I feel full …

Can mean two things

I am so stuffed, I can’t eat another bite. This ability of a food is called satiation. It is a meal or food’s ability to make you stop eating with smaller portions or fewer bites.

I am so full from my last meal, I don’t feel like eating yet. This ability of a food is called satiety. It’s a food or meals ability to keep you full for long periods of time before you feel the need to eat again.

They are not the same thing

Why does this distinction matter ?

Foods have texture, taste, volume and chemical composition that give them an ability to trick our head and stomach into feeling pleasure, fullness or hunger in ways that you cannot easily anticipate.

For the same volume of rice and potato, potatoes will make you stop eating earlier than the rice would.

If you take an identical scoop of casein and a scoop of whey, the casein will leave you feeling fuller than whey.

It’s established that foods such oatmeal, potato, lentils, meat, fish, oranges, whole wheat pasta, apples predictably rank higher than croissants, cakes, doughnuts and peanuts.

Takeaway

The stomach is a muscle. You can train it to feel fuller with less food or train it to need copious amounts of food to feel full. But results take time, effort and energy. You have to gradually reduce portion sizes.
Calories and portion sizes being equal, there are objectively better foods that can keep you fuller between meals and require fewer bites in a meal to achieve fullness. Not coincidentally these foods are less processed and contain more fiber and protein than foods that rank poorly in satiety and satiation.
Hunger is not just response to needing nutrients. You eat for pleasure, pain, stress and memories. Mindfulness can go a long way in cultivating restraint, portion control and better habits when it comes to food.