Chew
gum in the grocery store.
Maybe you’ve heard you shouldn't
shop for food when you’re hungry. Well, you might want to pop in a piece of
sugarless gum before you head down the aisles, too. While chewing gum, people
felt less hungry and had fewer junk-food cravings, according to two studies. As
a result, the people bought fewer high-calorie snack foods, like chips, and
brought home more healthy options, like vegetables.
Serve yourself healthy stuff first.
Whether you’re having a meal at
home or choosing from a cafeteria line, load your plate with the healthiest
items first. Diners at buffets tend to take larger servings of the first few
foods they see, a study shows. So, think before you start piling up your plate.
Dish up veggies or whole grains before fattier meats and sides.
Buy your lunch with cash.
It’s easier to buy junk food and
desserts when you pay with plastic. Something about handing over cold hard cash
gives people pause. For instance, when high schoolers were told to use cash to
pay for less-healthy foods like cookies, they thought twice about it, and often
grabbed healthier fare, researchers found.
Turn off TV cooking shows.
If you’re trying to lose weight,
seeing food on TV could make you want to snack. People on diets eat more candy
while watching food-related shows than when watching food-free programming,
research shows.
Use blue plates.
Believe it or not, the color of
your dishes might make a difference in how much food you serve yourself. The
more the food blends in with the plate color, the more chow you’re likely to
take, research shows. So consider using plates in a different hue.
Use smaller bowls and plates.
The size of your dishes and
utensils gives your brain cues about how much you’re “supposed” to eat -- and a
bigger dish means more food. In one study, people at a Chinese buffet who got a
large plate served themselves 52% more food, and ate 45% more, than those with
smaller plates.
Hit the pause button before giving in to a craving.
Eating because you’re bored,
tired, or tense can make you feel out of control. Try to delay the urge to
graze: When a craving hits, do something else for 5 to 10 minutes, then see if
you still want to eat. Chances are, the urge will have faded, at least a
little.
Keep unhealthy snacks out of sight.
Stash junk foods like candy and
chips where you can’t see them. You might eat less. When office workers kept
chocolates on their desks, they ate 48% more than when the candies were 6 feet
away. If they put chocolates in their desk drawers, they ate 25% less than if
the sweet stuff was on their desks.
Always order the “small.”
A large container can tempt you to
eat more food, even if you’re full or it doesn't taste good. In one study,
moviegoers were given free popcorn in either medium or large tubs -- some was
fresh and yummy, and some was stale. People given the fresh stuff in large
containers ate 45% more than those who got it in medium tubs did. Even those
who got stale popcorn in large containers ate 33% more than those with medium
tubs of it.
Eat slowly, and drink water.
Take smaller bites. Chew your food
slowly. Take a little more time between forkfuls. And drink water while you're
eating. These simple steps are key if you want to cut back on calories and
still feel full, research shows.
Sources:
William Blahd, MD
http://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-10-ways-to-control-eating
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