Month: November 2021

A dieters biggest dilemma is simply knowing how to deal with the peer pressure to eat unhealthy.

You at your Thanksgiving dinner and your Uncle shouts “Oh cmon it is one piece of pumpkin pie, live a little!!”.

Or maybe you are out to eat with your friends and you sit down at the table only to have your slightly intoxicated friend Sarah shout “Mary can’t eat the bread she’s on a diet!”.

All the while you are wondering how in the hell are you supposed to succeed with all of this going on around you making it that much harder to hit your goals.

Don’t worry because your pal Eric is here to the rescue.

I am going to cover exactly how to handle the peer pressure to eat unhealthy.

First I am going to dive into the psychological reason behind why people are peer pressuring you.

Then next I will give you 3 practical tips you can do when these situations pop up.

Be sure to stay tuned for all of it because I know it can help.

Sound groovy? Let’s kick it then.

Peer Pressure To Eat Unhealthy

Why People Peer Pressure You

I think before diving into any tips or strategies we should set a clear premise for why people peer pressure you to eat unhealthy.

The more you understand why it happens the more you will be able to understand it and handle it appropriately.

Why does your cousin continuously feel the need to try to get you to drink and or go off your diet?

Why do your friends time and time again work to seemingly sabotage your attempts to eat healthy?

Are they bad people? No of course not.

Normally there is one distinct thing going on that makes people try to peer pressure you to eat unhealthy.

It Is Their Own Insecurities

Think about it for a second.

Who is normally the one giving you shit and peer pressuring you?

It usually isn’t the most fit and healthiest individual. If it was they wouldn’t be pressuring you to eat unhealthy because they are in the same boat you are in.

Usually, not all the time, but usually it is someone who does not have their own nutrition, health, and fitness in check on their end.

If someone knows they should be following their diet but they aren’t how is that going to make them feel?

Probably guilty and ashamed.

They say to themselves over and over again they are going to start making changes to their nutrition and every Friday night they end up going out, smashing nachos and tacos, and getting white girl wasted.

Then every Monday morning they wake up and say “this is the week things are going to change!”.

Yet the same cycle repeats itself over and over again, leading them to feel guilty and ashamed for not doing the things they are supposed to be doing.

Fast forward to know when they see you.

You are not engulfing nacho after nacho, you are sitting there with your side salad as your appetizer.

Multiple tacos are not being demolished by you, rather you are eating your grilled chicken with some vegetables and potato.

Then as they are on their 4th alcoholic drink, they notice you haven’t had a single one yet.

You are doing the things they are supposed to be doing but they are not mentally strong enough to do.

Where does this lead them in their head? It leads them to feel even more insecure, guilty, and ashamed.

Not only are they not doing what they are supposed to yet now they see you over here doing the same things they are supposed to but aren’t.

They Then Try To Make Themselves Feel Better By Bringing You Down With Them

Now I am not saying these people are trying to ruin you or they are bad human beings.

Yet the fact of the matter is they have to find a way to make themselves feel better for not doing what they told themselves they were going to over and over again.

What is the easiest way to do this? By making you join in their party.

If they get you to eat the nachos and tacos while washing it down with a few drinks, they immediately feel better about themselves.

Now it is not just them who is doing it, it’s you too. Therefore they can justify to themselves it is okay to do what they are doing and delay that feeling of guilt and shame for a few more days (until Monday morning rolls around of course).

You are their quick scapegoat out of feeling insecure, guilty, and shameful.

It is important to understand where the person is coming from that is giving you the hassle because once you understand that, you almost feel bad for them.

They aren’t strong enough to stand tall and do the things they are supposed to do so they try to bring you down with them.

Which actually brings me to my next point of what you should realize when you get peer pressure to eat unhealthy.

Take It As A Compliment

Again, think about it.

Said person is not doing what they are supposed to be doing which is making them guilty and ashamed so they are trying to take that out on you to feel better.

That person is not mentally strong enough to protect their goals and the healthy lifestyle they are chasing.

Yet you are.

You are the one who is strong enough to sit there and order a salad instead of nachos as the appetizer.

You are the one who is being mindful of your calories while you are out and practicing moderation as opposed to eating like an a**hole.

