10 ways to outwit your appetite!
1. Feed it protein for breakfast. You'll be less hungry later on and end up eating 267 fewer calories during the day. At least that's what happened on days when St. Louis University researchers gave overweight women two scrambled eggs and two slices of jelly-topped toast for breakfast rather than about half that protein.
2. Make it climb a flight of stairs. At home, store the foods that tempt you most way out of reach. For instance, Cornell University food psychologist Brian Wansink, PhD, keeps his favorite soda in a basement fridge. "Half the time I'm too lazy to run down there to get it, so I drink the water in the kitchen."
3. Sleep on it. People who don't get their eight hours of zzz's experience hormonal fluctuations that increase appetite, report researchers.
4. Give it something else to think about. When scientists scanned the brains of people eating different foods, they found that the brain reacts to fat in the mouth in much the same way that the nose responds to a pleasant aroma. So if you feel a craving coming on, apply your favorite scent.
5. Never let it see a heaping plate. The more food that's in front of you, the more you'll eat. So at a restaurant, ask your waiter to pack up half of your meal before serving it to you, then eat the extras for lunch the next day.
6. Put it under the lights. You consume fewer calories at a well-lit restaurant table than you do dining in a dark corner. "In the light, you're more self-conscious and worry that other patrons are watching what you eat," explains Wansink.
7. Talk it down. Entertaining friends with a great story doesn't give you much time to eat up, so you'll probably still have food on your plate when they're done. Once they're finished, call it quits too.
8. Offer it a seat. If you sit down to snack -- and use utensils and a plate -- you'll eat fewer calories at subsequent meals.
9. Satisfy it with soup. Start lunch with about 130 calories worth of vegetable soup and you'll eat 20 percent fewer calories during lunch overall, say Penn State experts.
10. Give it little choice. Packages that contain assorted varieties of cookies, candy, dips, cheese, etc., make you want to try all the flavors. The effect is so powerful, says Wansink, that when people are given 10 colors of M&Ms to munch on, not seven, they eat 30 percent more!
Top 10 Ways to Lose those Last 10 Pounds
2) Watch Portions
Eating too much of even healthier foods can stall your weight loss if the increased portions cause your caloric intake to spike. (As you lose weight you need fewer calories.)
3) Choose Whole Grains
Choose whole grains over "white" carbs and you'll regulate your blood sugar and feel fuller longer, both of which will keep your appetite in check.
4) Pump Some Iron
The benefits of strength training continue when you're at rest! Your metabolism stays raised even if you are inactive.
5) Fill Up with Fiber
Fiber helps you stay fuller longer and may even keep blood sugar in check -- two benefits that can help with long-term weight management.
6) Walk Smarter
Make that brisk walk a little more intense and you'll burn more calories and build more muscle.
7) Get Goals in Check
Make sure you really do need to lose those 10 pounds! Re-assess your goals and how far you've come ... maybe you're a-okay where you are.
8) Keep a Food Diary
If you've stopped writing down your food intake ... start again. You may be eating more -- and more often -- than you think.
9) Handle Emotional Eating
Emotional eating could be keeping on those last few pounds -- learn to cope and the pounds just might melt.
10) Don't Take Calories too Low
Cutting calories too low can have an adverse effect. You may actually stop losing weight if you're not eating enough.
