Looking for some easy, non-diet-ish ways to lose a little weight? Read on.
Eat mints right after a meal. The powerful flavor will cut your appetite, sending a message to your brain that the meal is done. The sweetness will curb an urge for dessert.
Deal with cravings. Most cravings will pass in 15 minutes. When you get blindsided by an irresistible need for a Skor bar or All-Dressed Ruffles, set a clock and distract yourself through it. Take a shower, go for a walk outside, read a deliciously trashy book, paint your nails, whatever it takes.
Leave the lasagne dish in the kitchen. People will eat 30% more when the serving bowl/platter is on the dining table.
Drink green tea. Studies suggest that it can temporarily boost your metabolism, perhaps through the action of phytochemicals called catechins.
Eat soup. Starting your meal with a bowl of broth-based soup will fill you up (with relatively few calories), and slow your eating. Minestrone or French Onion are good examples. Beware fat and calorie-laden cream soups.
Trick yourself. Think of your urge to eat junk food as an enemy (get specific: the bitch from 10th grade will work perfectly)…she’s trying to make you unhealthy, trying to make you fat. Show her who’s boss.
Get hot. Capsaicin–the stuff that gives hot peppers their kick–has been shown recently to help curb appetite and give a little boost to metabolism. Temporarily anyway.
Shrink your plate. Recent research has shown that people eat more when using larger plates and dishes. At supper, use a lunch-size plate instead of a dinner plate, and you’ll automatically eat less. A study at Cornell found that this little eye/mind trick cut 200 calories from subjects’ daily intake–without feelings of hunger.