Not them.

I dealt with this a lot as a kid growing up as I was always the one very into fitness and eating healthy / clean.

This kind of lifestyle was something I loved to live. Yet I would be lying if I told you I never had people try to give me sh*t or make me almost feel bad for the way I choose to live.

At first it did mess with me, until I realized that the only reason they were doing these things to me was because I was strong enough to stand up for what I wanted.

Think about your friends and family around you.

Who doesn’t want to improve their health, drop a few lbs, and look great?

All of them right?

Yet who is actually doing it?

Not many of them, right?

When people are trying to get you to crack by the peer pressure to eat unhealthy, they are giving you a compliment.

They are acknowledging you are stronger than they are.

They are acknowledging they can’t do what you are doing.

Take that as a compliment. Use it as them envying you.

.

I can’t tell you how many of those same people who were trying to peer pressure me to eat unhealthy are now coming to me asking for advice.

They will do the same for you. They will compliment you and ask you how the hell you were able to transform your body and look so amazing.

Then you will laugh and smile. (and or maybe use a few curse words to them about they one Christmas Eve dinner when they wouldn’t leave you the hell alone).

Therefore above anything else, understand why the peer pressure is getting directed towards you and take it as a compliment that you are doing something great.

Remember no one is going to give people grief or peer pressure if they are following the status quo. It is only those who step outside of it and look to change that get talked about.

It means you are doing something right and to keep on pushing.

3 Practical Tips On How To Handle Peer Pressure To Eat Unhealthy

I started by talking about the mindset strategies you have to understand because I think without understanding where people are coming from.

Once you truly grasp that part, this is the easy stuff.

That being said you can’t just tell someone they are insecure and to leave you alone (unless you are me… I have before… ) so here are 3 of my best tips I can give you to defuse the situation.

** Total random side note, as I like to throw these in every now and then, if you want some help on how to count calories in these foods you are eating that might be homemade, check out my article HERE where I cover that in depth **..

The Challenge

If there is one thing I have seen that works tremendously whenever there is peer pressure to eat unhealthy is by telling the person you are on a challenge.

When people hear the word “challenge” it is like their guard is immediately let down.

For example if someone is constantly trying to get you to drink, buying you shots, and giving you grief for not drinking with them, tell them you are on a challenge.

Say something along the lines of

“Man I would love to honestly but I am on a 30 day no drinking challenge right now”.

Immediately the conversation will change. They will wonder how long you have been on the challenge, why you started the challenge, how it is going, and so on.

Here is where you can make things up as you go (my favorite!) or have the same script every time.

Either way, I have noticed that when you tell people there is a challenge involved they immediately back off.

It also gets them thinking about doing a challenge for themselves (which they probably need let’s be honest…).

This can be an easy way out of a situation without hurting anyones feeling or telling them they are insecure to leave me alone.

Again, that one is kind of my favorite but, moving right along.

Not Feeling Well

This was one I used til the wheels fell off when I was younger.

Whenever there was something I truly did not want to partake in, whether it was drinking, having desserts, or devouring pounds and pounds of pasta, my go to was always to mention “I am just not feeling well”.

When you tell someone you aren’t feeling well it is like they almost feel bad for pressuring you now.

“What is wrong?! Are you okay? Do you need anything?”.

“Yea, I need you to leave me the f alone”.

All jokes aside this one works great.

Think about it who is going to give you grief for not doing something because you have a headache, or have a stomach ache.

If they do then they are real a**holes.

If you want to be able to be out but skip out or a thing or two, this is one I highly recommend.

Take It To Go

This is another staple of mine when I was growing up particularly at family events.

I come from an Italian family with aunts who not only love to cook, but are damn good at cooking.

If I knew the pasta they were making was 1000 calories per slab they were putting on my plate, even though I knew I was going to train that next day and have an amazing workout, 8000 calories of pasta was a bit much even for me.

Not to mention the to die for cake and or pies they make.

So, what did I do?

Sometimes I combined all three, something along the lines of

“Oh this all looks so amazing! Yet I am on a challenge to try to eat no desserts for 7 days straight! I am also actually not feeling the hottest. Could I possibly take it to go and have it for later?”.

