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For many women, hunger is the main barrier to losing weight. But you don�t have to go around with your stomach growling as you cut calories. Follow these research-based tips, and you can take off pounds without feeling deprived... We all know how to lose weight: Eat less. But in a culture that promotes stuffing ourselves with high-rise burgers and baseball-size muffins, that�s easier said than done. �We�ve learned to override our body�s innate ability to recognize fullness,� says obesity expert David Edelson, M.D., an assistant clinical professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. How can you avoid overeating? Choose foods and eating patterns that bolster the sensation of fullness � what nutritionists call �satiety� � so you recognize when you�ve had enough and stop craving more. Here are six science-backed strategies for strengthening the brain�s fullness signals. Edelson suggests trying them all to discover which work best for you. 1. Eat like a European. The Italians and French are known for lingering at cafes for hours, pausing between bites to chat. But Americans? �We�re notorious for shoveling in food,� Edelson says. �We�ll consume the appropriate number of calories in 5 or 10 minutes, before we�ve gotten to the point where our body knows we�ve eaten enough.� According to neuroimaging research at the University of Florida, it takes at least 10-20 minutes after eating for your brain to register you�re full. And when you eat too quickly, your body releases lower amounts of appetite-suppressing hormones, according to a 2010 Greek study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. If you�re a speed-eater, slow down by taking smaller bites, putting your fork or spoon down between mouthfuls, and chewing each bite 15-20 times. (Or if you�re feeling adventurous, try eating with chopsticks, Edelson suggests.) In a 2008 study, University of Rhode Island researchers instructed women to employ these strategies while dining on pasta with tomatoes and garlic. They took an average of 21 minutes longer to complete their meal � and ate about 10% fewer calories � than those who scarfed the food down. Afterward, they reported feeling significantly more satisfied and gave the meal higher pleasantness ratings. �Eating slowly allows more time to enjoy foods,� says study coauthor Kathleen Melanson, Ph.D., R.D., an associate professor of nutrition at URI. Meanwhile, a 2008 study in the Netherlands found that people consume fewer calories when they eat smaller, nibble-size snacks and when �oral processing time� is longer. The longer food stays in the mouth, the more opportunity to taste, smell and explore texture � all of which help send satiety signals to the brain, the researchers said. 2. Sprinkle on spices. Basil, oregano, fresh mint, grated ginger, cinnamon, cloves, citrus zest, lime juice � there�s no shortage of calorie-free ways to add intense, pleasing aromas and flavors to food. What�s more, even small amounts of these flavors may help you feel satisfied on fewer calories. �Powerful tastes and smells send messages to the brain that cause people to feel fuller faster,� says New York City nutritionist Cynthia Sass, M.P.H., R.D., author of the upcoming diet book Cinch! (HarperCollins). For example, an Arizona State research review published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that adding vinegar to meals can curb calorie intake for the remainder of the day by up to 16%, or 200-275 calories. And a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that cinnamon slowed the rate of stomach emptying after meals, so it takes longer till you�re hungry again. Sass recommends using seasonings in place of sauces, condiments and dressings to lower your calorie intake while helping trigger your body�s fullness mechanism. �They�re so rich in flavor that you don�t miss drowning your salad in ranch dressing or slathering your sandwiches with mayo,� she says. Sass especially likes balsamic vinegar as a delicious, non-caloric topping. �I drizzle it over tacos, use it as a marinade for chilled lentil and wild rice salad, and even fold it into chocolate truffles,� she says. 3. Shrink your menu. While delicious flavors can help you lose weight, too many at once leads to overeating, says weight-loss expert David Katz, M.D., director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University and author of The Flavor Point Diet (Rodale Books). According to Katz, combining numerous tastes triggers the release of neurotransmitters and hormones that put your brain�s appetite center into overdrive. �When foods provide multiple flavors � sweet, salty, savory � at the same time, pleasure registers in the brain in each category, and you keep eating until all of those pleasure responses are spent,� Katz says. This phenomenon, known as �sensory-specific satiety,� explains why you feel stuffed after a Thanksgiving meal of turkey, dressing and sweet potatoes, yet somehow still have room for pumpkin pie. �You fill up on the savory flavors provided by the main dishes, but not on the sweet flavor of dessert,� Katz explains. But you can reverse this process by controlling variety. Research shows that if you limit flavors � within a day, a meal or even a single sandwich � you can achieve satisfaction before your calorie count skyrockets, Katz says. In a 2009 French study published in the journal Physiological Behavior, subjects were offered French fries and