Let’s talk food volume.
When it comes to ‘dieting’ people think you have to be constantly starving. Now I don’t know about you, but I get proper hangry so this is a situation best avoided at all costs 🙂
When you’re looking at your calorie intake, you need to try to get much as you can for the calories you consume. Yes, you could have all your daily calories in one meal (and enjoy it!), but what would you do for the rest of the day? Or do you just ignore the fact you’ve consumed your total calories in one day, and carry on as normal?
Think of it like you would purchasing an item, such as a car. On the one hand, you could buy a new car for £10,000; or on the other hand look around for a car at the same price with 4 brand new tyres, tinted windows, an added sunroof and a free music system thrown in for an extra £50 (I don’t know much about cars……. but you get the effect).
So when you look at calorie intake, how can you make changes to ensure you get the most out of your calories (‘cash’)?
Food volume is a huge way to try to save a few calories, so you can still enjoy treats, which will help you with overall motivation. It’s really important on days where you’re exercising – who wants to exercise when you’re feeling hungry or empty?
For lunch today I had 2 cheese wraps – cheese was approx. 150cals and the wraps were 378cals (528cals in total). On their own, they wouldn’t have filled me up for longer than 10 minutes, so I need to add food volume to avoid snacking later on. I added rocket, cucumber, tomatoes and red pepper (total extra calories, approx 50) so the wraps were more filling and now there’s less chance of me hitting the biscuit barrel this afternoon.
I’m in no way an advocate of permanent low-carb diets or other diets that eliminate food groups unnecessarily, but making a few changes can allow you to eat more, feel fuller for longer and sometimes consume fewer calories than normal. I find that fake carbs (spiralized veg, cauliflower rice etc.) are really good to help with this – we usually eat with our eyes first, so if you see a half empty dinner plate, then you’ll never feel full.
Make sure that at least half your plate is filled with vegetables, for low-calorie food bulking.
What are your favourite ways to keep yourself fuller for longer? Please feel free to comment below.
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