Maintaining a calorie deficit can be tricky, especially when hunger starts creeping in between meals. But eating fewer calories does not necessarily mean spending the day feeling deprived. A few simple changes to how you approach meals can help you choose more filling, nutrient-rich foods while keeping your calorie intake in check.
Chennai-based fitness coach Raj Ganpath, founder of the Slow Burn Method, co-founder and head coach at Quad Fitness, and author of Simple, Not Easy, has shared four strategies aimed at making a calorie deficit easier to manage. In an Instagram video shared on August 19, the coach said, “Do these four simple things in your next meal and I promise you you will eat fewer calories, more nutrients, and feel fuller for much longer.”
4 simple meal habits to eat less and stay full
1. Drink water before your meal
Starting a meal with a glass of water could help when you are extremely hungry and more likely to eat quickly or overeat. Raj says the water can take up some stomach volume and potentially help with portion control.
“Number one, start your meal by drinking a glass of water. This takes up some stomach volume, but no, it does not dilute your stomach acid enough to affect digestion,” he explained.
2. Build a balanced plate
Protein often gets most of the attention in diet conversations, particularly with trends such as “proteinmaxxing”. But Raj’s approach is less about loading up on one nutrient and more about keeping the meal balanced.
He recommends having roughly equal amounts of protein, vegetables and starch on the plate. His advice is simple: “Number two, make sure your plate contains equal amounts of protein, vegetables, and starch.”
The type of protein or vegetables does not matter to his basic approach, but he says the food should not be oily, fried, creamy or rich. The idea is to build a meal that provides a mix of nutrients without relying heavily on calorie-dense preparation.
3. Eat vegetables first
Raj’s third suggestion is to “frontload” the meal with vegetables. In practice, that means eating fibre-rich vegetables before moving on to the starch and protein on the plate.
“Number three, frontload your meal with vegetables. That means eat your vegetables first before you move on to starch and protein,” he said.
Fibre can slow the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, which may help moderate the rise in blood glucose levels after eating. Raj’s focus, however, is straightforward: start with the vegetables before moving on to the rest of the meal.
4. Take at least 20 minutes to eat
The final strategy is perhaps the simplest, but it can be easy to overlook when meals are rushed. Raj recommends spending at least 20 minutes eating rather than finishing food quickly.
“Number four, spend at least 20 minutes eating your food. The slower you eat, the more control you have over how much you’re eating,” he said.
Eating more slowly gives the body time to send satiety signals, which can make it easier to notice hunger and fullness cues before continuing to eat. Raj believes putting all four habits together can make a noticeable difference.
“Do these four things and you’ll be surprised at how little you eat and how good you feel,” he added.
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