Satiation is what signals us to stop eating a meal.
Satiety is how satisfied we are in between meals. It is a longer-term phenomenon that occurs when we obtain enough of the all the essential nutrients like the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids we require. Thus, we don’t search for more or as much food for a longer time.
From this article:
"The average person eats between three and five pounds of food per day. In a pamphlet entitled Low-Energy-Dense Foods and Weight Management: Cutting Calories While Controlling Hunger, the CDC writes, “Research shows that people eat a fairly consistent amount of food on a day-to-day basis. This finding holds true whether the amount of food contains many or few calories.” —Take the ceiling here which is 5 lbs of food per day. That is 2267.96 grams of food per day (eaten at lib to comfort). It's reasonable to assume the average person eats somewhere around 3 meals per day. That is around 756 grams per meal. So, if you're dieting down and dieting hard, each of your meals should hit a minimum threshold of 800-900 grams to achieve satiation. Since you'll be in a calorie deficit and likely hungrier when meal time comes around, you should err a tad higher. I'd say 1300 grams is a reasonable minimum threshold for maximizing satiation.
Let me emphasize that this is GRAMS of food. What this means is puffed products alone aren't very effective. This includes rice cakes and popcorn (Greg Doucette LOL). Air from puffed products don't make it into your stomach (gastric stretch mediated satiation). Liquid does though. See below.
From this article:
"Protein seems to have a greater effect on satiety than the other macronutrients. A minimum of 20g of protein per meal seems to be the sweet spot." —It's optimal if protein source is savory to capitalize on the synergy of IMG + MSG (enhance with MSG sauce like Maggi sauce), which further enhances satiety. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been shown to increase satiety when combined with protein. Inosine 5'-monophosphate acts synergistically with MSG when tasted, is present in high-protein sources, and may potentially further enhance satiety. For satiation (triggers you to feel full during the meal), it's hard to beat the bang-for-buck you get with carbs and water. More specifically, you should prep the carb source in a way where you are ingesting a high volume of liquid without your brain really registering that it is largely liquid you are ingesting. Yes, you essentially want to trick the brain. Refer to study below:
"In general, the water content of foods is a critical determinant of energy density; it has a larger effect than other ingredients such as fat or fiber. We saw in the previous experiment that adding water to a food increased the effect of the food on satiety. It is of both practical and theoretical interest to determine whether the addition of water affects intake simply by increasing the volume in the stomach, or if an increased volume of food affects satiety through sensory and cognitive influences. For example, a food with added water will look bigger and will likely cause greater stimulation of oropharyngeal mechanisms. One way to separate these influences is to test subjects with the food and water consumed separately and to compare the effects with those when the food and water are mixed together. In a recent study, we developed a chicken, rice and vegetable casserole containing 1128 kJ and weighing 263 g (Rolls et al. 1999b). The base of this casserole was undiluted cream of chicken soup; thus water could be added to the casserole to make a soup. The casserole and soup had exactly the same ingredients except for the additional 356 g of water in the soup. In a third condition, the casserole was served with a glass of water equivalent to the amount of water that had been added to make the soup. When the women in the study ate lunch 5 min after finishing the preloads, the water affected how much was eaten, but only when it was incorporated into the casserole to make a soup. The women ate similar amounts when the casserole was served with and without a glass of water. When they consumed soup, however, they felt fuller and less hungry and consumed ~27% less energy compared with intake at lunch after the casserole. The subjects did not compensate at dinner for this reduction in lunch intake. This study showed that water had to be incorported into a food, thereby increasing its weight or volume, to influence satiety."
"Food volume is important in the satiety response and may be more important than specific macronutrient content." — More accurately this is for satiation, not satiety.
From this study:
"The effect of mastication on food intake was stronger insofar as more trials found a significant effect of mastication on food intake. Overall 10 of 16 experiments which measured energy intake found a significant effect of chewing on ad libitum intake. The first to demonstrate this was Lavin et al. [24,33] who showed that sucrose containing preloads consisting of a chewable candy (pastilles) reduced energy intake at lunch compared to the same energy provided as a semi-solid (jelly) or as a drink. The pastilles took 10 min to chew, the jelly 5 min to eat and the drink 2 min to consume. Thus the conditions differed in both chewing effort and oral transit time. Nevertheless, despite showing no effect on appetite, participants reduced intake of a pasta and bread test meal following the pastilles compared to water and the sucrose drink preload. It can be concluded that prolonged chewing reduced intake at the lunch." —Food texture/bite is important for both satiation and satiety. This is why oatmeal sucks. Cream of rice sucks even more. Stop eating baby food. Puffed kamut is the winner.
