Losing weight is difficult, but it is nearly impossible without suppressing appetite. An individual’s appetite plays a significant role in controlling calorie intake and weight gain.
Moreover, following some natural appetite suppressing methods may help shred a few extra pounds within a short period.
Uncontrolled appetite or hunger comes with numerous problems, including chronic disorders like diabetes, disturbed mood, etc.
Here, you could control your hunger while keeping the stomach empty by suppressing the activities of hunger-regulating hormones.
Hence, this article lists all those methods that may help naturally suppress your appetite for a healthy body.
Ways To Suppress Appetite Naturally
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Include Protein In Your Diet
Proteins aren’t limited to building muscles and increasing strength. Besides these benefits, protein intake could help naturally suppress appetite.
People consuming a full protein-rich meal could lower hunger by increasing the feeling of fullness.
Moreover, the protein diet could[1] help release appetite suppressing and hunger regulating hormones in the body.
You should consider adding proteins to most meals, but proteins in the breakfast could be highly beneficial.
You may get optimum proteins by including animal source foods like meat, egg, etc.
But, several vegetable sources, like beans, peas, etc., could supply sufficient proteins to suppress appetite.
Some people consume protein-rich beverages or supplements to increase their protein intake.
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Drink Sufficient Water
Drinking water at regular intervals is a perfect habit for keeping the body in a better state.
Generally, water offers numerous benefits but could suppress hunger or the desire to eat food.
Drinking a glass of water before a meal may[2]give you a feeling of fullness, lowering your hunger.
The neurons responsible for regulating hunger and thirst are closely related; hence, drinking water could satisfy the urge to solid foods.
Moreover, you may consider consuming soups or healthy beverages to help satisfy your hunger.
Generally, an individual requires a glass of water, i.e., approximately 500 ml, to fill the stomach.
But, as water digests or empties faster than solid food, it may make you feel hungry again. Here, you should drink water a few minutes before the meal to suppress hunger.
But, you should never replace your meals with water as the body requires a balanced nutritional diet for growth and well-being.
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Make The Food Spicy
Adding spice to your food may naturally help you suppress your appetite.
Considering spices for weight loss would be better because spices like Cayenne Pepper act as natural appetite suppressants due to the active compound called capsaicin.
Capsaicin is a significant compound that may[3]help reduce hunger and lower body weight.
The compound acts on the hypothalamus, the part that regulates appetite and fullness, and reduces food intake throughout the day.
People consuming spicy food would increase their body’s temperature and boost their metabolism, which results in suppressing hunger.
Moreover, the compound helps cut excess belly fat resulting in low body weight. Adding some spice to the food gives a burning sensation to your tongue.
Thus, you may drink plenty of water to suppress the feeling resulting in reduced food intake.
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Control Your Sugar Or Sweet Intake
Sugar intake could increase an individual’s food intake. Hence, you may have heard people asking to reduce sugar intake in weight loss diets.
Generally, sugar or sweet dishes may increase your appetite resulting in increased food intake.
Whenever people consume food items rich in sugar or carbohydrates like bread, cookies, chocolates, etc., they experience an increased blood sugar level.
The spike in blood sugar level is temporary; hence, the level drops instantly, causing a blood sugar level imbalance. Thus, the imbalance may[4]make you feel hungry after some time.
You should consider consuming food with low-sugar or low GI carbohydrates like pear, apple, brown bread, etc., for steady sugar levels.
Moreover, you may consider consuming dark chocolates as it would help suppress the desire to eat sweets.
Dark chocolates contain higher cocoa and less sugar which may help lower body weight and suppress appetite.
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Include Fiber-Rich Food To The Diet
Fiber-rich food is highly essential to suppress the appetite naturally.
Hence, you should consider adding several fibrous foods, like whole-grain products, legumes, nuts, seeds, etc., to your diet.
Fiber-containing food items could help slow down digestion and lengthen the duration of food in the digestive tract.