Bam, genius right?

Don’t hurt anyones feeling, don’t have to eat 8000 calories in one sitting, and even get some goodies for later so I can practice moderation.

You can do the same thing, maybe don’t use all three combined as that would take a graduate level ;).

Yet you can certainly ask them to take whatever it is home to go instead of having it right then and there.

At that point do what you please with it.

Give it to your brother, eat it for yourself the next day in moderation, hell give it to your dog I don’t know.

Either way, that defuses the situation of needing to have it right then and there and can buy you an easy way out.

You will thank me later trust me.

Confident On How To Handle Peer Pressure To Eat Unhealthy?

I know it can be a challenge. Hell, weight loss is hard enough as it is without the added peer pressure to eat unhealthy.

Yet I hope I helped you understand the psychology of why people are trying to pressure you in the first place as well as some practical strategies you can use to maneuver your way out of it.

I think with those two things combined, you will be able to hold your diet close to your chest with much success.

PS: I also have done multiple videos on my YouTube channel about how to eat out, in any capacity, and still see progress with your health and fitness.

I can link some of them HERE If you want to check them out.

As well as, if you are someone who wants some extra guidance and accountability with your fitness journey, I would strongly encourage you to check out my Clubhouse.

It’s where myself, and a whole bunch of people like yourself hang out to get stronger, lose body fat, and improve their relationship with food.

If you enjoyed the article feel free to let me know below, I would love to hear from you.

If you want to drop a strategy of yours I did not mention here feel free to do so as well.

Thank you for reading and look to talk soon.

-E

In this article I am going to give you my top 12 low calorie foods that are filling.

Let’s face it, dieting sucks.

You are hungry, you want to eat more food, but you can’t.

There quite possibly is nothing worse.

Don’t worry, because I am going to teach you how you can actually eat more food, without breaking the banks on calories.

Thus leading you to stay full while on your diet, which leads to you sticking to your diet, which leads to you seeing results.

I know, sounds crazy right?

I promise, if you stick around for the whole article and don’t just skim it, you will be in a perfect place to do the seemingly impossible.

Without further ado, let’s dive in.

Low Calorie Foods That Are Filling : The Concept

Before we dive right into the list, I want to set up a few principles of why these foods are going to benefit you first.

I am a firm believer that the more educated you are, the more likely you are going to actually implement what we talk about today.

Think about when you just learned something in school, in sports, in your job. You want to use that new information right away!

Same concept here. Stick with me as I do a little bit of educating to try and have you better understand this whole weight loss thing.

None Of These Foods Are Going To “Burn Fat”

You have probably scoured the internet or social media and found someone or something claiming that a certain food is going to “burn fat!”.

This weight loss drink is going to burn belly fat right off your body!

This super food is going to melt the fat away!

I am here to tell you nothing on this list is going to inherently lead to fat loss, because the only thing that leads to fat loss, is being in an overall calorie deficit.

This means you are consuming less total calories than your body is burning.

The next time you see an ad for anything that is “fat burning” or “guaranteed to promote weight loss”, just know it is total BS and they are just trying to take your money.

These foods we will talk about today however will help you get into and stay in this overall calorie deficit, which is why they are so important.

I just wanted to be very clear about that, none of these low calorie foods that are filling that will be listed here today are “magical”. They just will help you get and stay in a calorie deficit for the reasons listed below.

Volume Eating

One of the biggest concepts that I need you to understand is the concept of volume eating.

You know that in order to lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit, correct?

This means you need to eat less calories than your body burns. Yet one of the drawbacks of eating less calories is, you get hungry!

You aren’t eating as much food so your body gets hungry, this obviously then leads to it being harder to stick to your diet if you are always hungry 24/7.

( It may or may not lead to you having some hangry arguments with people!! ).

This is where you can insert this concept of Volume Eating.

This is how I want you to think of volume eating.

Imagine 1 snickers bar inside your stomach that is 230 calories.

Now imagine 3 cups of spinach inside your stomach that is 21 calories.

Notice how in this first picture, that little itty bitty snickers bar is taking up next to no room in your stomach, AND it is more calories?

