Intermittent fasting is such a great way to jumpstart your weight loss journey, but it isn’t always easy.
In the early days of fasting, especially for the first time when you don’t know what to expect, the hunger pangs can be downright shocking.
There are many ways to curb hunger while intermittent fasting, but there’s one that’s often overlooked in favor of other tips and tricks that offer quick solutions.
That’s eating more filling foods during your feeding window!
While the benefit of intermittent fasting is that you’re altering when you eat and not what you eat, it’s still essential to remain at least somewhat mindful of the latter.
You don’t need to full-on diet or count calories (thought that would help), but if you can quickly and easily make intermittent fasting that much easier on yourself just by tweaking your diet the teeniest bit – why not?
Today I want to share with you five of the most filling foods to curb hunger while intermittent fasting.
What Makes Most Foods Filling?
While you could get by just incorporating some of these filling foods into your diet some of the time, I think it’s important to know why foods are filling in the first place.
This list could take you pretty far, especially if you’re just starting on your intermittent fasting journey.
But I believe in empowerment.
Knowing for yourself what to look for, so you don’t even need a list to make choices that make your life easier would be outstanding, don’t you think?
So it’s really simple what makes food filling.
Foods that are high in protein, high in fiber, high in volume, and low in calories. Boom, that simple!
The foods don’t need to have all of these properties at the same time (though that would be ideal.)
But the more of this combination you can find, the better.
Now that you know what to look for, here are 5 examples of foods you can add to your intermittent fasting diet plan for easy success!
5 Of The Most Filling Foods For Intermittent Fasting
This list isn’t exhaustive by any means, but I want to share the best, most filling foods that I personally eat regularly to sustain long fasts (20+ hours), intense workouts and lose a ton of weight lightning fast!
Keep in mind you don’t have to eat all of them (or any of them if you don’t want to!), but they really will help you feel full for much longer.
Plus, they’re incredibly delicious, won’t cause any belly bloat or digestive issues, and are lower-calorie so you’ll automatically lose weight eating more of these and less of other things (without counting calories!)
1- Oatmeal
Oatmeal is probably my go-to, and I highly recommend it for intermittent fasting for so many reasons!
First, it’s got tons of fiber, meaning it really will keep you full for a long time compared to other choices. Second, it’s made with lots of water, meaning it will help with hydration.
And also, the calorie density of foods goes down the more water you add.
Oatmeal is one of the best choices you can make for intermittent fasting.
Really any oatmeal will do, but steel-cut oats are better than regular rolled oats.
And rolled oats are better than instant. (You do want to avoid the instant oats that have tons of sugar in them, but even those would be better than say, a bag of chips.)
The thing about steel cut oats is that they are so filling and delicious, but they can take a long time to cook.
So what I do is make a big batch of them once a week in my Instant Pot, store it in the fridge, and then when I’m ready to eat it I just pop it into the microwave with a little water or almond milk, sweeten it with my favorite zero-calorie sweetener (this one has antioxidants in it and is granulated JUST like sugar)! Maybe add some fruit or nuts, and boom!
A quick, tasty snack or meal that’s low-calorie, delicious, and extremely filling!
You can’t go wrong with oats, man!
2- Legumes (Beans)
Beans are another intermittent fasting superfood that I swear by and think you should incorporate into your diet every single day if you can.
Beans are a powerhouse because they are high in protein, high in fiber, nutrient-rich, and relatively low in calories for volume.
Another significant benefit of beans is that they are affordable, flavorful, and easy to put together!
Sometimes I throw dry beans in my Instant Pot and make a big batch for the week like I do oatmeal, but more frequently, I just open a can of beans, throw it in the microwave, add some seasonings and put them on top of whatever else I’m already eating.
I love a quick, simple, tasty dish that keeps me full long into the next day.
Any type of beans will do, but I love black beans and pinto beans most. Chickpeas too!
Do you have a favorite?
4- Fruit
The next intermittent fasting superfood is fruit.
Fruit is one of the secret weapons that I’ve been really digging these past few months as I’ve reached all-new low weights in my whole adult life.
Fruit is so great because they are flavorful, filling, low calorie, nutrient-rich, and affordable for any budget!
It may take some getting used to, but if you make a habit of pre-loading every single meal with a piece of fruit, you’ll be so much fuller.
Seriously, eat a small apple before your burger and fries even if that’s what you want to eat while intermittent fasting, and I promise you won’t be hungry as quickly.
Any fruit will serve you well, too. You can’t really mess this up!
One thing I want to say is I used to fall into the trap of wanting to eat something highly flavorful or decadent (or processed) all the time, for every snack or meal.
If this is you, I encourage you to try to break that mindset.
Sometimes if you’re feeling hungry during your feeding window, you don’t have to have this big meal or something junky just because it tastes good.
It’s okay to nibble on an apple, for now, knowing you can have whatever you want for a nice, big, filling dinner, right?
Over time you’ll likely come to appreciate simple, filling snacks like a piece of fruit.
And it’ll become a wonderful dietary habit that keeps you slim and trim like never before!
Give yourself the chance to adapt to liking more uncomplicated snacks like fruit.
You just might be surprised at how good it feels! ????
5- Rice Cakes
Okay, so I know I might get a little pushback for this because not everybody loves rice cakes. To some, they can be a bit bland, but hear me out!
When you get into the groove of intermittent fasting and want to feel full or want to munch on something crispy, rice cakes are an excellent choice.
The plain, unsalted ones are only 35 calories each, and they provide that satisfying crunch that feels good to your mouth and brain.
If I’ve eaten dinner and I’m still not as full as I’d like, I’ll go ahead and munch on a rice cake to take me over the edge. Even though rice cakes are basically just puffs of air, they do help with feeling fuller for longer.
Sometimes I like to spread avocado over mine (the fat and flavor in lightly salted avocado help with satiety.
So if one of your go-to snacks would be chips, for example, keep in mind that you can still enjoy chips here and there while fasting, but you need to be mindful of what you’re eating still.
It’s possible to completely undo your great results and all the hard work you put in with fasting by going overboard.
If you need extra help, I’ve got just the thing to save the day…
Want To Lose Weight REALLY Fast?
With intermittent fasting, you generally don’t have to alter your diet too much in the beginning to see some weight loss. But, a) sometimes you want BIG weight lost and b) you want it FAST!
If you need to lose weight really fast and jumpstart your fat loss process, try the smoothie diet!
It’s a weight loss program that includes all the tools you need to lose weight, from a simple daily plan, tons of quick, easy, delicious smoothie recipes, and step-by-step instructions to walk you through the entire process.
It’s a three-week program but honestly, you will start to lose weight in just two or three days.
After one week you’ll be super happy. And if you make it to two weeks your mind will be completely blown!
It works so well you’ll think it’s magic. But it’s not. It’s real weight loss and fat loss that will give you the confidence boost you need.
Check out the smoothie diet right now!
Good luck!
P.S. If you’re wanting to try it and see it at a discount, buy it now! When I first saw it for cheaper I hesitated, then the price went up and I had to wait a LONG time for the next discount (and it wasn’t that much off.) Don’t lose out and have to pay more than you need to!
