How to Stay Full While in a Caloric Deficit
Let me guess why you clicked on this article.
You have probably, read, over and over, that the only way to lose weight is to cut out your carbohydrates, to do fasted cardio, or to eat plant-based diets, yadda yadda yadda..
I am sure that you have tried all of that stuff, or haven’t wanted to try that nonsense, and you aren’t losing that stubborn belly fat that you want to lose.
I am here to tell you that you don’t eat to do any of that mumbo jumbo.
I am here to break this down as simply as possible for you.
Let’s Go!
Let’s quickly go back to the science behind weight lost, because SCIENCE ALWAYS WINS!
The only way to lose weight is to be in a caloric deficit (which means you need to eat less calories than you burn.)
It sounds very simple, but trust me, it is very hard to actually execute CONSISTENTLY!
As I often tell you, throughout my Social Media; whatever you do (when you want to get to a goal), the best approach is the long-game approach!
You do not want to rush towards your goal.
The quicker you try to get there, the more you will lose on the way!
Let me give you a quick example:
If you go into too deep of a caloric deficit when are you trying to lose fat, you will set yourself up for failure (and I don’t believe in failure, but that’s how much I hate rushing towards a goal)!
You may ask…
“But why Ric, shouldn’t I try to lose weight as quickly as possible so I can perform better?”
My answer is…
“NO, I want you to take it slowly, because if you go into too deep of a caloric deficit, you will lose muscle on the way, and that’s the last thing we want!”
I tell all of my athlete clients, that the highest I want them to go in a caloric deficit is 500 calories..
They then reply with
“How will I lose then fat?”
And I respond “WITH CONSISTENCY!”
The way to be consistent with a caloric deficit is to find simple ways and use “hacks and tricks” (as much as I hate those words) to help you get there.
The most important and simple hack is to keep yourself as full as possible when dieting.
When you fill yourself up eating nutrient-dense whole foods, you leave less room to overeat, which means fewer calories consumed, which mans caloric deficit..
If you can make yourself feel full when dieting, you will be on your way to success!
I want to teach you a simple way (that I have taught to hundreds of coaching clients) to keep consistent with a calorie deficit: Finding ways to keep yourself full.
The simple reality is: the way that you generally exceed your proper caloric intake is by failing to fill yourself up at each and every meal.
Let me stop rambling..
Here are 10 Tips For You to Stay Full When Dieting:
1. Hydrate Yourself!
Dehydration can mask itself as hunger, which can lead to eating more food, which will get you out of your caloric deficit.
Your aim should always be to STAY HYDRATED
-The “trick” (I’m giving you a lot of my tricks, I know, I’m a nice guy ☺) I use with clients is:
1. Drink 2 glasses of water before every meal, and 2 glasses of water after every meal.
-Besides the digestive benefits, water will make you feel “full.”
It will give you the feeling of being satiated, and guess what: it contains no calories!
2. In the morning BEFORE your coffee, drink a big glass of water with 1 tsp of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt in it.
SALT in Water?!
Pink Himalayan Sea Salt, not ordinary table salt…
After (hopefully) 8 hours of sleep, you will most likely not be properly hydrated.
Pink Himalayan Sea Salt has 65 minerals in it, which will help rehydrate you.
Simply drinking plain water isn’t the best and most proper way to stay hydrated.
You may ask…
How do you know if you’re hydrated? Your pee.
Your pee should be light yellow.
If you are dehydrated, your pee will be dark yellow and smell bad.
You also want to make sure you have a balance of sodium and potassium!
-As I said before, you should, and can, use a bit of sea salt on your food to keep your sodium levels balanced.
-In terms of potassium, there are many excellent foods that are high in potassium, such as:
1. Bananas
2. Oranges
3. Cooked Spinach
4. Cooked Broccoli
5. Sweet Potatoes
6. Lentils
7. Kidney Beans
To name a few.
Your aim is to keep that sodium and potassium balanced. Don’t stress too hard about it..
Just salt your foods lightly, and eat foods that are high in potassium.
2. Protein!
Maybe bodybuilders were right about this one…
No, it will not destroy your kidneys! (Dr. Marc Bubbs, Dr. Stuart Phillips et al.)
Protein is most important macronutrient for you to recover and rebuild with, and the most satiating macronutrient (the more you eat of it; the fuller you will be while dieting).
As long as you get your protein from natural sources, you are in the clear!
How Much Protein Do You Need as An Athlete?
If you are training hard, you need to have an adequate protein intake.
Specifically, if you are an athlete; you should take in at least 1 gram per pound of bodyweight.
If you are 170 pounds, you should eat at least 170 grams of protein per day.
I know it may be hard, but over time you can start to increase the number of grams, and, over time, your body will learn to love it, and it will all add up.
Start one meal at a time.
At breakfast, add 1 more egg.
Add an extra protein shake between breakfast and lunch.
Add an extra protein shake between lunch and dinner.
Once you get accustomed to it, you can add an extra ½ a chicken breast, etc.
Protein also has a high thermic effect (energy required for digestion), which means that protein takes the most amount of energy to digest, which means you are actually burning some of the calories you eat by eating protein (not drastic, but enough to point out).