Compared to the seemingly tons of spinach that is filling up your stomach for quite literally 10x less calories than what the snickers bar is.

This is volume eating.


You are eating more actual food volume and food content, without necessarily eating more calories.

This is going to fill your stomach up for much lower calories, which means you are going to be more full, less hungry, and being able to stick to your calorie deficit more efficiently.

Thus leading to better weight loss results by actually eating “more” food.

Now, Let Me Be Clear

This is typically why “ junk food” gets a bad rap.

There is nothing inherently wrong with a snickers bar. You can absolutely eat it and still lose weight, again, as long as you are in an overall calorie deficit.

Yet the reason that these foods can be somewhat contradictory to weight loss is they give you very little nutritional value, along with very little food volume, for a bit higher calories than some of the foods we will talk about today.

Which means you get less full, more hungry, and are prone to keep eating and eating more calories.

This then leads to you obviously not sticking to your calorie deficit because you are continuously low volume, high calorie foods, which means you will not lose weight.

This is why you should learn to practice the 80/20 rule .

This rule essentially states that you should have 80% of your food choices coming from nutrient dense, whole, “healthy” foods.

While 20% can come from treats you enjoy like a snickers bar.

This way your diet is primarily made up of lower calorie, higher volume foods to keep you full and satisfied, as opposed to the opposite.

This allows you to stick to your calorie deficit more consistently, which leads to sustainable weight loss.

I will give you the exact low calorie foods that are filling when it comes to volume eating a bit later in this article, but first let’s talk about high protein and high fiber foods.

Low Calorie Foods That Are Filling : High Protein & Fiber

The next biggest concept I need you to understand is learning what foods keep you the most satiated.

Satiated just means the foods that keep you the most full.

We just learned about volume eating so we know that helps keep you full.

Let’s now talk about protein and fiber, the two most underrated things when it comes to dieting.

First I will cover protein.

I won’t beat the horse too much here, because I have done multiple videos and articles alike talking about the importance of protein in your diet .

Yet to keep things sweet, protein is the most satiating macronutrient.

( Macro nutrients are protein, carbs, and fats. Out of those 3, protein is the one that fills you up the most! ).

A lot of the low calorie foods that are filling we will talk about today have the basis of protein for this exact reason.

I have seen protein literally change peoples lives, not only when it comes to losing weight and staying more full, but also massively helping with things like binge eating or over eating.

These foods typically tend to be “lower calorie” between the fact that they are in fact lower calories, but they also fill you up the most.

Therefore you eat less calories overall as a result of eating protein.

If you are under eating on protein, you can do all of the volume eating you want, you will still more than likely be on the hungry side of the fence, so be sure to get adequate protein in your day.

Again, if you would like to, feel free to check out some of my resources above on protein.

Next up we have fiber.

People often forget about fiber and it’s role in keeping you full throughout the day.

Fiber is a very slow digesting micronutrient. This means it takes a while for your body to digest and break it down.

As a result, it stays in your stomach a bit longer leading it to fill you up longer.

As well as they typically tend to lean towards the higher volume side as well, making it a double whammy for those looking to stay full for fewer calories.

This is why a lot of fruits and vegetables have a ton of fiber in them, as well as they tend to be higher volume foods, which makes them a staple of any healthy diet.

Therefore finding some go to high fiber foods that you can consistently rotate and eat during your day is going to help you tremendously.

We will go through some examples of foods high in fiber here shortly.

Low Calorie Foods That Are Filling : 12 Top Options

Now you know there reasoning behind what keeps you full between fiber, protein, and volume eating.

By no means are those the only 3 concepts, there are plenty others, but for the purpose of this article I thought it was important you understood those 3.

We are now going to dive into the list of 12 low calorie foods that are filling.

As well as what makes them be able to make this list!

These are in no particular order by the way.

1. Watermelon

Watermelon is my go to food to myself or any of my clients who are dieting.

By far it is one of the “high volume, low calorie” foods that you can absolutely fill up on for low calories.

For a whole lb of watermelon, it is only 150 calories.

A whole lb! That is a ton of food going into your stomach for NOT a ton of calories!

