The #1 Thing You MUST DO To Lose Weight and Keep it off

In the 4 + years since I started my weight loss journey I learned quite a bit about what it takes to lose weight and keep it off. Some lessons I recognized quickly while others took me a little bit longer to see. And, even though, I have a lot of knowledge in my weight loss arsenal I am positive there is still much more I can learn.

So far, these are my top weight loss lessons.

• Tracking food. This has been the cornerstone to my weight loss. I use My Fitness Pal to keep track of my daily calories, nutrition, exercise, and weight loss goals. Read here if you are curious why I don’t use Weight Watchers.

• Meal Planning. Taking the time to meal plan provides me with the road map and structure I need to stay on track with my food. However, meal planning is not always easy. So, instead of struggling I use Plan to Eat to streamline the process. Now meal planning is not an issue. The lesson learned here is don’t try to do things alone all the time. There are plenty of affordable services that can help.

• Make ahead meals. Preparing my foods ahead of time makes it easier to eat healthy during the week. Simple yet powerful concept. I am more likely to eat the foods I plan when I take the time to food prep.

• Clean(er) eating. Eating clean(er) foods makes me feel good, especially green smoothies. My body feels nourished and I feel focused.

• Strength training makes all the difference. A flat tummy and defined arms are not going to be the result of running 3-4 miles a day. However, I love to run – it keeps me focused and sane – so I keep it a part of my exercise routine.

• Keeping an exercise schedule that works. Exercising in the morning is the way to go for me. If I don’t exercise in the morning it won’t happen.

Each strategy plays a huge role in my weight loss journey. There are many more but there is one thing that trumps them all. Something that only occurred to me recently. Want to know what it is?

Consistency. Yep, I need to stay consistent. Consistency is the #1 thing you ABSOLUTELY MUST do to lose weight and keep it off.

Simple? Yes. Common sense? Probably. Is it the reason I did not get results years ago? I am going to go with YES. I now know that all of those weight loss strategies work but only when I am consistently using them.

To lose weight and keep it off I can’t meal plan sometimes, track food when I feel like it, eat clean food on occasion, or work out when time allows. No I need to consistently make all those strategies a part of my everyday lifestyle. That is the only way to change habits, lose weight, and keep it off.

Looking back, I can’t tell you the number of times I would start and stop an exercising routine. It seems like I was on a bi-monthly rotation. Some months it was like I was training for an iron man marathon while other months I was training more for a Keeping Up With the Kardashians marathon on E. Ha! Don’t judge we all have our guilty pleasures. It was the same with food. I would throw myself into salads and grilled chicken for a week or so only to binge on pizza and pasta the next. Basically, my lack of consistency is the #1 reason I never experienced weight loss.

I remember having thoughts like “If I only kept exercising I would feel comfortable in my summer clothes” or “If I kept up with running and eating healthy I would be able to wear that dress” or “If I stopped eating so much junk all the time I would feel better going on vacation” and I am sure many other thoughts like this entered my mind.

Now I can say “you know what Tammy, you were right”. If you stayed consistent with healthy eating habits and exercise yes you would be comfortable in summer clothes, be able to wear that dress, and feel better going on vacation. And I can say that now because I have lost the weight and know exactly what it feels like to be confident and happy in my own skin. I lost the weight by staying consistent with my weight loss efforts. I kept going!

Consistency is key!

Staying consistent is important because it provides you with the time you need to build new habits and see the results of your hard work. It takes about 3-4 weeks to implement a new habit. Sometimes this can take even longer when you are trying to replace bad ones. You are not going to change habits or see results overnight. One day of drinking smoothies, tracking food, running, squats, and sit-ups will not get you bikini ready. Not even one week of doing those things every single day will do the trick. Unfortunately, that is not how it works. In most cases, it takes a few weeks to see any physical results. That’s just the way it is and the reason it is so important to stay consistent with your efforts. Don’t get me wrong you will feel better and see some changes but if you are looking to drop 50 pounds and 4 dresses sizes in a week that won’t happen.

Inconsistency can be very frustrating when trying to lose weight. It can feel like you are “giving up” causing you to feel defeated with the entire weight loss process. I often here people say “that didn’t work for me”. Well, first of all that can’t make you lose weight. Only YOU can make you lose weight.

Second, you have to give yourself enough time and stay consistent. Weight loss is a process filled with many hills, valleys, curves, and even ditches. If you keep going despite all of these challenges you will build and sustain new healthier habits and see the results of your hard work.

What does consistency look like?

Consistency means stability, regularity, and dependability. It means you know what to do and expect day after day.

Here are some tasks you can do every week to stay consistent with creating a healthier lifestyle and losing weight.

