Four ways to avoid feeling hungry between meals
- Wendy Weber
- Dec 7
- 5 min read
And, no, I don’t mean by having a snack 😊
When I grew up in the seventies, we had three meals a day. Full stop. If I came home from school feeling a bit peckish, my mum would say, “No, wait until dinner. You’ll spoil your appetite.” And that was that. Fast forward to today, and grazing between meals has become almost a national pastime.
As a Nutritionist, I have clients who are trying to gain weight and the best strategy is to have lots of (healthy) snacks throughout the day. But if your goal is to lose weight or simply feel more in control around food, then cutting back on snacking is an excellent place to start.
The tricky bit? Not feeling ravenous at 3pm. So how do you stay full and satisfied between meals without resorting to the snack drawer?
Here are four key strategies:
1. Avoid spiking your blood sugar
Some foods really spike your blood sugar. Think sugar, refined grains (bread, pasta, noodles, rice), and certain high-sugar fruits like bananas, grapes, and dates. Your body responds to these foods by releasing a big burst of insulin to bring your blood sugar down. The problem? That big burst often overshoots, dropping your blood sugar too low. And when your blood sugar gets too low, you feel tired, cranky, and hungry – you want sugar and you want it now!!!
One of my clients can tell you all about it! She used to start her day with a fruit yoghurt (with added sugar), refined cereal (27% sugar and barely any fibre), and a banana. By 10am she was exhausted and ravenously hungry. She switched to unsweetened yoghurt, a keto-style muesli with nuts and seeds, and some berries. Now she sails through to lunch feeling steady and satisfied.
Another client relied on noodle or rice takeaway lunches. Without fail, he’d hit a 3pm slump so hard he could barely keep his eyes open — cue multiple coffees and whatever biscuits were in the office kitchen. When he swapped to a salad with chicken or an egg, the afternoon crash simply… disappeared.
2. Prioritise protein
If there’s one nutrient that really pulls its weight in the fullness department, it’s protein. It does a far better job than refined carbs at flipping on your body’s “I’m satisfied now” switches — and keeping them on.
Here’s the short version of why it works so well:
Protein triggers powerful satiety hormones like GLP-1, PYY, and CCK. These hormones tell your brain, “We’re good here — you can stop eating now.”
Protein digests more slowly than refined carbs, meaning it stays in your stomach longer and keeps you physically full for longer. This slower digestion also gives you a gentle, steady rise in blood sugar rather than a spike-and-crash situation.
There’s also an interesting theory called the Protein Leverage Hypothesis, which suggests that humans will keep eating until they reach their daily protein needs. So, if your diet is low in protein, your body may push you to eat more carbohydrates and fats in an attempt to “hunt down” the protein it’s missing — often without you realising it. This is one reason ultra-processed foods (low in protein, high in everything else) are so easy to overeat. Your body keeps saying, “More, please… still looking for that protein.”
3. Feast on fibre
If protein is the king of satiety, fibre is definitely the queen — quietly powerful, often overlooked, and absolutely essential if you want to stay full between meals.
Fibre helps control appetite in several clever ways:
It adds bulk without adding calories. Fibre absorbs water and expands in your stomach, taking up real estate. This gentle stretching activates receptors that tell your brain, “We’re nicely full, thanks.”
It slows digestion. Because your body can’t fully break down fibre, it naturally slows the movement of food through your stomach and intestines. You stay full for longer instead of prowling the kitchen an hour later.
It steadies your blood sugar. Soluble fibre forms a gel that slows down how quickly glucose enters your bloodstream. This prevents the big spikes — and even bigger crashes — that set off hunger and sugar cravings.
It feeds your gut microbiome. Your friendly gut bacteria ferment certain fibres and produce short-chain fatty acids (with glamorous names like butyrate and propionate). These compounds help regulate appetite hormones such as GLP-1 and PYY, giving your satiety signals an extra boost.
And then there’s the practical side: whole foods rich in fibre — vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains — take longer to chew, are naturally filling, and have fewer calories per bite. More volume, more satisfaction, less mindless nibbling.
4. Don’t avoid healthy fat
Protein and fibre may be the superstars of staying full, but fat deserves a supporting-actor award. It plays a quiet yet important role in helping you feel properly satisfied after a meal.
For years we were told to avoid fat because it’s high in calories — and yes, that part is still true. So, you don’t need to drown your salad in olive oil (unless you’re doing a strict keto diet). But a sensible amount of healthy fat can make all the difference in how long you stay full.
Here’s why: Fat triggers powerful satiety hormones like CCK and GLP-1, it digests more slowly than refined carbs, it slows down how quickly glucose enters your bloodstream, and it provides long-lasting, steady energy. In other words, a little fat helps keep the hunger gremlins at bay.
Now, before you sprint out for deep-fried chicken, let me be clear: we’re talking healthy fats, not industrial-seed-oil-soaked fast food. Most restaurant deep-frying uses refined seed oils that are extremely high in omega-6 fats. And while omega-6 isn’t “bad,” too much of it — especially compared to your omega-3 intake — can be inflammatory.
So, where should your fats come from? Focus on foods naturally rich in omega-3s or monounsaturated fats: extra virgin olive oil, avocados and avocado oil, nuts and seeds, and fatty fish.
And what about saturated fat? The science is… ongoing. But in the context of a whole-food diet, I’m comfortable with small amounts from coconut products, dark chocolate (70 to 100%), full-fat dairy, eggs, and unprocessed meats.
And finally….
Hide the snacks! Just thinking about a nice piece of cake or a cookie can set off cravings — and actually seeing them is even worse. Workplaces in New Zealand are notorious for constant cake: someone’s birthday, someone leaving, someone joining, someone’s dog having puppies… or simply because it’s Friday (or Monday… or any day ending in “day”).
In those moments, your only options are to go for a walk, hide under your desk, or pretend to be deeply, urgently busy. At home, try not to keep unhealthy snacks in the pantry at all — you can’t eat what isn’t there.
So, in short, meals rich in protein, fibre and healthy fats — and low in sugar and refined grains — will keep you feeling full for much longer. And when it comes to snacks, out of sight truly is out of mind.
As a Nutritionist and Health Coach, I help clients create personalised nutrition plans that keep them satisfied between meals and aligned with their health goals. Together, we can get you feeling full, energised, and no longer held hostage by the office cake roster.
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