Be sure to utilize watermelon to help curb a sweet tooth as well!

2. Strawberries

Strawberries are another great option for anyone who is looking to have a little volume eating to their game.

For a whole lb of strawberries, it is only about 150 calories once again.

A ton of food volume, for not a ton of calories.

Btw, strawberries and watermelon are my two favorite fruits, so I got lucky!

3. Oatmeal

I feel like a good quality oatmeal is one of those foods I just label as “stick to the bones” filling.

Oatmeal is high in fiber, as well as the food volume is a lot too.

It can also be very thick, which again can help fill your stomach up.

I like to use the regular, one minute, low sugar oatmeal. Not because sugar is bad, but because the one without sugar I have seen tends to be more filling and more food volume as well.

4. Spinach

As mentioned previously above, for 1 cup of spinach it is about roughly 10 calories.

Have you ever gotten out 3 or 4 cups of spinach and seen how much food that is? If not, I encourage you to do so.

Once again this falls under our volume eating category. This is the perfect one of the low calorie foods that are filling.

5. Greek Yogurt

Now we dive into the protein that we talked about earlier.

Greek Yogurt is super high in protein as well it tends to be on the higher volume side as well, leading to a great low calorie filling food.

It is also quick and easy which is why it makes the top lists.

6. Cottage Cheese

I basically call cottage cheese greek yogurts step brother.

They are very similar. High in protein, high in food volume, low in calories, and quick and easy.

7. Cauliflower Rice

Cauliflower rice is a huge client favorite of mine.

It is a TON of food volume, for next to no calories!

For one cup it is around 25 calories.

Imagine 3-4 cups of cauliflower rice vs 3-4 cups of regular rice.

That would be a difference of 75 calories vs 375 calories roughly.

A massively underrated food when looking to lose weight!

8. Eggs

Eggs are a great source of protein, fat, and nutrients.

Yes, you can eat the egg yolk, that is what provides the healthy fat and nutrients.

These little guys can help fill you up tremendously and while the egg yolk might be more calories than just the egg whites, it will pay off in how it keeps you full.

You could also combine whole eggs with egg whites to keep you full and satisfied with getting the benefits of more food volume and the egg yolk health benefits!

9. Rice Cakes

Rice cakes are one of my all time favorite go to snacks.

For one rice cake it is roughly 30-40 calories.

They are also very easily digestible. You can add things to them as well like fruit, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.

Combine powers to get even more low calorie foods that are filling!!

10. Chicken Breast

There is a reason that chicken breast is a staple of any “diet” you see.

It is incredibly low calorie for a pretty decent amount, plus it is protein, which we know fills you up.

It is a leaner source of protein, meaning very minimal carbs or fats, but super high in protein.

This makes it a great choice while looking to keep calories low!

11. Protein Shakes

Protein Shakes are a great way to get high volume (because you can mix it in water or almond milk, which adds more volume to your stomach for no calories) while also getting protein in as well!

It is a double whammy!

I wrote an entire article on protein shakes HERE if you want to check out which ones I recommend.

** Ps: If you want to try this particular protein powder, it is amazing-balls. Check it out HERE and you can use my code “ERIC” to get 20% off.

12. 0 Calorie Drinks

Alright while these technically aren’t a food, they sure are low calories!

0 calorie drinks are a great option you can use to your advantage while dieting, things like

• sparkling water
• Seltzer water
• Diet soda
• 0 calorie Powerade, gatorade, etc

Now some people might freak out over diet soda, but you don’t have to!

Should you drink 7 diet sodas per day? No, probably not.

But a few here and there throughout the week in moderation is 100% totally fine.

* Pro tip, the carbonation in 0 calorie drinks will help fill you up as well! *.

Low Calorie Foods That Are Filling : Final Word

Well there you have it!

The how, what, and why behind low calorie foods that are filling.

I hope you enjoyed this article as well as learned something from it.

Remember, dieting doesn’t have to suck as bad as people make it out to seem.

Be sure to use these tips here to help tackle your diet a bit better.

If you need some extra help with your own personal nutrition, feel free to head HERE to see if myself or my team may be a good fit for you!

Look to chat soon,

-E