If you missed part 1, catch it here.
“Appetite is something I have struggled with for a while. What’s worse is that most of the information available is either a) nonsense or b) obvious weight-watchers n00b advice geared at the obese, sedentary individuals (“eat from a smaller plate” etc.). Not difficult to lose fat when you’re obese and sedentary, and if you’re reading this you’re probably neither.
So I ran a series of experiments on myself, looking at specifically what increased vs decreased my own appetite, without taking the pharmaceutical route. Here they are, ranked according to potency:”
“Eat from a smaller plate” – Thanks, Captain Obvious. See below for more functional strategies – Source olivecocomag
Because of leptin and ghrelin’s actions, we annoyingly feel more hungry when dieting and less so when gaining mass. The horrible irony of this means we need some ways to control our appetite, so without further ado:
1) The Propane Latte: 8/10
Creamy banana and peanut butter protein latte. A very satisfying and filling drink that’s zero-carb, high protein and diet friendly, although not much of a looker. Click here for the recipe.
2) 0.5-1 scoop Whey Isolate before a meal: 7/10
This has additional benefits of attentuating the insulin response from a subsequent meal, and is an easy way to both hit your protein requirement for the day while suppressing cravings and appetite. Buy a nice flavour and add some ice to make it something you look forward to. I use MP Strawberry Cream Whey Isolate (Currently buy 1 get 1 half price)
Calorie intake at a lunch consumed 4 hours after consuming various protein – Source: Weightology
While protein is generally more satiating than carbohydrates and fat, increasing the protein-dominance of your total calorie intake will also be more lipolytic [1,2]. Great news. An additional tip would be to eat the protein portion of your meal first, then the vegetables, them the carbs, if any. That way, you’re at least naturally attenuating the damage by prioritising the most satiating macronutrient.
3) Intermittent fasting 7/10
An initial spike in hunger followed by a blunting for up to 36 hours. Additionally, when you do eat, you can eat a 2000kcal meal. The appetite suppression is due to an acute decrease in neuropeptide-y, a stimulator of appetite.
Experiment with different fasting schedules to find one that works best for you (ADF – 36/12, Leangains – 16/8, Propane Protocol: 2 x 24hr/week etc).
The other benefit of fasting is that it allows you to eat larger, more satisfying meals when you do eat, rather than graze throughout the day. If you do 2 x 24 hour fasts per week, this gives you a weekly calorie buffer for other days of the week to eat more.
4) Eating half of your meal, then waiting 20 minutes. 6/10
Sounds silly, but the satiety response is delayed by around this time, so staggering your meals like this is effective for appetite suppression.
5) High Volume Meals: 6/10
Whether or not you’re into fasting, always adjust the volume of your meals to meet your calorie requirements. Here are a few personal favourite high volume, low calorie density meals (recipes in the link above):
a) Pina Colada and Mixed Berry Protein Fluff:
This is so damn tasty:
Recipe here: www.propanefitness.com/forum/topic/protein-fluff
b) Diced Swede with garlic, spinach and spices:
c)1kg grilled mushrooms. That’s right.
Flickr: Daniel Eizans
d) Coconut and Broccoli soup with parmesan:
e) Large salad with low calorie dressing:
I said ‘low calorie’. Some dressings use high fructose corn syrup which do anything but suppress your appetite.
f) Whey + Cottage cheese ice-cream (nicer than it sounds, promise!)
6) Something small and intense: e.g. 2-3 anchovies: 6/10
It’s a little bit of protein + salt, both of which help suppress appetite, and nobody is going to overeat on anchovies!
Flickr: Charles Haynes
7) Black coffee or double espresso: 5/10
If you’re out and about, and can’t make a Propane Latte, regular coffee will do. Caffeine on it’s own doesn’t suppress appetite, but the other compounds in coffee do. Add 1 teaspoon of cream + concentrated sweetener if you can’t stomach it black.
Flickr: fanchonproduction
8) Pint of water: 4/10
Down a pint of water. We often confuse hunger and thirst, and you probably need to drink more water anyway.