The fibers could help stimulate the release of satiety hormones resulting in a controlled appetite.
Moreover, these fibrous food items produce short-chain fatty acids in the gut resulting in an extended feeling of fullness.
Some plant-based food items contain viscous fibers like pectin, guar gum, etc., which may[5]help make you feel full.
Besides these benefits, fiber-rich food items contain other essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and other compounds responsible for cutting body fat.
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Sleep Sufficient Hours
Sleep could[6]have a significant impact on your appetite. People getting insufficient, irregular, or poor sleep in a day may face hunger issues.
Sleep problems may increase the levels of several hormones like cortisol, insulin, and ghrelin responsible for regulating hunger.
Hence, getting sufficient sleep in a day is essential for controlling your appetite.
People getting insufficient or less sleep may experience increased hunger, food craving, etc.
Moreover, lack of sleep at night may cause increased snacking, impacting your appetite.
Hence, an individual must sleep for at least 7-9 hours daily for better health and a controlled appetite. But teens and kids must get 8-12 hours of sleep daily.
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Add Chia Seeds
Chia seeds could[7]be a perfect topping for your health-friendly dishes. People consuming chia seeds have significantly observed appetite reduction.
Hence, you should fit chia seeds into your diet for faster weight loss and controlling hunger.
Chia seeds are a low-calorie food that everyone should include in their diet.
They are highly rich in dietary fibers and proteins; hence, they temporarily signal the feeling of fullness.
Moreover, the fibers in chia seeds help slow down the digestion process resulting in lower food intake.
Chia seeds offer some other benefits, like controlling blood sugar levels. Thus, it reduces untimely hunger and the desire to eat sweet or sugary dishes.
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Exercise Regularly
Exercise is one of the best ways to control appetite and lead a healthy lifestyle.
People doing regular exercise may[8]suppress the activity of brain regions linked to food cravings.
Daily exercise motivates you to have low-calorie food and quit or suppress your consumption of high-calorie food.
Moreover, exercise may help suppress hunger hormones like ghrelin and make you feel complete with minimum food intake.
Aerobic and resistance training could be highly helpful in suppressing appetite.
People doing high-intensity workouts observe a positive change in their hunger control and meal sizes.
Hence, you should add a few of these exercises to your routine workout to reduce appetite naturally.
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Chew Gum
One of the benefits of chewing gum is that it could control appetite in an unusual way. Generally, chewing gums are available in different flavors with sweetness in common.
But, it may help lower the interest in eating sweet or sugary items. Hence, it would[9]help keep the blood sugar level balanced, resulting in less hunger.
Some chewing gums contain peppermint extract or flavor that naturally possesses appetite-suppressing properties.
Chewing gums simulates the process of consuming food. While eating, people chew and salivate food, similar to chewing gums.
Hence, the brain gets the signal to eat something that makes you avoid food. It does not fill your stomach but delays the hunger.
Sometimes, chewing gums could help avoid untimely snacking that may affect an individual’s appetite.
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Slow Down While Eating
You should be careful with the pace of eating as faster eating may cause overeating. Generally, an individual must properly chew before swallowing the food.
You should[10]take sufficient time to finish the food, especially for chewing.
Another advantage of slow eating is it allows you to feel full. The human body takes up to 30 minutes to release gut hormones and signal the brain of fullness.
Hence, slowing down the consumption extends your food intake period resulting in less hunger after meals.
Besides slow eating, you should avoid watching television, smartphone, etc., as it may cause overeating unknowingly.
It would be best to consume food with family, friends, or alone with minimum distraction.
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Manage Stress Levels
Stress management is another significant way of lowering an individual’s appetite.
Generally, people taking excessive stress increase their body’s cortisol level, which may impact their hunger.
People with high cortisol concentrations have higher food cravings resulting in increased appetite.
