10 Foods That Will Fill You Up

For those looking to ditch a few pounds, "grazing" can often be a large pitfall of dieting. Pass the office candy bowl a few times a day, and the once-innocent M&M's turn into an hourly routine, not an indulgence, and leave you feeling no fuller than when you began munching. In fact, they are almost addicting.

Instead of snacking on sweets and fatty foods, choose the right foods during and between meals to help keep you full throughout the day and to help cut back on your tendency to graze.

More than a decade ago, Australian researcher Susan Holt, of the University of Sydney, developed the "Satiety Index" — a list of the foods which leave you feeling the most full after consumption. Surprisingly, the common denominator between the most filling foods was not the type of food, but the amount of protein, fiber, and water the foods contained.

Fatty, sugary foods like cakes, cookies and doughnuts proved to be the least filling because that fat is stored by the body for emergency energy use rather than immediately being broken down. As a result, the body does not tell the brain to cut hunger signals, so you are left wanting more. The opposite occurs with protein-, fiber-, and carbohydrate-rich foods, which leave you feeling fuller for longer.

Incorporating foods like oranges, apples, and peanut butter in your daily diet will help curb the desire to snack on unhealthy foods and help to keep you feeling satisfied for longer. Check out the list we've put together and start changing your eating habits today.  

Click here to see the 10 Foods That Will Fill You Up Slideshow.