David A. Kessler, the author of The End of Overeating, explains very well how people become addicted to foods that are high in sugar, fat, and salt. Like addiction does, this causes people to crave so they eat more and more foods that are loaded with unhealthy ingredients and many times, completely devoid of any nutrients.
So, as the process goes, people are instructed to stop eating sugar, fat, and salt. However, many times, those instructions are not supplemented with healthy replacements and it’s left to you to do the research, which is no simple task. As Michael Pollan says in In Defense of Food, scientists and the food media keep things much too complicated for the average person and this confusion keeps people trapped in a fat body. So let’s boil this down. There are nutrient-filled foods that will keep you full for a long time and quite easy to find at any local grocery store. If you eat these better quality foods, you won’t need to overeat and frankly, you may not be as tempted by the glazed donuts that Marcy brought into the office.
Here are a handful of the foods that we are talking about. Where are these in your diet today? Are any of them included? Is anyone snacking on all of these each week?
1. Banana
What a great fruit! Not only are bananas available year-round, they are fairly inexpensive. If you reach out for a banana when you feel hungry instead of an empty calorie snack, you’ll nourish your body and you’ll be ingesting way less fat and sugar than many snacks.
2. Eggs
As long as you’re not eating twelve of them in one week, eggs are good for you. Eggs are an excellent source of protein and protein is the “real diet secret” because foods high in protein will keep you full longer. In fact, Prevention Magazine recently revealed the finding of a study that showed that eating two eggs for breakfast helped women lose 65 percent more weight and decreased their waistlines 83 precent more than women who didn’t!
3. Almonds
Dr. Mehmet Oz might be the one responsible for popularizing the idea that nuts and almonds are such an important snack foods. Almonds are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and protein. Just one handful of almonds will keep you full for a long time because they are great at suppressing appetite.
