Fats for satiation?

[Gwen]

Hello,
How is a person supposed to be satiated on plant foods for more than a couple hours at a time? It is said that adding some sort of fat to a meal helps people go longer between meals. I don't like to eat too often, but it seems plant foods/starches just don't last that long and I'm hungry again.
Any advice?
Gwen

[Willijan]

I am eating a very low fat version of this diet now--no nuts, olives, avocadoes, etc., and just a tiny amount of soymilk--about 1/2 cup every 3 to 5 days. And I do need to eat often, usually 4 meals a day. I am retired and don't spend a lot of time away from home, so that isn't a problem for me.

The way I look at it is, keeping the fat content of my diet low is what will make me healthiest, and also what will make me look my best. Plus I love the food, so I am very happy to get to eat more than 3 times a day!

I do feel satiated after I eat, I just get hungry again 2 to 4 hours after eating. My husband, who weighs about 37 lbs. more than I do, seems to eat less than I do, and he eats usually only 3 times a day. He occasionally eats high fat plant foods. Mostly, if I ask him if I can make him something he says, "I am still stuffed!" (from the meal he ate hours before). So people vary.

Why don't you like to eat often? Is it the problem of taking lots of food to work, or do you just not want to bother with it? How many times a day do you have to eat?

[Gwen]

I usually eat 3 regular meals, but get hungry between meals. I guess I'll have to eat more at mealtimes. I just don't want to have to think about what I'm going to eat...I'd like to just not think about my stomach.

[Vegeloon]

Be sure to make your starch the center of your meal - that really helps me feel full longer.
I find that 1/2 starch and 1/2 green or yellow veggies on my plate is a good combination for me.

[f1jim]

For me keeping my starch content high keeps my satiety level high. They represent a huge portion of my diet. Because they are naturally low in fat you can eat them as often as you need.
f1jim

[vgpedlr]

I know people often say fat or protein is satiating, but not for me. I can easily overeat by hundreds of calories rich foods with little impact to satiety. Like Jim, I am most satisfied by starches. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and beans top my list. White rice is surprisingly satiating as well.

Try using the CRON-O-Meter to track a few days eating. Post your results here for feedback.

[Hal]

I have the same problem, AND i'm trying to put on some pounds. I am always thinking about my next meal - little time for anything else - i think i need to get a bunch of tupper-ware, and find recipes that taste good re-heated.
I'll spend a day preparing food for the week, and put it in the containers.
Eating six or seven times a day is not a problem for me, unless i have to cook it each time, as i do now.
It also heats the house up to cook, and we are having a heat wave.

I tried adding avocado to my sugar free kale/banana smoothy, and my rice and beans, but i think that has given me heartburn, so i have stopped with that.

A dollop a avocado makes me feel great, stomach stops complaining, but only for a very short time, then it may actually get worse.
Does this make sense to experienced McDougallers?

[vgpedlr]

Same suggestion for you Hal. Track it all for a few days using the CRON-O-Meter and see what comes up. If that doesn't clear things up, post your results here for feedback.

[Chumly]

It also takes time to adjust to the low fat intake. When I first started eating low fat, I couldn't feel the level of fullness I felt with a higher fat intake no matter how much I ate. After a few weeks, I felt fine and it was easy to eat 3 meals a day with feeling ravenous. I did notice immediately that the low fat lunch did not lead to the afternoon slump that made me run to the coffee machine. I've heard people say that carbs make you sleepy, but they really mean carbs that come with a lot of fat make you sleepy. this diet energizes you.

Michael

[MINNIE]

[quote]How is a person supposed to be satiated on plant foods for more than a couple hours at a time? I[/quote]

If you can't, Then simply eat more starch .

Seriously , there is a learning curve for this. It's pretty short but you do need to experiment a bit. If you do it for a while you will find out what foods are most satisfying for you, and how often you prefer to eat.

Many people find potatoes the most satiating food, others prefer oats, sweet potatoes or other starches. For me it seems to be buckwheat -but everyone is different. Some days I prefer to eat small meals throughout the day. Nothing wrong with doing that if it's what feels right.

OTOH, if I know I am going to be busy, or traveling all day, I will fill up in the morning on some buckwheat porridge and fruit. That can keep me non-hungry for most of the day.

For this way of eating to work, you have to accept that it is starch-based, not vegetable or fruit based. Those foods are great but they won't give you the energy and staying power that comes from starches.
Some versions of a "plant-based" diet are not sustainable because it's too hard to stay full and energetic. That's why starches are your friends.

P.S.

If you haven't already done so, you might find it helpful to read Dr. McDougall's"The Starch Solution", or check out free information on this topic. There's lots of it in the Education section of the site.

[Werner1950]

But there's nothing wrong with eating an apple in the mid morning' and a banana in the mid-afternoon. It helps me to remember that when I was on the sad diet, I would also get hungry between meals - only then I would chow down on a donut or a candy bar and a coke or fries or chips. So I don't feel bad about having a healthy snack now. Sometmes I will throw a potato in the microwave and have it as a snack.

