Is food sequencing worth a try? Here's what the science says

Starting the meal with protein also may help curb your appetite for the rest of the meal, as research suggests protein is especially effective at suppressing the hunger-stimulating hormone ghrelin, Oliveira says. Compared with carbohydrates and fats, protein also can trigger slightly higher levels of satiety hormones such as GLP-1 and PYY, which send "I'm getting full" signals to the brain and, perhaps, reduce how long — and thus how much — you eat. It takes about 20 minutes for that message to reach your brain, so delaying the carbs to the last part of the meal also means that by the time you feel like you've had enough, it's carbs you'll be leaving on the table — a plus if you're trying to cut down on carbs specifically. While research is still preliminary and limited to a handful of short-term studies, the findings are intriguing, Oliveira says. "They show fairly consistently that when carbohydrates are eaten last, blood sugar rises tend to be more moderate within 30 to 90 minutes after a meal," she says. Making meal sequencing work for you Applying food sequencing at mealtimes doesn't require overhauling your diet — just rethinking the order in which you eat the foods you've chosen. At a typical dinner, you might start with a green salad or steamed vegetables, then move on to your main protein (say, chicken, fish, tofu or beans) and finish with the starchier component, like a serving of pasta, rice or a baked potato.