9) Brushing your teeth/mouthwash 3/10
If you’re really stuck, at least practice some dental hygiene. Note that both toothpaste and mouthwash generally contain sugar alcohols, so don’t swallow any if you’re on a ketogenic diet… not that you’re that desperate. NB: Sugary mints caused a short-term appetite suppression followed by a rise later.
10) Salt on your tongue: 2/10
This worked for me, I used Maldon Sea Salt during ADF to keep hunger at bay as well as replacing some electrolytes.
11) Green tea capsules: 1/10
Green Tea Extract has many health and fat loss benefits, is fantastic to use before fasted walks, and has a very mild appetite suppressant quality, but nothing to write home about on this front.
Flickr: Yuri Kim
Breakfast vs no breakfast:
No significant difference for me, apart from more hours available in the day to eat.
This differs according to the individual, and many find improved appetite by eating carbs in the morning, generating a disproportionate insulin spike and drop. Regardless, we’d advise against this strategy from a body-composition perspective.
Most important meal of the day… if you’re trying to get as fat as possible. Source: NeueDeutsche
EDIT: Berkhan has just published a fantastic article on breakfast here, basically saying that a fit individual with high insulin sensitivity will get MORE of a stimulatory effect on appetite from eating a high-carb breakfast, potentially leading to overeating throughout the rest of the day. The leaner you are, the more pronounced this effect.
So, best to play it safe in all regards and skip breakfast. Even in the best case scenario it will not help you with your fat loss goals.
13: Sleep
Finally, make sure to get enough sleep: deprivation is associated with higher calorie intake. I sent this article to my mum and her response was ‘if you’re asleep, you can’t eat’. Can’t argue with that kind of logic.
Severe appetite problems or fluctuations?
If you have severe appetite issues, make sure to get a full examination from your physician to determine the cause, as it may be indicative of an underlying condition.
Remember to catch part 1 on appetite stimulation here.
References:
[1] http://jn.nutrition.org/content/133/2/411.short [2] http://ps.fass.org/content/64/6/1199.short
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
I’d rate caffeine higher personally but then I am very sensitive to it.
The strongest legal appetite suppressant for me is DMAA although I’m not sure if this is considered legal anymore. Surprised it didn’t feature in your list.
Not planning on touching either of these on this cut as I hate the crash I get off stimulants; bad outweighs the good for me unfortunately.
Nice article.
I actually find green tea greatly increases my appetite – or at least my desire to eat.
Biggest suppressant for me is routine. Busy routine of work or routine of fasting, quickly adapt to not feeling as hungry.
Lol I’m opposite if I’m busy. Yes it takes my mind off food for a while but a combination of increased calorie expenditure and being forced to go longer than I’d like without food makes me ravenous.
“the ones wanting to be ‘toned’ still have bodybuilding goals, they just don’t realise it” – Yusef
Yeah I was going to include DMAA but also not sure of it’s current legal status! Caffeine on its own won’t affect appetite, but coffee will. Are you able to tolerate caffeine in the morning only without it affecting your sleep? I.e. pre-cardio?
Appetite entrains with circadian rhythm, hence Berkhan advising keeping your 16/8 hours roughly the same each day. When (we all) ate 6 meals per day do you remember being hungry ever 3 hours lol?
Haven’t read Martin Berkhan’s breakfast article myself, but this popped up in my facebook feed this morning and remembered you guys mentioned it. Don’t know if it’s a fair criticism or not, but the article might be worth a second look. Nothing annoys me more than people who attempt to sound scientific by cherry picking data.
From Lyle McDonald:
Interesting, although that is coming from Lyle Mcdonald who has received the same criticism! (peptopro anyone?)
Lyle used to troll Berkhan a lot on facebook and got blocked after a while (lol).
Would be good to see a full rebuttal of that argument, tried googling that quote but came up with nothing. While those particular claims may or may not be true, you’re right to take it with a pinch of salt. I remember him saying that belts and intraworkout carbs were useless while citing a new york times article on endurance athletes.