• Plan your meals. I recommend setting time aside during the week to create a meal plan and grocery list so when you have time to shop you are ready to go. Make sure to plan for all meals and snacks. If you eat 5 times a days you need to know what those meals will be. You can view all my meal plans here.

• Weekend food prep. I have said this a million times but I will say it again. It is so much easier to eat healthy when healthy food is available. You don’t need to spend an entire weekend prepping food but it will be in your best interest to set some time aside. Even a little food prep will make a difference. Here is a beginners guide to food prep I wrote if you are looking for more information.

• Exercise 3 to 4 times a week. You don’t need to exercise every day nor do your routines need to be trainings for the Tough Mudder or marathons. However, to lose weight you will need to incorporate exercise in some fashion. I think it is important to get in the habit of exercising 3-4 times a week. Don’t feel like you need to join a gym. You can easily exercise in the comfort of your own living room. The key is to create a schedule that works for you. There are tons of home exercise routine posted here. If you need some tips on starting a morning exercise routine then check here.

• Track your food every day. Don’t be discouraged or overwhelmed by tracking food. I know it can seem tedious – and sometimes it is – but it will work to hold you accountable. To make it 100 times easier use a website and/or app like My Fitness Pal. I am telling ya that website was a game changer for me. Here is a post to help you get the most out of my fitness pal.

• Get and stay organized. I truly believe that an organized life is a happier life – at least it is for me. Trust me, I am not OCD organized in any way shape or form. However, I will say when I take the time to write a to do list, keep my calendar updated, and my house from looking like a bomb went off I feel better, happier, and much more focused. Staying organized keeps you out of the “hot zones” and frees up time and mental energy to keep you moving forward on all your goals, including weight loss goals. Here is one of my favorite posts I put together on this topic called 7 Things You Can Do to Lose Weight that Don’t Include Food or Exercise.

The best way to stay consistent week after week is to be intentional and plan, plan, and plan. Don’t expect to create and stick with new habits if you are flying by the seat of your pants every day. Take time every day to think about what you want to accomplish. Then write it down and keep it visible. Take time to review it every morning and night. This helps to reflect, make adjustments, and see progress. Personally, one of the most important things I do daily is write out a to do list. Without that list I am lost soul trying to figure out what to do next.

The biggest challenge to staying consistent is life happens. There is always something getting in the way of eating healthy, working out, cleaning, or doing anything we need to do. For this reason, it is important to focus consistently on habits and lifestyle instead of quick fixes and unrealistic diets. When you do this it is easier to get back on track (instead of starting over) with your goals when life gets in the way.

Again, weight loss is a journey and a process. It never ends – even when you reach your goal weight. It is about creating healthier habits, routines, and staying consistent with them. Consistency makes all the difference between results and regret. So keep going!

Source
http://www.organizeyourselfskinny.com/2015/04/16/the-1-thing-you-must-do-to-lose-weight-and-keep-it-off/

Consistency: key to successful Weightloss

Have you ever accomplished anything great with an inconsistent effort? Unless failure is considered a great achievement, you probably haven't. You must exercise consistently to get the results you want! It blows my mind how many people don't even try to be consistent with their diet and exercise programs and complain about not seeing results. Even the best programs are ineffectual if they are not followed on a consistent basis.

Women are sometimes afraid at the idea of adding muscle due to their fear of becoming "bulky." Relax; it's a little harder to add that kind of muscle mass than you think.

Consistent spaced small meals – One of the most important things that you can do with your health in general is to keep a nice even keel with respect to your blood sugar. When you eat a donut and coffee for breakfast and then nothing until lunch then you will get a big blood sugar spike and then a drop soon after and be just dragging your way until lunch. If you eat consistently small but evenly spaced meals every couple of hours during the day then you will not have this blood sugar problem.

 

Consistent meal sizes – If you make sure that you eat 200 – 400 calorie meals then this will go hand in hand with the point above. Having even sized meals will mean that you are not bloated after one meal and then hungry after the next. Of course there may be a problem with dinner being a little bigger and an evening meal being a little smaller but overall this consistent eating will make you feel much better and your weight loss will be more consistent.

Consistent exercise – Some people will exercise a lot on the weekend but get nearly no exercise during the week. This is really quite dangerous. If your body is not being exercised at least somewhat on a daily basis then these big events on the weekends can be damaging to your muscles and also lead to more injuries because of the stress you are putting the muscles through. Much better to have a quick workout in the morning and evening and then still push it on the weekend, then to takes four or five days off in a stretch and not get any exercise until Saturday. Not just any exercise program will do for weight loss. Just burning calories is not good enough. The program must be planned to draw out specific hormonal responses that are conducive to weight loss. The key is NOT hours and hours of cardio. You must do exercise at an intensity that raises your heart rate and keeps it there for at least twenty minutes at a time and go from there.

