What tastes good and fills you up for minimum calories?

[choux]

I tried some old jeans on yesterday and they don't fit. I knew I was drifting upwards on the scales and am now 10-15 lbs over where I want to be. I have started walking to work and joined a gym but what can I eat that fills me up and tastes good? A typical day is:

B - instant porridge pot with added blueberries and black coffee
L - Pret soup / bread or sushi
S - bag of popcorn
D - meat or fish and veg or quorn meatballs and pasta

From about 4pm onwards I am always hungry! I use my fitness pal and find I can do ok till late in the day but then the snacking sometimes goes a bit crazy and it's often crisps. What healthy snacks will satisfy me?

Oatcakes or Ryvita mininswith low fat cottage cheese & pineapple! Yum

meant to leave a gap between minis & with (soz)

I like corn cakes ( like rice cakes but corn....) with humous or crunchy peanut butter

More exercise, more water, less sitting down being hungry

I would have a bigger breakfast - eggs; or porridge, then toast, then fruit
Take in your own lunch. A big crunchy salad with some protein and fruit, or homemade chunky veg soup (you know whats in it, then). Shop bought sushi is full of shit and not very low cal. If you have to buy lunch, buy a salad from a deli or cafe with a counter, so you can specify whats in it, as supermarket salads are calorific.

Mote protein than carbs on your plate for dinner. Keep low fat yogurt, lots of fruit and dried fruit / nuts for emergency snacking (but try not to everyday). Those low cal Go Ahead bars are pricey and full of sugar, but if you need a sugar hit for less cals, they're good.

Porridge fills most people up first thing in the morning. Wholemeal breads for lunch, or lentil soup (very filling). Salad.

Definitely agree with someone else saying you have to increase your exercise regime - means you've less free time to snack and sit down!

I eat rice cakes (the Snack a Jack variety) if I'm feeling hungry between meals but this is a rare event.

Try adding protein to breakfast and lunch, this will help with the hunger. I fill up on a hot drink rather than eat anything.

Fluffy and mags are right. More protein..with lunch, also replace the popcorn snack with protein (eg some roast chicken, tuna, hard boiled egg, a palmful of nuts and an apple) and swap the dinnertime pasta for a big pile of veg. Then you could also have a snack of a couple of squares of dark choc or a biscuit with a cup of tea around 4pm, help you get through to dinner without going crazy.

Don't let yourself get so hungry that you end up bingeing on crisps etc, if you feel a bit hungry try a glass of water or cup of tea - if still hungry eat a snack with protein in.

Best thing of all is MFP or similar, definitely focuses the mind on what you are eating and what a difference a bit of exercise makes in a day

Protein kills hunger for me. Carbs satiate in the short term but leave me hungrier later on.

eg. two eggs for breakfast leaves me satiated until lunch
two pieces of toast and I#m starving by 11 with full on hunger pangs. Worse than if I'd no breakfast.

Sugar-free jelly. Easy to make, cheap, filling and low in calories. Useful for an occasional snack as part of an otherwise balanced diet.

Agree with the make sure you have enough protien with your carb, it'll fill you up longer. I'm more of a good fat's than low fat person - so I'd stick some chopped nuts or seeds in with your porridge, some good fat and protien to help fill you up.

Honestly cottage cheese is so low in fat anyway if you are going to have it you may as well have the full fat version - it will stop your body craving the fat it thinks should be there and satisfy your hunger faster. It's refined sugar I'd stay away from like the plague and artificial sweetners. Sugar sends your blood sugar and insulin into wack and is empty calories you don't need anyway, artificial sweetners work like low fat food, they trick your body into thinking it's getting more calories than it does, makes you hungrier and makes your metabolism slow down to try to conserve as much energy from what it does get. They also mess up your insulin/blood sugar too. Bodies are more complicated than we try to pretend they are, they like to stay in homostasis if possible so will try to counter the things you change in order to stay the same.

I also had a friend who swore by 'hard chew snacks' if she got hungry, the act of chewing makes you feel full and the hard chew snacks can keep your blood sugar balanced - so carrot sticks, apples, rice/corn cakes, celery, raw cauliflower (I like it). Don't try to eat things you really hate though it's not worth it and you won't stick to it.

Oo love the combo of a few squares of dark choc and a couple of mejool dates if I got peckish in the evening, that or some warm milk with a couple of drops of either almond essence or vanilla essence, who needs sugar or hot chocolate :)

Far far too much carbs. Carbs only fill up short term. Not surprised you are hungry after 4pm.

Protein and fat more filling for same number of calories.