All of those internet gurus are dicks. But Lyle has an excellent point about Berkhan’s last article, and it’s exactly the same criticism I made: what about breakfast without carbs? What about fat only? Or protein? And then there’s the fact that insulin suppresses appetite.
Berkhan went off the rails a while ago. Lyle is an egomaniac. Alan Aragon is arrogant and cherry picks just as much as the others. There was a science program on when I was a kid called “take nobody’s word for it” and I’ve always applied that principle to research.
Interesting that’s your take on Lyle. I don’t really keep up with the various nutrition gurus, nutrition’s not really my thing as you know, but Lyle (despite the fact that he’s a complete twat) always struck me as one of the most reliable ones.
Lol, being an online nutrition guru does seem to up-regulate the expression of cuntiness in the brain, while giving you an incredibly fragile ego.
Great advice.
double post
When I was a child, there was a science program called ‘look around you’ that formed my life pillars of ideology and morality. That and also Topcat.
I have quite a bit to say on that dick point at the end.
I concur – I’ve actually found the high protein breakfast to be extremely effective at curbing appetite. I’ve been on this for a year now after reading about Poliquin’s meat and nut breakfast and vouch for its awesomeness. However, as my first meal of the day normally comes 3-4h after waking (when I first feel hunger and 12-14h after my last meal), it contrasts with Berkhan’s premise of breakfast being a meal eaten straight upon waking.
The insulin point is interesting, though, but I’m not sure if I’ve misinterpreted your point. Though carbs and protein do fill me up, large spikes of insulin in the day (through carbs or a large breakfast) do make me extremely tired and sap my energy so much that I just want to crash. Curiously enough, eggs and cheese have that same “crashing” effect on me. So, that’s a double-edged sword for me personally, based on how I tolerate insulin. I’d rather keep to a 6oz piece of dead flesh.
Also, I like the IF approach combined with large quantities of water to create a large caloric buffer on days I have all-you-can-eats or large dinners. How long I fast for really depends on what the meal is. I’ve had an all-you-can-eat meat buffet for lunch with nothing else throughout the day and a sushi buffet in the evening after a full-day fast. It is really easy to maintain on a busy day, as you completely forget that you haven’t eaten. Fasting just doesn’t work for me if I’m having a slow day at the office or at home.
I agree on both counts. I don’t drink green tea, but I’ve found black coffee on an empty stomach to stimulate my hunger at certain times. I’m still experimenting to see when exactly this affects me. Also, keeping a consistent routine helps me get used to certain feeding times.
Oh, and just my two cents on Lyle’s comments: I just can’t stand colleagues openly dissing each other in public (facebook or twitter). Mentioning names is the final straw. Settle it on the phone or through private channels, if you please. This just stirs up unnecessary animosity and really polarises opinions. Lyle’s talking about Berkhan here, not Julian Michaels. It’s unprofessional and childish.
— Bruce Lee
I have quite a bit to say on that dick point at the end.
I concur – I’ve actually found the high protein breakfast to be extremely effective at curbing appetite. I’ve been on this for a year now after reading about Poliquin’s meat and nut breakfast and vouch for its awesomeness. However, as my first meal of the day normally comes 3-4h after waking (when I first feel hunger and 12-14h after my last meal), it contrasts with Berkhan’s premise of breakfast being a meal eaten straight upon waking.
The insulin point is interesting, though, but I’m not sure if I’ve misinterpreted your point. Though carbs and protein do fill me up, large spikes of insulin in the day (through carbs or a large breakfast) do make me extremely tired and sap my energy so much that I just want to crash. Curiously enough, eggs and cheese have that same “crashing” effect on me. So, that’s a double-edged sword for me personally, based on how I tolerate insulin. I’d rather keep to a 6oz piece of dead flesh.