Read my puffed kamut reddit post. Over 700 upvotes ok?
https://www.reddit.com/r/1200isplenty/comments/rnty20/puffed_kamut_is_king_for_satiety_300_kcals_kashi/
32 grams of puffed kamut (slightly nutty and buttery flavor) with 800 cc of cold flavored liquid and 4 grams of TN flavor pack. Really, True Nutrition's Chocolate Flavor Pack is the best for this. I've tried this with Skinny Syrup and Almond milk—it's not as enjoyable. Just with 113 kcals, you've already hit 836 grams for 1 meal!!! Refer to what I talked about above wrt 800 grams minimum threshold for satiation per meal. Puffed kamut eaten the way I recommend is very unique in that puffed kamut is actually firm with a slightly chewy texture (unlike other puffed products such as popcorn). What I notice is that because of this firm and slightly chewy texture, I naturally want to drink the cold flavored liquid IN BETWEEN bites. This is essentially prepping the food in a way where I am eating the carb source with a lot of liquid but my brain not realizing that I'm just ingesting a bunch of liquid. This is not at all the same as having a cup of liquid to drink separately. Remember, we are trying to trick the brain here. You wouldn't enjoy ramen if the noodles and broth were separated into two different bowls. This is very similar to how vegetables and fruits help you achieve satiation without you even noticing that they are over 85-90% water.
By the way, 32 grams of puffed kamut is 4 grams of fiber. Fiber slows digestion and contributes to satiety. If you eat 32 grams of puffed kamut 4 times per day, that's 16 grams of fiber. Pretty good eh?
"Participants enjoyed their meal less when asked to prolong chewing by 30 s for each mouthful." —Yes, mindful eating with no distractions is good. But you don't want to purposefully slow someone down.
"Sham feeding models have shown that oral stimulation affects circulating ghrelin concentrations." —Again, food texture is very important. Stop eating baby food like oatmeal and cream of rice.
From this study:
"This study assessed the impact of liquid whey protein dose manipulation on subjective sensations of appetite and food intake in a cohort of athletes. Ten male athletes who performed both resistance and aerobic (endurance) training (21.2 ± 2.3 years; 181.7 ± 5.7 cm and 80.8 ± 6.1 kg) were recruited. In four counter-balanced testing sessions they consumed a manipulated whey protein supplement (20, 40, 60 or 80 g protein) 1 hour after a standardised breakfast. Subsequent energy intake was measured 3 hours after the protein supplement using an ad libitum test meal. Subjective appetite sensations were measured periodically during the test day using visual analogue scales. All conditions resulted in a significant decrease in ratings of hunger (50-65%; P < 0.05) at the time of supplement consumption. However, there were no significant differences between the conditions at any time point for subjective appetite sensations or for energy consumed in the ad libitum meal. Increasing whey protein supplement dose above 20 g did not result in a measurable increase in satiety or decrease in food intake." —Again, 20 grams protein minimum to maximize satiety (between meals), not necessarily satiation (carbs with high volume liquid—but prepping in a way so your brain doesn't register you're just ingesting a bunch of liquid—are the key here)
Read Marty Kendall's article here. It's very good:
"Although low energy density foods might make you feel full in the short term, our analysis suggests that you might search for food again before too long. While low energy density foods provide some essential vitamins and minerals, they don’t supply the complete array of nutrients you need, particularly the amino acids selenium and zinc.
Consider how a big bowl of watery soup may leave you feeling full immediately after you eat it. However, there’s a good chance you’ll be hunting for some more energy dense foods in only a few hours.
Conversely, low energy density veggies alongside a lean steak may keep you from thinking of food for many more hours. So while this meal provides more calories, it’s likely to bring you satiation and satiety for long and short-term satisfaction that will allow you to eat less.
The table below shows a selection of these parameters ranked by the most to least substantial effect each has on satiety based on our analysis of 125,761 days of data from 34,519 Optimisers. For example, we tend to consume 55% fewer calories each day when we move from a diet with a low percentage of total calories from protein (protein %) to a very high protein % diet. Energy density comes in at number 19 on this list of parameters that positively affect satiety. "—Did you read that? For satiety (not satiation), energy density comes in all the way down the list at number 19!!! All you IIFYM fans should focus on the QUALITY of your diet especially if you are dieting hard in a calorie deficit. What ranked ABOVE energy density? Protein, potassium, methionine, valine, diet quality, cystine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, lysine, histidine, threonine, tyrosine, phosphorous, tryptophan, cholesterol, folate, calcium, niacin (B3).
"Protein % has a highly statistically signficant impact on energy intake throughout the day. Moving from 22% to 44% protein reduces energy intake independently by around 33%." —People will eat through kilos of food and thousands of extra calories to meet their protein minimum. Eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of LBM.
"Moving from lower to higher intakes of potassium, calcium, fibre, and sodium per calorie also correspond with a lower calorie intake. " —Yes, sodium. Salt your food to taste!
"The multivariate analysis shows that some of the satiety benefit previously attributed to protein is actually due to other micronutrients."
"If you want to improve your satiety across the day, it’s better to focus on foods and meals with a higher nutrient density to ensure you get the protein, vitamins, and minerals you require at the expense of minimal energy." —Remember, this is for satiety. For satiation, biggest bang for buck is carb + discreet liquid.
