What is the Satiety Diet Plan?

The satiety diet plan relies on consuming food that leaves one feeling satiated (not hungry) while still consuming fewer calories than you otherwise would. In general, the satiety diet is a mix between the Mediterranean diet and the ketogenic diet plans.

Feeling satiated or full is related to your levels of the hormones leptin or ghrelin. Leptin decreases your appetite while ghrelin increases your appetite. Eating certain foods that provide your body with that “full” feeling can help to curb your appetite and leave you feeling less hungry.

What You Eat on the Satiety Diet Plan

• Spicy Peppers (for capsaicin which has been shown to curb appetite)
• Whole Vegetables and Fruits (4 servings per day)
• High Fiber Whole Grains (5 servings per day)
• Lean Proteins (1 portion per meal)
• High Satiety Snacks (nuts, seeds, avocado)

List of High Satiation Foods

Below is a list of the foods that provide you with the highest satiation possible. If you want to start feeling fuller longer, try some of these!

• Boiled Potatoes: Potatoes actually contain a protein called proteinase inhibitor 2 (PI2). Since protein can lead you to feel fuller longer, potatoes are a great meal option.
• Eggs: Similar to potatoes, eggs contain protein which can help you feel satiated.
• Vegetables: Many vegetables have high rates of vitamins and minerals along with a high water content. Eating a salad before a meal has been shown to help you consume fewer overall calories.
• Oatmeal: The high fiber content of oatmeal allows you to feel fuller longer.
• Fish: Another protein, fish also has the filling omega-3 fatty acids that are so good for your health.
• Brothy Soups: Some studies indicate that soups may leave you feeling fuller for longer periods of time, providing a slow rate of stomach emptying.
• Greek Yogurt: Compared to regular yogurt, Greek yogurt is thicker and has a higher protein content. This can help you to feel less hungry.

Pros of the Satiety Diet Plan

• Balanced Diet: Overall, the satiety diet plan is considered a balanced diet as you’re still getting a good mix of healthy fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. No one food group is exclusively banned, although it’s obviously better to avoid high-sugar foods.
• Whole-Food Based: Since you’ll be eating mostly whole foods and avoiding processed ones, your overall health should improve and you should lose weight so long as you’re consuming fewer calories than you’re burning.

Cons of the Satiety Diet Plan

• More Work Cooking: Because the satiety diet plan requires you to eat whole, unprocessed foods, you’re going to be spending more time in the kitchen cooking your own meals. This is fine for some people but for others who aren’t good cooks or have busy lives, it could become too time-consuming. Consider meal prepping if your life is too busy to cook all the time.

How Do You Implement the Satiety Diet Plan?

You want to foods that are high in water content and low in salts and sugars. For example, it’s much easier to consume 100 raisins than it is to consume 100 grapes. The grapes are water-rich and will help fill you up faster and keep you fuller longer. Some dietitians also recommend that you have a broth-based soup or a low calorie salad before your meals to help fill you up more quickly.

Another diet similar to the satiety diet plan is the potato diet plan as we’ve discussed previously. You can eat as many baked or boiled potatoes as you like but you can’t add any condiments or anything else. The good news is that you’re not going to be hungry on the diet but you will become bored of just eating potatoes at some point.

Additionally, you should also take note of how you’re feeling and what you’re craving. Some people tend to crave sugar when they are feeling depressed, but is that really what your body needs? Do you tend to eat more meat after you’ve had a hard workout? Becoming more mindful about what and how you’re eating is another key to being successful on the satiety diet plan.

Evidence-Based Studies on the Satiety Diet Plan

• Greater Weight Loss with Satiety Diet: “Body weight and BMI were significantly reduced in the control and satiating diets. Not surprisingly, greater reductions in body weight were observed in [high satiety plan] men (−5·4 to −6·6 % of initial body weight) compared with [low satiety plan] men (−3·3 to −4·3 % of initial body weight), irrespective of treatment allocation” (Arguin et al., 2017).
• Protein as High Satiety Food: “The solution, implying weight loss and long-term weight maintenance, is conditional on: (i) sustained satiety despite negative energy balance, (ii) sustained basal energy expenditure despite BW loss due to (iii) a sparing of fat-free mass (FFM), being the main determinant of basal energy expenditure. Dietary protein has been shown to assist with meeting these conditions, since amino acids act on the relevant metabolic targets” (Westerterp-Plantenga, Lemmens & Westerterp, 2012).
• Higher Satiation Foods and Weight Loss: “The results show that isoenergetic servings of different foods differ greatly in their satiating capacities. This is relevant to the treatment and prevention of overweight and obesity” (Holt et al., 1995).