The Winter Elixir for Weight Loss: Soup!

Source: Flickr  by photophnatic

Who would have ever thought that the cold weather may be good for your waist?  If you often reach for soup to warm you up when the temperature drops, you're in for some good news. 

According to a study in Appetite, adults consuming a bowl of a low calorie (about 150 calories), broth-based vegetable soup prior to lunch, decrease the calories consumed at the lunch by 20%, on average, compared to when they consumed the same lunch without soup.  Not surprisingly, the soup consumers were not only less hungry after consuming the soup but also fuller much sooner during lunch compared to when they consumed the same meal without the soup.

This isn't the first study to show that soup before a meal may have this appetite-curbing affect. Other studies have also shown that routinely eating soup before a meal can reduce hunger and increase fullness. The researchers speculate that watery, veggie-based soups distend the stomach and cause the food to stay in the stomach longer, both of which can increase that feeling of satiety, better known as fullness.

While this study doesn't give you carte blanche to dig into a bowl of a high calorie, creamy chowder, which can provide more than 300 calories, it does provide a delicious way to use a low calorie veggie-packed soup as a pre-meal appetizer that could not only warm you up but also maybe even thin you out.

On the weekend, consider simmering up a large pot of a vegetable soup and storing it in a covered container in the refrigerator for the week.  During the week, pack a container of soup along with your lunch at the office or microwave up a bowl for a pre-dinner warm up when you get home.

If you don't have the time to make a homemade soup, try this semi-homemade, quick and easy version: