Controlling Hunger

5 Ways To Control Hunger

One of the biggest challenges facing the health and fitness industry is finding ways to control hunger. In a perfect world there would be a surefire way to reduce hunger and drop the waistline simultaneously. Is this possible? Here are 5 tips to get started.

1. Eat More Protein

Believe it or not, eating more protein will help you get leaner for a few reasons. The first has to do with something called thermogenesis. It takes more calories to break down protein compared to digesting carbohydrates and fats. Second, protein helps with satiety and keeps you full longer. Let’s not forget either that protein is critical for growth, maintenance and repair of your muscles. The more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate will be. Therefore, start strength training and keep the protein coming .

2. Drink More Water

Two key facts on water: it is required and contains NO CALORIES. Pretty basic but a lot of people still don’t drink enough. It will increase feelings of fullness, reduce hunger and increase energy expenditure. Overweight people should drink half their body weight in ounces per day.

What about temperature? The research is split. Don’t use water temperature as an excuse not to drink it. Start drinking more first and worry about temperature later.

3. Get More Essential Fats

Essential fats are something many people are lacking in today’s world. These are poly and monounsaturated fats, like the ones you find in oatmeal or extra virgin olive oil. They are involved in almost every process and cell in the body, so we absolutely NEED them. The challenge is we have so many non-essential fats readily accessible on the market – cookies, cakes and candy, etc. Many times, the essential fats play second fiddle. Start prioritizing the essential type, like fish oil, to help with body composition and increasing lean body mass.

4. Exercise

Exercise is the main way to  burn calories, build metabolically active tissue, and get the bodymore receptive to receiving nutrients. It’s critical to maximize your workouts by incorporating full-body multi-joint exercises, like squats and deadlifts. Not only will these types of movements burn a ton of calories, but they will add more muscle. More lean body mass will pull those fats and carbs out of the  bloodstream to be burned…yes!

5. Controlling Insulin

The body uses various forms of regulation techniques in the form of hormones. Think of insulin as a ‘fuel selector switch’ in the body, either storing carbs in the muscle as glycogen or storing fat around the waistline. Everything we eat will create some release of insulin. The key is keeping the insulin response as low as possible for better fat burning. Sticking with proteins will do just that, like lean meats, fish, eggs plus lots of non-starchy vegetables and essential fats.

Contact Tim at

triplejumpfitness.com 1020 Congress Street Portland, ME 04102 860-671-0844