Can the Satiating Diet Help You Lose Weight

What is the satiating diet?

The foundation of the satiating diet consists of healthful foods that trigger satiety—or feelings of fullness and satisfaction. These include lean proteins, like fish and yogurt; produce and high fiber whole grains; and good fats, from foods like avocados and nuts. The plan also incorporates capsaicin, the substance that gives spicy peppers their heat. That makes sense, as this natural chemical has been shown to curb appetite and rev metabolism.

According to a 2017 study by the Canadian researchers, the satiating diet consists of the following daily: at least four servings each of whole veggies and fruits; 5 servings of high fiber whole grains (with at least 4 g of fiber per portion); lean protein in every meal (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, or tofu); nuts and seeds, avocado, and other healthy plant fats; at least one legume meal per week; and the consumption of hot peppers or red peppers.

Does it help with weight loss?

The results of the aforementioned small study seem to indicate so—at least for obese men. The study of the diet tracked obese men. Thirty four followed the satiating plan, which provided 20–25% of calories from protein, 45-50% from carbs, and 30-35% from fat for 16 weeks. Another 35 obese men followed a standard diet with 10–15% protein, 55-60% carbs, and 30% fat, based on Canada’s national guidelines for healthy eating.

The men on the satiating diet lost significantly more weight and body fat, and they experienced greater feelings of fullness compared to those who followed the standard diet. Even better, the satiating diet eaters stuck with it. Only 8.6% stopped following the diet, compared to 44.1% of standard diet eaters.

Why it's similar to the keto and Mediterranean diets

If you’re thinking that aside from the hot peppers this is pretty much a Mediterranean diet, I agree. In fact, with all the whole grains and fruit, it’s far from the keto diet. These days, any diet that allows for generous portions of fat is labeled keto, when in fact keto also severely limits carbs to about 5% of total daily calories.

A Mediterranean diet typically provides 30-35% fat, so the satiating diet is not above the norm. While the satiating diet slightly tweaks the other two macronutrients, curbing carbs a tad and upping lean protein, it’s still very balanced overall. And the fact that it doesn’t eliminate any entire food group does make it more doable than other extreme approaches.

How to follow the satiating diet

Unfortunately, there is no one website or go-to resource to learn about the satiating diet, but it may be coming. For now, if you’re interested, here’s my advice: Follow a Mediterranean diet, for which there are many resources available online (Health's guide to the Mediterranean diet made simple is a good place to start.)

Next, add some whole hot peppers or dried pepper seasonings to your meals, to take advantage of their calorie-boosting, appetite-suppressing benefits. Finally, fine-tune your protein and carb portions so you strike a balance that allows you to feel energized—while simultaneously filling you up and downgrading your desire to eat.

Focus on whole foods, such as oats and quinoa over processed carbs, like pita bread and crackers. Choose high quality animal products, like pasture-raised eggs and grass-fed meat and yogurt. Above all, listen to your body and your gut instinct.

Many people quit the keto diet because they don’t feel well on it, or they find it impractical to never eat a banana or potato again. If you tried keto and felt the same way, ditch what doesn’t feel right, regardless of what’s popular. Hone in on an eating pattern that best supports your physical, emotional, and social wellness, so you can shed pounds happily and healthfully, and keep them off for good.

Top 10 Trending Diets of 2020 According to Google

 Top 10 Trending Diets of 2020

 According to Google

Today, Google is putting out its annual Year In Search report, which includes the top trending diet searches of the year in the US. You’ve probably heard of most of them, if not tried a few yourself. Some are actually sound, nutritionists say, while others don't necessarily have much scientific backing...and a few are a little off the wall. Here's the entire list of the top trending diets of 2019, starting from the top.

Intermittent fasting diet

The intermittent fasting diet caught everyone’s attention recently when Jennifer Aniston revealed that she does it. There are different versions of this diet, which involves periods of going without solid food—Aniston favors the 16:8 version, which means she eats within an 8-hour window then fasts for 16 hours. But does it actually work? It can.

“It’s suspected that the reason it helps people lose weight is that eating within an 8-hour window simply limits the total amount of calories consumed in a day,” New York-based nutritionist Lauren Harris-Pincus, RD, previously told Health.