One of the best parts of being a coach, and analyzing clients’ diets, is that I am able to see developing major trends in the industry. Clients come to me wanting to lose weight or build muscle, and 90% of them are not consuming enough protein, and eating far too many processed foods.
Once they increase their protein intake, they gain more muscle, and become full while dieting (which leads them to lose fat).
Please be warned. I am not here trying to shove protein down your throat just to hit your goal. Always listen to your body, and be mindful of how it feels.
3. Stop Drinking Your Calories!
I don’t know about you, but I like to eat my calories (other than my morning protein smoothie).
By the way, if you haven’t checked that out, click the link below and try it out:
A lot of clients come to me, and are drinking smoothies made from a prepackaged recipe, or they are drinking iced teas.
I tell them they don’t have to completely eliminate them. I know, however, that if they replaced these things with whole foods, they would be able to stay full while dieting (caloric deficit).
Maybe you are drinking too many alcoholic drinks on the weekend?
That is, of course, your choice, but you should know that the calories from alcohol add up quickly, and they certainly don’t make you feel full.
I am also 100% sure that those ‘late night drunk eats’ are never the healthiest choice.
Unless you’re insane like me.
I once came home from a bar at 3 AM (don’t worry it was off-season). All of my friends ordered pizza. I went into the fridge and cooked myself 5 eggs and had some salad…..
My friend Allie asked me, “Ric, are you really eating salad at 3 AM?”
I quickly replied that “Beach season is coming up and I’m thinking about those gains!”
Most of you know how crazy I am, but that’s what makes me who I am.
Anyways…
One or two glasses of wine are absolutely fine, but you shouldn’t be going overboard if you really want to lose weight.
4. You Need to Realize You Are Going to Be Hungry
-When a client comes to me sand wants to lose weight and I slightly decrease their calories, they come back within a couple of days in panic, and tell me how hungry they are.
I always let them know that it’s normal.
There is no reason to panic if all of a sudden you are hungry (it’s absolutely fine); as long as you don’t starve yourself, you will not die.
Don’t mistakenly think that I’m telling you to starve yourself and always be hungry. I just want to let you know that it might happen, and it’s okay.
But the point of this 2,500 + word article is for you to follow the tips and eat the foods (below and above) in this article to keep you full when dieting (so you are not hungry all the time).
5. Eat More Vegetables
-Another major thing that I see when onboarding a coaching client is how few vegetables they eat!
Come on now..
Didn’t Popeye say that spinach makes you big and strong?
Start with at least 3 servings per day (the size of a closed fist). Over time, get yourself up to 6-8 servings per day.
As I said in the beginning, don’t do it too quickly (unless you want to spend your night and day on the toilet)!
Too much fiber, too quickly, is definitely not the best move for your digestive system.
Why Eat Vegetables?
Besides being very good for you, and giving you a ton of micronutrients and antioxidants, vegetables will keep you full.
They take up a lot of space in your stomach and absorb water, so they expand, which will keep you full.
When you are full, you will likely eat less, which will likely keep you under your calories.
It’s all adding up, isn’t it?
Want to learn how to food shop? Check this out:
6. Don’t eat 1,000 Calories Per Day
I remember my roommate used to come home at 5 PM (after training twice) and brag to me that he only ate 400 calories that day..
I would look at him in shock, and tell him:
“Dude, do you think that’s funny?! That is not safe, please stop doing that!”
Soccer players will do anything for abs man…
Going back to what I said in the very beginning, do not rush the process of trying to lose weight.
-If you try to eat only 1,000 calories per day, you are setting yourself up for failure.
As I always say:
CONSISTENCY OVER INTENSITY
CONSISTENCY OVER RIGIDITY
7. Sparkling Water, Tea, Coffee:
I talked about not drinking your calories.
Now, let’s talk about drinking the right beverages so you can stay full when dieting.
Sparkling Water has no calories
Tea has no calories
Coffee has no calories
The carbonation in sparkling water will help keep you full. The tea and coffee will also suppress your appetite.
If you are sensitive to caffeine, please stick to Decaf after 1 PM.
8. Stop completely cutting out your favorite foods
Yes, I know, you may be surprised to find this here! I am sure diet culture has told you otherwise.
What happens when you tell 16,17,18 year old high school kids to completely stay away from beer (and they can’t touch it until they’re 21)?
They go out, buy it, and drink more than they’re supposed too.
I’m not here telling you how to parent, but..
In Europe, they give their children tastes of wine at 14,15 and allow them to have it at dinner at around 16.
The kids then realize that it doesn’t taste that good after all, and they don’t truly enjoy it until they age 😉 (pun intended!)
My point is, the more you make something “off limits,” the more the individual will want it.
Depending on your dieting experience, you can use the 80-20 rule, which is what I use with all my clients.
80% of the time- eat food aligned with your goals
20% of the time-eat food that you love and enjoy
You can eat your favorite foods in moderation, as long as you get right back on track afterwards!
No one got fit from only one plate of grilled chicken, brown rice and veggies.