Consistent rest – This is important to your well being as well as the healing of your muscles after exercise. Stretch daily, sleep well most nights and if you need it a hot tub, heating pad, or massage can do wonders to get rid of those little aches and pains that may not be going away quickly and holding you back a bit from going all out when you want to.

Remember that consistency is the key. Focus on changing your lifestyle. Do not focus on "dieting". When you focus on dieting, you are looking at this whole weight loss thing as something temporary. Diets work ONLY to get those pounds off, but what are you going to do after the diet is done? "Living a healthy lifestyle is a marathon, not a short sprint down the road."

Learning How to build Consistency

There are a lot of ways you can gradually build momentum. Here are some examples:

Start with something that’s pretty easy to manage and build up from there. Set a goal of one 10-minute exercise session per week. Then increase it to two 10-minute sessions. Gradually add minutes to each workout (and eventually add one or more additional workouts to your week), until you're exercising as long and as frequently as you should in order to reach your goals. The simple act of setting aside some time for exercise every day, no matter how little, and sticking to it is enough to start building the habit.

Find an accountability buddy—someone who knows about your plan and is willing to give you a push when you feel like slacking off.

Join a Team or make a Fitness Friend. It’s always harder to let someone else down than it is to let yourself off the hook.

Employ an excuse buster. Find a friend, family member whose judgment and opinion you respect. Each time you find yourself thinking about skipping an exercise session or blowing your meal plan, write down the reason for your choice. Share this reason with your excuse buster and get her honest opinion about whether the reason for your choice is reasonable or just an excuse. You’ll probably find that this makes it a lot harder for you to believe your own rationalizations.

Take it one day at a time, stay focused, and stay consistent.

Are you consistent with your exercise/workout routine? Do you find it harder to be consistent with diet or exercise? Comment below your thoughts, until next time have a great day x

Source
http://www.womenfitness.net/consistency.htm

6 Ways Sleep Can Help You Lose Weight

If you've ever needed a reason to sleep in, this is it.

Well, this is upsetting: Forty percent of Americans get just six hours of sleep or fewer per night, according to a recent Gallup poll. And groggy mornings and a cranky attitude aren't the only side effects of insufficient shut-eye, either—missing out on sleep can also lead to weight gain. In fact, an analysis by researchers at Columbia University found that people who sleep less than seven hours per night are heavier, gain more weight over time, and have a harder time losing weight!

If you're trying to slim down or shape up, hitting the sack is just as important as sweating at the gym. These six reasons are your best excuses to hit the snooze button and get more sleep.

It Stops Late-Night Snacking

The longer you’re awake, the more likely you are to consume calories you don’t need, which can cause you to gain up to two pounds a week, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. Over the course of seven days, they found that sleep-restricted subjects (sleeping from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m.) gained more weight than their well-rested counterparts (sleeping from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m.), mostly because they ate 550 calories from 11 p.m. to 4 p.m., a time that the other group spent in bed asleep.

It Helps You Burn More Calories

Not only do you have more energy to take on the day after a good night’s sleep, but your body also torches calories, even when you’re not working out. A study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that normal sleepers' resting energy expenditure—the amount of calories burned when you’re not moving—was five percent higher than their tired counterparts. They also burned 20 percent more calories after a meal versus sleep-deprived people.

It Boosts Fat Loss

Even if you eat the exact same diet as your friend, if you’re not getting the sleep your body needs, you won’t drop as much fat as them. A recent study from the University of Chicago compared the weight-loss results from sleeping eight and a half hours per night versus only five and a half hours per night. In both conditions, people ate the same number of calories (about 1,450 calories per day). While both groups lost about six and a half pounds, more than half of that weight was fat for well-rested people, compared to only a quarter for tired participants.

It Helps You Shop for Healthier Food

Never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry—or exhausted. In a study published in the journal Obesity, sleep-deprived men bought nearly 1,300 calories in food more than well-rested men. And this was independent of hunger because all the participants (sleep-deprived or not) had been fed a standardized breakfast before the test.

It Encourages Portion Control

In a Swedish study, well-rested and sleep-deprived participants were asked to complete a computerized "ideal portion size" task where they could manipulate their serving size on a screen. Their findings: Sleep-starved people added 35 additional calories in snacks to their digital “plate” compared to well-rested participants.

It Keeps Your Brain Focused

Your brain functions differently without sleep. Researchers at Harvard Medical School performed brain scans on people who reported high daytime sleepiness and measured their brain activity in response to high-calorie foods. The scans revealed reduced activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex—an area of the brain involved with inhibition and behavior control. Translation: Lowered inhibitions indicate a tendency to overeat when you're tired.

