To Lose Weight: Eat Before You Eat

The other day, I drank too much milk. Not in some wild, rebellious way—just enough to feel uncomfortably full for hours. That kind of subtle bloat that isn’t painful, just... limiting. Food didn’t appeal. Which was strange, because it was lunchtime, and I’m usually ready to eat.

What just happened?

And I thought: what just happened? Why did that bloated feeling cut my appetite so cleanly? Could that be useful?

It felt like I’d tripped into a diet hack by accident. So I did what anyone curious in 2025 might do. I ChatGPT’ed it.

“Can bloating reduce appetite?” “Do people use fullness as a weight control trick?” “Is there a safe way to eat that makes you eat less?”

What to eat before you eat

What came back surprised me. Not because it was unhealthy, but because it made sense. There’s actually a well-researched concept built around this called volumetric eating—the idea that you can intentionally fill your stomach with low-calorie, high-fiber, water-rich foods before a main meal. Not to punish yourself, but to help your body feel full earlier and naturally.

It wasn’t bloating in the way I’d imagined—gas or discomfort. It was more like creating a sense of satiety before the calories arrive. Eat before you eat. Strange idea, but kind of elegant.

So I’m trying it.

For a week, I’ll run a lightweight experiment:

Every lunch and dinner, I’ll eat a pre-meal snack—slaw, soup, chia, miso broth, whatever fits the “low-calorie, high-volume” criteria.

  • Wait 5–10 minutes.

  • Then eat the actual meal.

  • No calorie counting, no food guilt. Just observation.

I’ve planned it out with a rotation of cheap, prep-friendly foods. I’ll keep notes. At the end of the week, I’ll update this post with what worked, what felt odd, and whether I’d do it again.

The plan: a week of eating before I eat

If you're reading this and want to try it too, here’s the exact routine I’m using. It's cheap, simple, and takes almost no willpower once it's set up.

The idea is: before lunch and dinner, eat a small, low-calorie, high-volume food that triggers fullness. Then wait 5–10 minutes. Then eat your actual meal. That’s it.

🧾 Pre-Meal Routine: The Cheat Sheet Day Pre-Meal Snack (10–15 mins before meal)

  • Mon 🥬 Cabbage slaw (shredded cabbage + vinegar + olive oil)
  • Tue 🥣 1 cup clear veg soup (onion, carrot, celery broth)
  • Wed 🥄 Chia pudding shot (1 tbsp chia + 1/3 cup water)
  • Thu 🥒 Cucumber slices + 2 tbsp Greek yogurt dip
  • Fri 🥤 Psyllium drink (1 tsp in water, stir and drink fast)
  • Sat 🥗 Romaine lettuce wraps with mustard or hummus
  • Sun 🍲 Miso broth (1 tsp miso paste in hot water + spring onion)

✅ Drink a glass of water with each pre-meal snack

🕒 Set a 5-minute timer after eating it before starting your main meal

🛒 Minimal Shopping List

You can prep most of this in one go and keep it in the fridge for days. Here’s all I’m using:

Vegetables: cabbage, carrots, celery, cucumber, lettuce, onions, spring onions

Staples: chia seeds, psyllium husk, miso paste, vinegar, olive oil, mustard

Fridge items: Greek yogurt, almond milk or regular milk

Dry goods: oats (for breakfast, optionally), broth cubes

🥄 Breakfast?

Some days I skip it. Some days I have oats with chia and yogurt. The only rule I’m following is: don’t eat just because it’s morning. If I’m genuinely hungry, I’ll eat something light and slow-digesting. If not, I wait until lunch.

I'll post my Day 1 reflection soon, and update this post with how the week goes — what worked, what didn’t, and whether this whole “eat before you eat” thing is actually as clever as it sounds.

💧 Why not just drink water?

That was my first thought too. If the whole trick is just to “fill the tank,” why not skip the prep and just drink a big glass of water before meals?

It turns out: you can. And many studies suggest that drinking 1–2 cups of water before eating does reduce calorie intake. But here’s where it gets interesting: the effect doesn’t last long. Water drains fast. It stretches the stomach but doesn’t stick around. There’s no texture, no chewing, no digestion to slow anything down.

That’s why eating — even just a handful of raw cabbage or a warm miso broth — might be better. It hangs out longer, engages your senses, and triggers more reliable satiety signals. You chew, you taste, you pause. That moment feels more like a “meal has started” cue, which makes it easier to eat slower and stop earlier. It’s not just about volume. It’s about timing and texture.