How Can I Stay Full Without Bread?

To stay full without bread, you can eat more eggs, meat, avocado, nuts, or legumes, or drink more water or tea.

Is Bread Filling?

Eating bread is actually not incredibly filling compared to a lot of foods. When I eat just toast for breakfast, or other similar carby things like pancakes or cereal for breakfast, I notice that I actually get hungry again pretty quickly. There are some types of bread with better nutritional value, that are more filling, but the most commonly consumed type of bread is white bread. There are few nutrients. Bread lacks both fiber and protein, two nutrients which can really help you to stay full after a meal. If you must have bread, try wheat bread or rye bread or something like that instead, it can be more filling than white bread with all the nutrients removed, basically. If you would like to read another article on what to eat instead of bread, here is an article that I wrote on the topic.

Eggs

I am giving eggs their own paragraph because they are such a great way to stay full. They are an especially good choice to stay full for the entire morning if you have them for breakfast. I’ll usually eat 2 or 3 eggs for breakfast, either large or jumbo, at around 8 am, and they’ll typically keep me full for the entire morning until I eat my lunch at 12 or 12:30 pm.

 
There are so many different things that you can do with eggs too. I usually take mine scrambled, with a few chipotles chopped and mixed in (I like it spicy!) or hot sauce. I’ve been especially getting into Melinda’s Black Truffle Hot Sauce lately, for my eggs. If you don’t like hot sauce however, you can have them with some salt and pepper, or a little bit of cheese, or chives or something like that thrown in. And of course you can have them so many different ways. You can have them sunny side up, in a super healthy omelet with peppers and other veggies, or hard boil a whole dozen of them in advance, so all you have to do is peel and go.

Meat

Generally, meat is so much more filling than bread, because it packs in so much protein. For my lunches, especially when I’m doing a low carb diet, I’ll usually have a little bit of steak, or grill up some chicken, or have some little tuna packets. I especially like Starkist Tuna, because it comes in so many different flavors in a nice little flavored packet. Of course steak may not be the best choice to eat too often, because it comes with a lot of saturated fat. Too much saturated fat can cause cholesterol to build up in your arteries, and lead to increased risk of stroke, and heart attack. It’s fine in moderation though, as are most things, and a lot more filling than bread. Tuna and chicken are both great lean, low fat options. A lot of different types of fish, and seafood, also tend to be both quite filling, and quite healthy. If you would like to read more about the most filling foods you can eat on a low carb diet, you can find an article that I wrote about it here.

Avocado

Avocado also gets it’s own paragraph, because I feel like it’s in a class of it’s own. Avocado is a very healthy choice to eat on a low carb, or Keto diet, or even if you’re just trying to eat healthier, in general, without any specific type of diet. Some even say that they are a superfood. They contain lots of healthy fats, that keep you full. They have plenty of other health benefits, such as 30% of your daily value of folate, a B vitamin that is used to make healthy new cells, and 20% of the daily value of potassium, which is needed for muscle, heart and nerve function, and blood pressure regulation. They have plenty of other benefits that I won’t even take the time to get into.  I’ll often have a little avocado in the afternoon for an afternoon snack, and I find it very filling, I’m usually not hungry until dinnertime after that. The way I like to eat my avocados, is sliced nice and thin, with some sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Nuts

Nuts tend to be very filling. Nuts like walnuts and almonds are dense with energy, and nutrient rich. They’re very high in protein and healthy fats, and many different studies show that they are filling. It may also help for them to fill you up even more, if you chew them properly. One older study “found that chewing almonds 40 times lead to a greater reduction in hunger and increased feelings of fullness compared with chewing 10 or 25 times.”

Legumes and Beans

Legumes, including beans, are another quite filling option. Some people seem to think that they may be even more filling than meat. This may be because they have more fiber than meat. Plant-based foods may also be more conducive to weight loss. In one study, there were three different options, and the participants ate either patties made of veal and pork, or patties made of beans and peas. The high protein legume meal kept the participants fuller longer, it delayed their hunger and created more fullness compared to the high protein meat meal. Those who ate the legume meal also consumed 12% fewer calories than those who had the meat patty, at their next meal. Since meat is already more filling than bread, legumes are definitely a great way to stay full without bread.

Drinking More Water

Drinking more water, can help you to stay more full without bread, and it adds 0 calories or carbs. One thing that you can do, if you are trying to reduce your calorie consumption, is to actually drink a full glass of water before a meal. I find that tea is also something that works really well for me. I just have black tea with a little bit of milk, and no sugar usually. But sometimes I’ll have tea in the evening if I want something to eat, and just drink tea instead.

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