If you’ve ever thought weight loss meant eating tiny portions and feeling hungry all the time, you’re not alone.
But that approach isn’t just unnecessary – it’s ineffective.
In Best Body, we focus on strategies that help you lose weight in a way that is healthy, sustainable, and filling. You can eat a lot of food and still reach your weight loss goals.
Here are four principles that make it possible.
How to Lose Weight and Still Eat a Lot of Food
1. Volume Eating
Volume eating is about choosing foods that let you eat more, for fewer calories.
What is volume eating?
Some foods take up a lot of space in your stomach but are low in calories. These foods help keep you full without going over your calorie needs.
For example, 2 cups of broccoli has fewer calories than 2 tablespoons of oil – but fills you up much more.
Volume eating is one of the best strategies for feeling satisfied while losing weight.
Best foods for volume eating
These foods are high in volume and low in calories:
- Non-starchy vegetables
- Lean protein like chicken, shrimp, or eggs
- Fruit like berries or oranges
- High-fiber grains like oats and quinoa
You don’t have to cut out healthy fats like oils and nuts – they’re important. But using more high-volume foods gives you bigger portions and helps reduce hunger.
2. Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)
The thermic effect of food refers to the calories your body burns just to digest and absorb food.
Protein has the highest TEF
Your body uses more energy to digest protein than carbs or fats.
- Protein: 20–30% of its calories are burned during digestion
- Carbs: 5–15%
- Fats: 0–4%
Eating more protein can help you burn slightly more calories per day without doing anything extra.
That’s why meals that include lean protein and high-fiber carbs tend to be better for weight loss and appetite control.
3. Build Muscle
Muscle helps you burn more calories throughout the day, even when you’re not exercising.
Why muscle matters
Muscle is more metabolically active than fat. That means you’ll naturally burn more calories just by having more lean body mass.
You don’t need intense workouts to build muscle. In Best Body, we recommend low to moderate intensity strength-based movement such as:
- Walking with light weights
- Yoga
- Pilates
- Barre
These workouts build strength without dramatically increasing your hunger.
4. Focus on Whole, Single-Ingredient Foods
Whole foods are more satisfying, more nutritious, and help you naturally eat fewer calories.
Why whole foods are better
In a 2019 study, people who ate mostly ultra-processed foods consumed about 500 more calories per day than those who ate mostly whole foods – even when the calories and macros were matched.
Eating more single-ingredient foods like vegetables, meat, fruit, and whole grains makes it easier to feel full and stay on track without strict rules or calorie counting.
You don’t have to eat perfectly, this is real life! Do the best you can!
Want to Try This Yourself?
These are just some of the core strategies we use inside Best Body to help women lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way.
If you want to put these ideas into action, I created a free 1-week plan for you to try.