Also, I like the IF approach combined with large quantities of water to create a large caloric buffer on days I have all-you-can-eats or large dinners. How long I fast for really depends on what the meal is. I’ve had an all-you-can-eat meat buffet for lunch with nothing else throughout the day and a sushi buffet in the evening after a full-day fast. It is really easy to maintain on a busy day, as you completely forget that you haven’t eaten. Fasting just doesn’t work for me if I’m having a slow day at the office or at home.
I agree on both counts. I don’t drink green tea, but I’ve found black coffee on an empty stomach to stimulate my hunger at certain times. I’m still experimenting to see when exactly this affects me. Also, keeping a consistent routine helps me get used to certain feeding times.
Oh, and just my two cents on Lyle’s comments: I just can’t stand colleagues openly dissing each other in public (facebook or twitter). Mentioning names is the final straw. Settle it on the phone or through private channels, if you please. This just stirs up unnecessary animosity and really polarises opinions. Lyle’s talking about Berkhan here, not Julian Michaels. It’s unprofessional and childish.
“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who had practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
— Bruce Lee
I have quite a bit to say on that dick point at the end.
I concur – I’ve actually found the high protein breakfast to be extremely effective at curbing appetite. I’ve been on this for a year now after reading about Poliquin’s meat and nut breakfast and vouch for its awesomeness. However, as my first meal of the day normally comes 3-4h after waking (when I first feel hunger and 12-14h after my last meal), it contrasts with Berkhan’s premise of breakfast being a meal eaten straight upon waking.
The insulin point is interesting, though, but I’m not sure if I’ve misinterpreted your point. Though carbs and protein do fill me up, large spikes of insulin in the day (through carbs or a large breakfast) do make me extremely tired and sap my energy so much that I just want to crash. Curiously enough, eggs and cheese have that same “crashing” effect on me. So, that’s a double-edged sword for me personally, based on how I tolerate insulin. I’d rather keep to a 6oz piece of dead flesh.
Also, I like the IF approach combined with large quantities of water to create a large caloric buffer on days I have all-you-can-eats or large dinners. How long I fast for really depends on what the meal is. I’ve had an all-you-can-eat meat buffet for lunch with nothing else throughout the day and a sushi buffet in the evening after a full-day fast. It is really easy to maintain on a busy day, as you completely forget that you haven’t eaten. Fasting just doesn’t work for me if I’m having a slow day at the office or at home.
I agree on both counts. I don’t drink green tea, but I’ve found black coffee on an empty stomach to stimulate my hunger at certain times. I’m still experimenting to see when exactly this affects me. Also, keeping a consistent routine helps me get used to certain feeding times.
Oh, and just my two cents on Lyle’s comments: I just can’t stand colleagues openly dissing each other in public (facebook or twitter). Mentioning names is the final straw. Settle it on the phone or through private channels, if you please. This just stirs up unnecessary animosity and really polarises opinions. Lyle’s talking about Berkhan here, not Julian Michaels. It’s unprofessional and childish.
“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who had practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
— Bruce Lee
That’s interesting, as we know eggs and dairy to spike insulin higher than can be explained by the amount of carbs in them. Most likely the leucine content in both: http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=536
This is a good approach, you’re leveraging fasting to your advantage for hedonistic days.
Are you sure it’s not incidental hunger? Strange that it would actually stimulate your appetite.
Speaking of which, did you see Bret Contreras’s rant on poliquin?
maltodextrin
Bret Contrera lol
REALLY hates poliquin.
LOL I did not. Was going to watch the video soon, though.
With regards to coffee, it’s not so much hunger as a really acidic feel to my stomach. At times – not most of the time, but on enough occasions – I get gastric pains after drinking it, which is really strange. I’ve found that I cannot stomach just fruits or dairy on an empty stomach, either. It doesn’t hinder me, but I’m definitely curious as to why I’m getting these gastric reactions to it.
Speaking of all-you-can-eats, I just came off one of them korean meat buffets after a 26-hour fast. I slept in and missed the habitual 8-10am hunger episode.
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