You’ve just snacked on rice cakes. Why are you still hungry? That yummy feeling of being pleasantly full depends partly on the weight and volume of what you eat. As the stomach churns away at a large enough weight and volume of food, you start feeling full.

Stomach Churning

The stomach’s churning also prompts the small intestine to release a hormone which adds to the feeling of fullness. Rice cakes alone may not satisfy because they’re too little and light in the belly.

What does this mean for your waistline?

According to nutrition and obesity researcher Barbara Rolls, choosing more low calorie, but relatively heavy foods can help dieters lose weight without feeling hungry. In Rolls’ study, women tended to eat about three pounds of food every day–even when the number of calories in those foods varied. For lunch one day, the women were served pasta salad.

Veggies!

The next day, the salad had more veggies, but the women chose to eat the same amount, by weight, as before. That meant they were eating fewer calories, since veggies have fewer calories per pound than pasta.

Veggies and fruits top the list of foods which create a feeling of fullness for fewer calories. Their fiber and water content make them heavy, and they’re full of vitamins and minerals, to boot! If you’re watching the scales, avoid high calorie, lightweight foods, like potato chips. It might take a whole bag of chips to fill your belly! Instead, try topping those rice cakes with apple or banana, for a healthy and “satisfying” snack.

为什么我还饿呢

你刚刚吃完了一些米糕这类小点心，但是为什么你还是感觉饥饿呢?那种因为吃饱所产生的愉悦感在某种程度上取决于你所摄入的食品的重量与体积大小。当你的胃开始搅拌消化在体积上和重量上都足够大的食物时，你也就开始感觉饱了。

胃部的消化与搅拌

胃的搅拌与消化促使小肠部分释放出一种荷尔蒙激素，这种激素能使得你的饱腹感更为明显。仅仅是几块小米糕并不足以让你产生饱腹感，因为它们在肚子里还是分量太轻了。

那么，这些对你的腰围会产生什么样的影响呢?

据营养与肥胖研究员Barbara Rolls称，选择较低卡路里但相对更重的食物，可以帮助这些节食者们进行有效减肥同时还不会感觉饥饿。从Rolls的研究中发现，不管食物中卡路里的数量如何变化，女性倾向于每天食用大致3磅重的食物。在节食实验的过程中，对于午餐，我们为这些女性们提供了意面沙拉。

蔬菜!

在节食的第二天，我们在意面中加入了更多的蔬菜，但是女性们只会食用和前一天基本相同重量的食物。由于蔬菜本身所含的卡路里要低于相同重量的意面，所以，这就意味着她们摄入了更低的卡路里。

蔬菜与水果之所以能在食物中占有最高的位置，是因为食用它们可以产生饱腹感但同时卡路里偏低。其中所含的纤维和水分使得它们会变重，并且，水果和蔬菜中富含维他命和矿物质。如果你每天都在关注体重，那么就尽量避免高卡路里，低重量的食物，比如薯条等等。如果要填饱肚子，你可能要吃足足一袋的薯条。所以，你可以选择苹果或香蕉这类水果来代替米糕等这些小零食，这样的话，你可以吃的更健康，同时也能产生让人愉悦的饱腹感。