[patty]

Beans work when you have bursts of hunger:) It just takes a tablespoon, keep a container in the refrigerator. If you have problems with beans, have cooked potatoes or bags of cooked rice. I have baked pumpkin/banana/cherry oatmeal squares. it is the starch that creates the satiety, that is why veggies are considered a condiment. Weight will balance itself out. We are never angry at what we think we are, and that is true with mindless eating, it is just a REACTION of what we THINK of a event that we have been powerless over that has or will be happening. We are learning to deal with life on life's terms. Satiety/starch is the antidote that allows being. The biological metabolic dollar of fat and oil stops with STARCH. Life is designed to disappoint us. So we look beyond. Bank on fiber, on your digestion system. It's fiber that stops the buck here.

Aloha, patty

[AlwaysAgnes]

Beans work when you have bursts of hunger:) It just takes a tablespoon, keep a container in the refrigerator. If you have problems with beans, have cooked potatoes or bags of cooked rice. I have baked pumpkin/banana/cherry oatmeal squares. it is the starch that creates the satiety, that is why veggies are considered a condiment. Weight will balance itself out. We are never angry at what we think we are, and that is true with mindless eating, it is just a REACTION of what we THINK of a event that we have been powerless over that has or will be happening. We are learning to deal with life on life's terms. Satiety/starch is the antidote that allows being. The biological metabolic dollar of fat and oil stops with STARCH. Life is designed to disappoint us. So we look beyond. Bank on fiber, on your digestion system. It's fiber that stops the buck here.

Aloha, patty

Vegetables are not considered condiments. If anything, they're better categorized as free foods. You can eat as much vegetables as you want. Condiments are things one eats in small amounts to add flavor to other foods. Things like ketchup, mustard, bbq sauce, salt, and sugar are condiments.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... egetables/ :
"Green and yellow vegetables are too low in calories to serve as the centerpiece of your meals, but can be added without restriction."

[Hal]

I have discovered that a little avocado (the only 'fat' i am currently consuming on a very limited basis) makes my stomach slow down a bit, so i can go a bit longer on less food, but heart-burn is almost assured, and my sense of physical well being is lowered starting about an hour after consuming, and gradually recovers when i go back to starch.

A (much) bigger helping of starch is all i need to feel at my best, and to go long enough between meals.

With the use of a few 'tricks', like a teaspoon of ketchup with a big plate of browned potatoes, or a wee bit of sugar and salt in my spaghetti sauce, i can eat a lot starch at one time. I use only a little bit, as my palate is salt/sugar free for so long.

[patty]

Beans work when you have bursts of hunger:) It just takes a tablespoon, keep a container in the refrigerator. If you have problems with beans, have cooked potatoes or bags of cooked rice. I have baked pumpkin/banana/cherry oatmeal squares. it is the starch that creates the satiety, that is why veggies are considered a condiment. Weight will balance itself out. We are never angry at what we think we are, and that is true with mindless eating, it is just a REACTION of what we THINK of a event that we have been powerless over that has or will be happening. We are learning to deal with life on life's terms. Satiety/starch is the antidote that allows being. The biological metabolic dollar of fat and oil stops with STARCH. Life is designed to disappoint us. So we look beyond. Bank on fiber, on your digestion system. It's fiber that stops the buck here.

Aloha, patty

Vegetables are not considered condiments. If anything, they're better categorized as free foods. You can eat as much vegetables as you want. Condiments are things one eats in small amounts to add flavor to other foods. Things like ketchup, mustard, bbq sauce, salt, and sugar are condiments.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... egetables/ :
"Green and yellow vegetables are too low in calories to serve as the centerpiece of your meals, but can be added without restriction."

As a recovering volume eater my intent is to focus on starch as the primary food and to consider non-starchy vegetables and fruits as condiments.

This is from "The Starch Solution":

What Is Starch?

Plants use water, carbon dioxide, and energy from the sun to form simple sugars through a process called photosynthesis. The most basic carbohydrate is the simple sugar glucose. Inside the plant’s cells, simple sugars are linked into chains, some of them arranged in a straight line (amylose) and others in many branches (amylopectin). When these sugar chains gather in large quantities inside a plant’s cells, they form starch grains, also called starch granules granules (amyloplasts).

Plants store in their roots, stems, leaves, flowers, seeds, and fruits the starch they produce. The stored starch provides them with a source of energy when they need it later, keeping them alive through the winter and fueling their reproduction the following spring. It’s what makes starchy vegetables, legumes, and grains so healthy to eat: Their high concentration of carbohydrates not only sustains the plants but also provides the energy needed to sustain human life.

Starch should be our primary source of digestible carbohydrate. The enzyme amylase in our saliva and intestine breaks down the long carbohydrate chains, turning them back into simple sugars. Digestion is a slow process that gradually releases these simple sugars from the small intestine into the bloodstream, providing our cells with a ready supply of energy.

Fruits offer quick-burning energy mostly in the form of simple sugars, but little of that slow-burning, sustaining starch. As a result, fruits alone won’t satisfy our appetites for very long. Green, yellow, and orange nonstarchy perishable vegetables contain only small quantities of starch. Their most important role is to contribute flavor, texture, color, and aroma to your starch-based meals. They offer a bonus in the additional nutrients (such as vitamin A and C) that come along for the ride.

Aloha, Patty