Cutting calories to lose weight can leave you hungry and unsatisfied — and possibly even miserable enough to give up on healthy eating. But what if there were an eating plan specifically designed to bring fullness and satisfaction so that you’ll stick with it? That’s the crux of the satiating diet.

The satiating diet combines the foods that are known to make you full — vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, whole grains, and some healthy fats — plus the hot pepper compound called capsaicin. Here’s a look at how the plan works, whether it’s good for weight loss, and what you might be eating if you give it a shot.

What Is the Satiating Diet?

People following the satiating diet are instructed to eat three meals a day, with each meal containing 500 or fewer calories from the foods in the food list. While eating more is permitted, the idea is that you will be so satisfied you won’t want more.

The researchers who created the satiating diet say to aim for the following mix of macronutrients at each meal:

• 20–25 percent protein
• 45–50 percent carbohydrate
• 30–35 percent fat
  
  

While the satiating diet has fairly balanced macronutrient ratios and is not considered a high-protein or low-carb plan, many of the foods on the satiating diet fit a Mediterranean way of eating. There are also elements of Volumetrics, another established eating plan that focuses on ample fruits and veggies, which are full of water and have lower energy density (fewer calories) than other foods.

On the satiating diet, you'll eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, legumes, and — the part that makes it special — hot peppers. Ultimately, this is a balanced approach. The satiating diet was created by “a highly respected team of satiety researchers,” says Barbara J. Rolls, PhD, the author of the Volumetrics Diet and the director of the Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior at the Penn State College of Health and Human Development in University Park, Pennsylvania. “I think we need to aim for a high-satiety diet, and this looks healthy and fits in with dietary guidelines.” While the satiating diet is made up of healthy foods, the goal of the diet is to promote appetite control for long-term weight loss.

The diet focuses on lower-calorie foods, such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. “When you lower energy density, you get a bigger portion of food [for the same number of calories],” says Dr. Rolls, adding that people tend to eat a consistent volume of food per day. Ultimately, that means you are serving up your typical portion of food, but now with fewer calories.

What’s more, the satiating diet promotes foods that contain a combination of fiber, fat, and protein, which will make (and keep) someone fuller than a meal high in refined carbohydrates. Recommending this balanced breakdown of macronutrients (protein, carbs, and fats) makes sense and moves it away from fad-diet territory. “What they’re recommending is what nutrition experts have been advocating for years,” says Keri Gans, a registered dietitian-nutritionist in New York City.

If you follow the diet, you will eat per day:

• Four servings of whole fruits
• Four servings of whole vegetables
• Five servings of high-fiber whole grains (at least four grams [g] of fiber per serving)
• Lean protein (4 ounces [oz] of fish, meat, or poultry, eggs, milk and dairy, nuts, and seeds, or tofu) per meal

Also, you'll follow these general guidelines:

• Eat at least one snack per day.
• Eat one legume (beans, lentils, dried peas) meal per week.
• Consume a moderate amount of mono- and polyunsaturated fats.
• Eat more hot peppers.

Here’s a look at how to put together a satiating diet meal plan. To a certain extent, you can make food choices depending on your preferences.

Day 1

Breakfast Oatmeal with berries, scrambled eggs and egg whites

Lunch Fresh turkey sandwich made with whole-grain bread, plus a side salad and an apple

Dinner Tofu stir-fry with brown rice and hot peppers*

Snack Canned pears with cottage cheese

Day 2

Breakfast Egg, cheese, and vegetable scramble with hot sauce* and a side of berries

Lunch Large salad with shrimp topped with vinaigrette dressing and an orange

Dinner Salmon fillet, broccoli, brown rice

Snack Apples and almond butter

Day 3

Breakfast Whole-grain bagel, peanut butter, and banana

Lunch Roasted chicken sandwich with vegetable soup and mixed fruit

Dinner Beef fajitas with veggies, hot peppers,* and whole-grain tortillas with an apple for dessert

Snack Veggies and hummus

Day 4

Breakfast Whole-grain cereal with milk and walnuts on top, plus cantaloupe

Lunch Salad topped with chicken, hot peppers,* and garbanzo beans with a whole-grain roll and an apple

Dinner Whole-wheat pasta with tomato sauce, broccoli, and ground turkey

Snack Yogurt and berries

Day 5

Breakfast Tofu scramble with vegetables and hot sauce*, toast, and sliced mango

Lunch Chicken with cucumbers and tomatoes, plus whole-grain pita and tzatziki

Dinner Pork tenderloin with quinoa and roasted cauliflower

Snack Mixed nuts and kiwi fruit

Day 6

Breakfast Oatmeal topped with berries and nuts, and yogurt

Lunch Farro salad with chopped vegetables and chicken, with a peach

Dinner Pepper stuffed with ground turkey and hot sauce*, plus a salad

Snack Pear and slice of cheese

Day 7

Breakfast Whole-grain cereal with milk, an orange, and hard-boiled eggs

Lunch Black bean burger with cheese and hot sauce* on a whole-grain bun with a side salad and apple

Dinner Grilled chicken with pea pods, cauliflower rice, and a whole-grain roll

Snack Strawberries and yogurt

*ingredients are optional

One of the main pros of the satiating diet is its method: satisfaction. “The key to sustainable weight loss is to be satisfied,” says Lisa Young, PhD, RDN, of New York City,  the author of Finally Full, Finally Slim. “You can do anything to lose weight in the short-term, but you won’t maintain that loss if you go back to your old ways,” she says.

The satiating diet recommends several servings per day of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, plant-based foods that are packed with fiber to slow down digestion and help you stay full. Plant-based diets work the same way, and research, such as a study published in the May–June 2021 issue of Missouri Medicine, has found they promote weight loss and significantly reduce the risk of chronic diseases and other negative health outcomes.

For people who have trouble sticking to three meals a day, the satiating diet may be appealing because it encourages healthy snacking. Too much time between meals — especially lunch and dinner — can ratchet up your hunger so much that you end up overeating, says Dr. Young. A smart snack can keep that hunger in check. One that’s filling will have some fiber and protein, such as an apple and peanut butter or veggies and hummus.

The point of the satiating diet is to be full and satisfied, but the diet doesn’t focus on eating mindfully and recognizing your hunger cues, and that’s a missed opportunity, says Young. She recommends you do that anyway, especially by slowing down when you eat and checking in with yourself before grabbing seconds.

The satiating diet is a weight loss diet designed to support long-term weight loss with a balance of foods that are known to keep you full and reduce appetite — primarily vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean protein, and hot peppers. While experts call this pattern of eating healthy, there is only one study that’s been conducted on the satiating diet specifically. In addition, though it recommends hot peppers to promote weight loss, you don't have to eat these to lose weight.