brownies and told to eat as much as they wanted. On another occasion, they were served the same fries with ketchup and mayo, and the brownies with vanilla cream and whipped cream. The result? On average, the participants ate 290 more calories when offered the extras. And when they were given all these foods in succession � first fries, then fries with condiments, then brownies, then brownies with vanilla and whipped cream � they downed a whopping 487 extra calories before pronouncing themselves satisfied. You don�t have to eat, say, pineapple-flavored foods all day long to make sensory-specific satiety work in your favor. Just don�t combine a variety of salty, savory and sweet foods in a single meal, and don�t make a habit of following savory courses with sweet ones (i.e., dessert). Also, watch out for processed snack foods that are loaded with salt and sugar, along with other flavoring agents, to entice you into eating more. 4. Pump up the volume. Your body doesn�t care much about the number of calories you eat each day � what it really notices is the volume of food, says Penn State nutrition researcher Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., author of The Volumetrics Eating Plan (Harper Paperbacks). And that means you�ll be satisfied with less if you choose lower-calorie foods that take up more space. For instance, you might be just as happy eating a cup of Grape Nut Flakes (133 calories) as you would with a cup of regular Grape Nuts (416 calories), which are far denser. In one of Rolls� studies, published in Appetite in 2008, participants consumed 21% fewer calories when given cheese puffs enlarged with extra air than when they were offered less �puffy� puffs. In another study, Rolls found that when she blended extra air into yogurt shakes so they seemed larger (but had the same number of calories), participants ate less during the following meal. The easiest way to follow this strategy is to plump up your stews, casseroles, salads and pasta dishes with healthy ingredients high in water content � especially fresh vegetables and fruits, which are 80%-95% water. In another study, Rolls manipulated the proportion of veggies in a pasta dish. When the meals were light on pasta and heavy on veggies, the subjects ate 30% fewer calories. �They felt just as full and satisfied even though they were consuming about 400 fewer calories each day,� Rolls says. Other water-rich food choices include hot cereal (85% water), yogurt (75%) and fish (60%-85%). Meanwhile, stay away from dry snacks like cookies, crackers, pretzels and potato chips � even low-fat versions. They contain virtually no water, and you�re likely to want a lot more before you�re satisfied. 5. Pile on the protein. Research has established that, calories being equal, protein is more satisfying than carbohydrates and fat. This may be because it�s slower to digest, and because the hormones secreted during digestion are more apt to signal satiety to the brain, Edelson says. In a 2006 Canadian study, participants ate calorically similar breakfasts of either eggs with toast or a bagel with cream cheese. The egg-eaters ended up averaging 163 fewer calories at lunch and 418 fewer calories over the next 24 hours. Still, some people get more of a satiety benefit from protein than others, �so use your body as a test,� Edelson says. Steer clear of artery-clogging protein sources such as fatty meats and whole milk. Instead, choose extra-lean meats, fish, low-fat dairy products and plant protein sources such as nuts, nut butters and soy milk. Include fiber by adding veggies, fruits and beans, which creates more bulk in your stomach, Edelson suggests. 6. Don�t drink your calories. Beverages can have as many calories as foods, yet solid foods leave us far more satisfied, researchers say. Consider what happened during a 2007 study, when Rolls and other Penn State researchers gave test subjects 125 calories of either sliced apples, applesauce or apple juice 15 minutes before an entree of cheese tortellini. The participants who started with whole apple segments ended up eating 150 fewer calories than those who had juice, and 91 fewer calories than those who had applesauce. �If you consume a 150-calorie bottle of fruit juice, you essentially add all of those calories back when you eat,� says Barry Popkin, Ph.D., director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Obesity at the University of North Carolina. The same applies to alcohol, he adds. That�s because carbohydrate-based liquids such as sodas, fruit drinks and even 100% fruit juices don�t register with our appetite controls, so we tend not to compensate by eating less. Popkin speculates this may be because for most of our evolutionary history, the only beverages available were breast milk and water. So humans never developed a physiological response for, say, juices or beer. Also, liquids don�t stretch the stomach in the same way solids do, so key nerve fibers may not be stimulated enough to signal fullness, notes Edelson. What�s more, the act of chewing may help signal satiety to the brain. These days, Americans get 21% of total calories from drinks � about 458 calories per day � compared to 12% a generation ago, according to Popkin�s research. Ideally, Popkin says, no more than 10% should come from beverages, and most of those should be from nonfat or low-fat milk. The rest should be noncaloric drinks such as water, seltzer and tea, Sass adds. That way, you�ll be free to fill up on food.