No one got fat off of one nice juicy burger and crispy fries..
It’s the “spiral” that you may lead yourself into….
Instead, enjoy your juicy angus on a crispy butter bun, and have those fries with some ketchup ☺
And just get right back on track afterwards!
The diet culture calls it “flexible dieting.”
9. Go For a Walk:
Wait! How does that keep you full when dieting?
It doesn’t, it’s my article, I make the rules right?
Just messing..
Going for a walk after each meal is, however, an excellent way to help you digest, and get your mind off of food.
I have found the more people hang around the kitchen and ruminate about food, the more obsessed they will become, which can lead to overeating.
Get your mind off of food, and make a rule for yourself to go for a 20 minute walk after each meal.
10. Don’t Eat Past the Point of Fullness
This is the easiest and most self-explanatory tip, but people still do it.
Why?
Because they don’t pay attention to their fullness cues.
Trust me, it’s understandable. I’ve done it (and still do it sometimes).
Everyone does it.
You need to know that it takes 20 minutes for your stomach and body to realize you are full.
After you eat a big meal, sit with it for a while.
Occupy your mind with something else.
Go for a walk, read a book.
After a while, I guarantee you will say to yourself..
“Wow, I actually am very full!”
____________________________________________________________
Now that we went over those 10 tips for you to stay full when dieting, let’s talk about 12 foods that will keep you full when dieting:
The “Magic” 12 Foods:
1. Chicken Breast:
Tons of protein with little fat (but it can be bland).
Experiment with ways to keep it moist and flavorful. I recommend cooking it in the oven with some herbs and spices.
2. Lean Steak:
Once again, a lot of protein and little fat. If there’s any extra fat, cut it off.
I have been doing something lately that I learned from a good friend (who is a steak chef at a restaurant).
How to Cook a Mean Lean Steak:
1. Turn the oven to 350-375 Degrees Fahrenheit, and let it heat for 20 minutes.
2. Heat an iron skillet for about 5-7 minutes with NO OIL!
3. Sear the steak on one side for about 2-3 minutes.
4. Flip the steak. Finish it off in the oven for 18-20 minutes (depending on the cut of the meat).
3. Eggs:
Besides a ton of protein and good quality fat, eggs have tons of great micronutrients and amino acids.
If you want to learn how to cook a mean omelet, check out how I make it here:
4. Greek or Turkish Yogurt:
Both taste very good and are very similar ☺
-Anyways, these yogurts are quick, convenient and low in calories.
-If you live in the US, I’m a big Fage or Oikos guy.
5. Cottage Cheese:
Similar to Greek and Turkish yogurt, but might actually make you even fuller (it makes me fuller).
6. Leafy Greens:
Very low in calories, with tons of antioxidants and micronutrients. Will definitely keep you full when dieting.
7. Cucumbers:
Let me not repeat myself and make you angry, same reasons as leafy greens.
8. Protein Shakes:
You can use water or even unsweetened almond milk (if you’re in the US, go for Khalifa Farms; WOW!).
These are also an excellent “supplement” to your whole foods diet to up your protein intake.
9. Strawberries:
An entire pound of strawberries is only 150 calories and has tons of nutrients. Come on now..
10. Watermelon:
Similar to strawberries, but even lower in calories! An entire pound is only 140 calories!
11. Oatmeal:
One of the best complex carbohydrates out there that packs a ton of fiber. I guarantee that this will keep you full for hours! Just make sure you add some protein inside, like Greek or Turkish yogurt or even a scoop of protein ☺
12. Potatoes:
NO! Potatoes don’t make you fat. As long as you cook them right, and don’t fry them in deep oil, you will be fine! They will do an excellent job of keeping you full.
What do you think?
You think you can stay full when dieting after reading this article?
I know you can. I am confident in you. I believe in you.
So, you should believe in yourself!
If you have any doubts, or questions, shoot me an email efriedlander94@gmail.com
My Coaching Program:
If you are interested in more individualized and specific tips on how to build your diet for you, and you want to invest in yourself for at least 6 months, you may be interested in my 1 on 1 Coaching Program.
My One-on-One Coaching Program is 100% individualized, so you receive 24/7 support from me.
We will develop a nutrition plan centered around your goals and your lifestyle. This will allow you to develop a better relationship with food, perform better than anyone else, while reducing body fat so you can feel confident, perform better than anyone else on the pitch and look better than you ever have!
We will team up and help you get the best results possible.
After you fill out a very specific questionairre of your exercise, sport and nutrition history, I will have you do a 3 day meal diary will allow me to see your specific eating behaviors and your relationship with food. We will tune into your emotions and why you eat what you eat.
If you’ve never looked into your emotions, why you eat what you eat, and how you feel after you eat, you are missing out…
If you are interested in my program, apply here:
https://ricfittraining.com/online-coaching-ricfit
But, please make sure you know, this program is NOT for everyone. It is NOT easy and requires a lot of hard work and discipline. If you put in the work and follow the blueprint I lay out for you to a tee for 6 months, and you don’t get results, I will give you all your money back plus an additional $500.