Dr. Sebi diet

The Dr. Sebi diet is a controversial one. The guy behind it is the late Alfredo Darrington Bowman, aka Dr. Sebi, who wasn’t a medical doctor but a self-educated herbalist. It didn’t help that he claimed (until a 1993 lawsuit ordered him to stop doing so) that his diet could cure conditions like AIDS, sickle cell anemia, lupus, and leukemia. Basically, the Dr. Sebi diet promotes consuming plant-based foods and supplements that supposedly decrease disease-causing mucus by bringing the body into an alkaline state.

Noom diet

“Noom diet” was one of the top trending diet searches in 2018, and it’s high on the list again this year. Noom is actually an app—one that lets users log meals, access workout plans, track exercise, set goals, rate their motivation level, and connect with like-minded people. It also has articles, recipes, and support from personal health coaches (although not RDNs).

If that’s not enough, if attempts to address emotional eating and looks at how factors like stress and boredom can affect eating decisions. That all comes at a price, however: around $50 a month, and the plan is designed to last for four months. “While the app provides support, the user ultimately has to make his or her own eating and exercise decisions,” Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, Health contributing nutrition editor, previously told Health.

1200 calories diet

Just as the name of this diet implies, it's an eating plan that limits dieters to 1200 calories daily. Many variations exist, and the diet doesn't restrict any one food group or type of food. While sticking to 1200 calories a day might sound feasible for the short-term, keep in mind that the USDA's Dietary Guidelines for Americans advises that moderately active women between ages 26 and 50 should take in about 2,000 calories daily to maintain a healthy weight. Cutting back to 1200 might be too restrictive to sustain.

Keto ultra diet

The high-fat, low-carb keto diet was at the top of last year's top trending diets list from Google. Quick refresher: the goal of the diet is to get your body to a state of ketosis, where you burn fat for energy rather than carbs, which leads to weight loss. This variation of the super popular keto diet is basically keto with supplements, which claim to put your body in a state of ketosis or increase fat burning while you're in ketosis already.

GOLO diet

The premise of the GOLO diet is that hormone imbalances lead to stress and anxiety, and this in turn makes you hungry and tired...which triggers overeating. While diet and exercise are part of the GOLO plan, users are also advised to take a supplement called Release to help bolster those healthy habits and boost weight loss. "Without independent data on Release, it’s difficult to say if it indeed leads to better results, and if it’s safe for all," Sass previously told Health.

Dubrow diet

Created by Heather Dubrow of Real Housewives of Orange County and husband Terry Dubrow, MD, one of the stars on Botched, the Dubrow diet is an intermittent fasting plan with three phases that focuses on whole foods and restricting calories. The diet features sample meal plans and it doesn't eliminate carbs. But all the phases and fasting windows could make it a bit complicated to follow, Sass previously told Health.

Sirtfood diet

The Sirtfood diet can be filed under “Is this too good to be true?” It claims to be the only eating plan which actively encourages red wine and dark chocolate, which are both high in sirtuin activators. (Sirtuins are a type of protein that protects the body’s cells from dying and from inflammation, and research suggests they can help regulate metabolism, increase muscle, and burn fat.) This diet has actually been making headlines for a while due to (unsubstantiated) claims that singer Adele followed it to lose weight.

No carbs no sugar diet

This plan appears to come from Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, who announced on Instagram back in January that they would be attempting a 10-day no carb, no sugar challenge. Apparently J. Lo discovered that cutting out an entire macronutrient was not easy and reported this on social media: "So it turns out, when you don't have sugar and you don't have carbs, you're really really hungry all the time. So we're trying to figure out a lot of good snacks."

Endomorph diet

This diet is inspired by research from the 1940s, when a psychologist classified people into three body types: ectomorphs, mesomorphs, and endomorphs, the latter having excess fat and less muscle tone. Supposedly, endomorphs have slower metabolisms, and their bodies are more likely to convert excess calories to fat. They're advised to eat more protein and fats while keeping an eye on carb intake.

If Google's 2019 list has inspired you to try any of these diets, just remember that most diets don’t work, insofar as they don’t lead to sustained weight loss. The worst case scenario is that a structured eating plan (no matter how “healthy” it claims to be) can lead to disordered eating habits.