"The lists below illustrate what nutrient-dense foods look like. As you can see, they still have a fairly low energy density, but a high nutrient density to ensure you get everything your body requires from the food you eat." —Go to the link above if you want the actual table. I'll just highlight some good options: asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, green peppers, whole egg, egg whites, pork, beef, crab, cod, shrimp, salmon, haddock, tilapia. I would also add chicken and turkey.
Now, what is the optimal meal frequency? I recommend every ~4 hours which incidentally falls right in line with the recommended protein bolus frequency to maximize hypertrophy. You can certainly eat protein alone but the downside is without carbs you likely won't be able to hit the ~800 gram meal threshold for satiation. Why every ~4 hours? Carbs are shown to have the highest acute satiety until the 150 min mark, when protein takes over. After 3 hours, carbs return Ghrelin levels to baseline fasting levels.
Here are some other satiation tips. You should start thinking about incorporating liquid to elevate your dishes. Not only will the liquid contribute more volume to your dish, it will also make the dish taste better.
Similar to how puffed kamut's firm and slightly chewy texture makes it ideal to be eaten with a lot of flavored liquid (and conversely would be way too dry and chewy when eaten alone)—there are many other dishes/foods that bodybuilders typically eat that would benefit from adding liquid.
96/4 lean ground beef. What is the most common complaint of lean ground beef? It's dry. When you cook 96/4 lean ground beef, you should add water so that you are essentially simmering the meat. When you're done cooking the meat, transfer it to a bowl WITH the simmered liquid (which is now also infused with the meat flavors, herbs, spices, seasoning you used). Before eating, add a couple drops of maggi sauce and eat it like you would kind of like a stew. You will notice that the broth tastes pretty damn good. Veggies like broccoli and cauliflower also complement lean ground beef. Veggies are over 85-90% water and offer a nice counterbalance to any additional dryness of the lean ground beef. One of my meals is 96/4 lean ground beef, broccoli, cauliflower, and puffed kamut (with 800 cc cold water + TN chocolate flavor pack). It's an absolute satiation and satiety bomb for only 380 kcals. I can go up to 5 hrs without eating after that meal.
Blueberries. What is the most common complaint of blueberries? They are too tart. You should submerge FRESH blueberries in a bowl of cold water and add 8 drops of ez-sweetz (sucralose). Eaten this way, blueberries taste much better. And you've just added additional volume to your meal.
Why not just add Splenda/Stevia packets without the liquid? Those aren't 0 calories (they are suspended in maltodextrin and dextrose which are not zero calories)
Why FRESH blueberries and not frozen? Water makes up 70-90% of the weight of most fruits and vegetables. It and other substances are stored in the rigid cell walls which support the structure and texture of the product. When you freeze a fruit or vegetable, you are freezing the water contained in the cells. As the water freezes, it expands, and ice crystals cause the cells walls to rupture. This causes the texture to be much SOFTER when it is thawed than when it was raw. Rapid freezing and vitamin C mitigate this but not nearly enough. Just buy fresh blueberries. Same thing with broccoli and cauliflower. Don’t buy frozen or precut (once broccoli and cauliflower are cut, quality degrades much faster) broccoli and cauliflower. Buy the whole crowns/heads. Texture after cooking is much better. Remember, TEXTURE is a big factor wrt satiation and satiety. Although blueberries are slightly more calorie dense compared to strawberries and watermelon, I still find FRESH blueberries a superior fruit from a texture standpoint bc the skin is significantly more firm and chewy.
Always have your meals with a cup/bottle of water with you. Let's say one meal is salmon and puffed kamut. You eat the salmon and are thirsty after. Drink water after before diving into the puffed kamut. Remember, we are capitalizing on adding volume to your meals in a way where the whole meal experience is elevated. This is such a no brainer recommendation but I feel like it's worth mentioning bc people often forget this. I am in no way recommending you to force liquid into your meals/dishes—only add if it elevates the dish/meal. Why not a flavored drink or diet pop during the meal? YMMV but I find flavored drinks mask the flavors of whatever I'm eating. I do drink diet pop but I typically drink it either after a meal or in between meals.
Lastly, learn to cook your proteins right. Stop eating dry ass chicken breast. If you have to, buy a sous-vide or an air fryer. Once you've had lean chicken breast cooked sous-vide at 142 degrees for 1 hour, you will find all other chicken served at restaurants inferior. Ditto with wild salmon cooked sous-vide at 120 degrees for 45 minutes. And you will appreciate just how many unnecessary calories restaurants add to their dishes when you could achieve BETTER flavor (herbs, spices, MSG sauce, g hughes) and texture saving hundreds of calories.
Make your food taste damn good. Maximize satiety and satiation. And other than the social aspect, you really won't feel like you're missing out by not eating out—even when you're dieting hard and getting shredded.
