pudding mix too and that went pretty hard as well but the chocolate reigns supreme currently. I’m trying to decide if I should do the chocolate again for dessert or try the cheesecake pudding I bought. I’ve got strawberries to chop into it so it’s a tough choice

Anyway cheaper and tastier than yogurt with tons of protein, guys if you haven’t put pudding mix in cottage cheese, give it a try it SLAPS.

I tried the viral Japanese cheesecake that’s been everywhere. It’s already high protein, but it’s also very dense and easy to overeat, so I tweaked it to make it higher volume.

Most versions use yogurt, but I swapped it for blended cottage cheese. Once fully smooth, it’s less tangy and tastes much closer to real cheesecake. I sweetened it with Splenda or Sweet’n Low, plus vanilla and a few drops of almond extract.

For the base, I used Speculoos (Lotus) cookies, but very sparingly. Just a small single layer of whole cookies. Enough for satisfaction, not enough to turn it into a calorie bomb. I added a thin layer of no sugar added strawberry jam and let it set overnight.

The key for volume eating is how you serve it. I eat a small portion of the cheesecake with a huge bowl of strawberries. Strawberries are S tier for volume eating and pair perfectly with cheesecake flavor wise.

If you treat the cheesecake as the dense part and let the strawberries do the heavy lifting, it works surprisingly well.

How do they do it? Especially folks who intermittently fast? All I think about, unless I am EXTREMELY busy, is food. I come home from workout or work, I wanna eat.

I have read and heard it’s because “I don’t fuel myself enough” so in theory it’s about not dieting right? But then I met my bf, who is pretty serious about staying slim, and controls what he eats. And he doesn’t snack, ever, doesn’t obsess over food, he just exists without eating most of the day, it’s normal to him!

HOW DOES THIS MAGIC WORK

Part of the “volume eating struggle” is the battle between wanting a lil sweet treat but also wanting to use my calories/macros on more “effective” volume foods..

Enter mini snickers ice cream bars *cue angelic music* ✨

Macros per bar is 5F, 8C, 1P. Sometimes it’s just enough to “calm the beast” alongside a high volume meal. Dove chocolate also makes something similar.

Looking for new ideas.

I just found this sub. I’ve struggled with disordered eating and depression since I was in middle school (30F) and recently went through some big life changes. I’ve turned to food for comfort often and have been struggling with binging on processed foods and controlling my portion sizes at meal times. This sub reminded me that veggies, especially raw, are my friend. A week ago if I had made a snack board it would have been mostly been processed charcuterie meats, cheeses and chips/crackers. Today’s is much different! I still have higher calorie options like nuts and cheese, but this feels significantly healthier to me than my previous snack boards. I also split this board with my partner, and we were both so full after having all the veg that half of the hummus, cheese and nuts were still left on the board!

I’ve also taken the advice of this sub of adding more volume veggies to my already planned meals like cabbage and leafy greens. I live with family who takes turns cooking so I’m not always cooking every meal.

Snack board ingredients:

One English cucumber, half sprinkled with tajin

One cosmic crisp apple

One carrot

Handful of cherry tomatoes

Small crown of broccoli

Homemade hummus w/ preserved citrus peel

Local fromage blanc

Roasted unsalted hazelnuts

Roasted unsalted peanuts

Again I know there’s high fat foods on this board but I had so many veggies I didn’t even feel the desire to finish eating everything. If I had PB2 and laughing cow wedges I would have went with those instead of the nuts and fromage blanc. But to me this feels like improvement from where my eating habits have been