Moreover, higher stress may[11]lower the PYY (Peptide YY) hormone concentration that regulates the feeling of fullness.
Here, a healthy diet with essential nutrients could help balance stress levels. Moreover, you should consider controlling stress levels by doing regular meditation.
People doing breathing exercises in the morning may positively impact their hunger. Hence, you should perform deep breathing regularly to manage stress and appetite.
References/Sources
Working4Health prefers using primary and verified references. We have strict sourcing guidelines and our primary references include peer-reviewed research, academic, and medical institution studies.
- Heather J. Leidy,Cheryl L.H. Armstrong,Minghua Tang,et al. The Influence of Higher Protein Intake and Greater Eating Frequency on Appetite Control in Overweight and Obese Men Obesity (Silver Spring). 2010 Sep; 18(9): 1725–1732.
Published online 2010 Mar 25. doi: 10.1038/oby.2010.45 - Ji Na Jeong Effect of Pre-meal Water Consumption on Energy Intake and Satiety in Non-obese Young Adults Clin Nutr Res. 2018 Oct; 7(4): 291–296.Published online 2018 Oct 31. doi: 10.7762/cnr.2018.7.4.291
- Nithida Narang, Wannee Jiraungkoorskul,and Parinda Jamrus Current Understanding of Antiobesity Property of Capsaicin Pharmacogn Rev. 2017 Jan-Jun; 11(21): 23–26.doi: 10.4103/phrev.phrev_48_16
- Carbohydrates and Blood Sugar Available from:https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates/carbohydrates-and-blood-sugar/
- Devinder Dhingra,Mona Michael, Hradesh Rajput,et al. Dietary fibre in foods: a review J Food Sci Technol. 2012 Jun; 49(3): 255–266.Published online 2011 Apr 12. doi: 10.1007/s13197-011-0365-5
- Karine Spiegel,Esra Tasali, Plamen Penev,et al. Brief communication: Sleep curtailment in healthy young men is associated with decreased leptin levels, elevated ghrelin levels, and increased hunger and appetite Clinical Trial Ann Intern Med. 2004 Dec 7;141(11):846-50. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-141-11-200412070-00008. Available from:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15583226/
- Aylin Ayaz,Asli Akyol,Elif Inan-Eroglu,et al. Chia seed (Salvia Hispanica L.) added yogurt reduces short-term food intake and increases satiety: randomised controlled trial Nutr Res Pract. 2017 Oct; 11(5): 412–418.Published online 2017 Sep 21. doi: 10.4162/nrp.2017.11.5.412
- James Dorling,David R. Broom,Stephen F. Burns,et al. Acute and Chronic Effects of Exercise on Appetite, Energy Intake, and Appetite-Related Hormones: The Modulating Effect of Adiposity, Sex, and Habitual Physical Activity Nutrients. 2018 Sep; 10(9): 1140.Published online 2018 Aug 22. doi: 10.3390/nu10091140
- Marion M Hetherington,Martin F Regan Effects of chewing gum on short-term appetite regulation in moderately restrained eaters Appetite. 2011 Oct;57(2):475-82. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2011.06.008. Epub 2011 Jun 28. Available from:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21718732/
- By Ann MacDonald Why eating slowly may help you feel full faster October 19, 2010 Available from:https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-eating-slowly-may-help-you-feel-full-faster-20101019605
- Efthimia Karra, Keval Chandarana, and Rachel L Batterham The role of peptide YY in appetite regulation and obesity J Physiol. 2009 Jan 1; 587(Pt 1): 19–25.Published online 2008 Dec 8. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2008.164269
- About the Author
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Alisha Matthew has been a practicing nutritionist since 2016. She holds a master’s degree in nutrition from the University of IOWA. She is a staunch believer in improving the human health index by educating people about nutrition and the importance of nutrition in leading a healthy and happy life. Her long-term goal is to keep educating people on general health and keep herself updated with the latest trends in the field of health.