15/09/2020
Satiety is the feeling of fullness after a meal. A satiating meal will make you feel full and stop you feeling hungry for longer, which obviously has important implications for weight loss 👌
The Satiety Index of Common Foods (Holt et al., 1995) looked at 38 different foods and measured perceived hunger every 15 minutes for 3 hours after consuming each food. White bread 🍞 was given an arbitrary score of 100% (anything with a score higher than 100% is more satiating per calorie than white bread, and vice versa).
If you’re looking to maintain or lose weight, consuming foods higher up on the index could keep you feeling fuller throughout the day and stop you reaching for the nearest biscuit tin 🍪 You’ll probably be surprised to hear that boiled potatoes score highest - carbs are NOT the enemy! Re-read that again please. Fruit, such as apples and oranges 🍎 🍊, and protein sources such as fish 🐟 also score high.
At the other end of the scale, hyper-palatable foods that contain refined carbs and added fat, such as cake, doughnuts and crisps 🧁 🍩, score lowest. This doesn’t mean that these foods should be avoided, but just be mindful of portion sizes. As I’m sure we can all vouch for from experience, it’s a hell of a lot easier to eat 1000 calories of chocolate than it is of potato or fish 😂
So if you’re looking for a simple way to keep your calorie intake controlled without having to count calories, try and predominantly eat foods higher up on the index ✅