What's more, another study from Columbia University also found brain activity differences in sleepy people's response to food. Their study revealed increased activation in the insular cortex, which regulates pleasure-seeking behaviors. Importantly, unhealthy food activates this region more than healthy food, which means that skipping out on sleep could make it harder to skip out on a trip to the vending machine.

Source
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/sleep-weight-loss

7 days to stop overeating

How to avoid overindulging in just one week

Monday

Drink more water. Dehydration can easily be confused with hunger and it contributes to low energy, so keep hydrated to curb hunger and minimise tiredness. Start your day with a big glass of water and set a reminder to drink some more every few hours. Still hungry after a meal? Drink a glass of water to curb that feeling.

>> 8 Benefits of Coconut Water You Didn’t Know About

Tuesday

Reduce your liquid calorie intake. These are easy to over-consume as they don’t provide the sense of feeling full that you get from food. They’re also easily absorbed. So cut down alcohol, soft drinks and fruit juices to an occasional treat.

>> Does Alcohol Prevent Weight Loss, or Cause Fat Gain?

Wednesday

Chew for longer. If you plough through meals, you’re likely to overeat and the stomach reflex that signals to the brain that the stomach is full will be delayed. If you chew for longer (until the food has become paste-like) not only will it help with digestion, but you’ll also feel full after less food.  

>> 7 Tricks For Eating Less Without Even Realizing It

Thursday

Cut out the “treat” mentality. You know you shouldn’t have it but that doesn’t stop you from treating yourself to a muffin or chocolate bar because you “deserve it” or you “worked out today” – sound familiar? Sweet treats and crisps are enormously high in calories, so do yourself a favour and cut out the junk. Instead, snack on healthier alternatives such as sweet fruits and raw nuts.

>> 15 Healthy Snacks You Should Always Have At Home

 

Friday

Go to bed on time. Not getting enough sleep stimulates appetite hormones, so you’ll end up eating more and choosing higher-calorie foods the next day. Improve your chances by going to bed at a regular time, sleeping in a dark room with the window slightly open to get fresh air and avoiding using gadgets just before bed.

>> How sleep loss leads to significant weight gain 

Saturday

Eat balanced meals. These should contain carbs, fats and protein; if one or more is insufficient, you’ll feel hungry sooner. For breakfast, try adding LSA (ground linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds) or flaxseed oil to cereal, or smoked salmon or cottage cheese to toast.  

>> Proper Meal Plans For Weight Loss

Sunday

Eat at regular times. Many people know what to eat but overlook when to eat. If you skip breakfast and have a light lunch, you’re likely to overeat in the evening and feel peckish for a sweet treat. Establish a routine to eat the main meals at similar times. Have an afternoon snack to keep energy up and any hunger pangs at bay.

Source
http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/nutrition/nutrition+tips/7+days+to+stop+overeating,30085

Top 2015 fitness Habits : Fitness

Make fitness as your daily breakfast to gain better life with good health. Two third of the people in United States are not enough to have daily exercise, if you are the one belongs to same category add your number to unfitness team. Count down your time to start a fitness program per daily as a habit of yourself to happiest and healthier future. If you once started your day with exercise you may yourself feel relax after some days with earlier change. If you are suffering from heavy weight and improper healthy life, Exercise is a best solution to avoid all health problems and to had a healthy life.

Add exercise as a daily plan to get healthy diet and fitness habit leads to have strength and balancing life. Long term program of fitness will definitely gives longer life and built up healthy life. Make a promise to maintain exercise as a habit for morning season and directly see the difference than regular plan and fitness plan. Promise is not enough to get rid from health problems implementation of act is essential to get good results within short period of time. Daily have a plan for fitness session and made change yourself from all injuries of your health.

Fitness Makes Good Health

One solution for all problems such as Exercise is the solution for 50 Plus health concerns. Now a days huge number of fitness centers are available anywhere with good packages and the training centers will provide training with good efforts and some of the training institutes will organize weekly programs and academic events to get awareness from all fitness solutions.

Be aware of all issues related to fitness world and make a live practice to reach healthy life with good nature. Fitness programs mainly focused on problems related to lungs, heart, cholesterol, Joint pains, Fight diabetes, sexual improvement, low blood pressure control, mental tension relief and the trainers will explain the suitable and better solution for all such problems which will happens in daily life for all category candidates.

Making exercise as a daily task may have lots of benefits such as having good health, make to far away from health problems. Famous doctors also recommend to do exercise as daily habit to move away from health issues. Exercise will be must for every human being to get relax from any diseases, Human being must be practice exercise for at least 30 minutes per day as minimum to get proper benefit to health. Fitness Involves following tasks such as listed below

1. Walking
2. Swimming
3. Dancing
4. Yoga
5. Tai chi
6. Aerobics
7. Games
8. Skipping
9. Fitness training

Do the exercise with enjoy and feel as game for fun and utilize the benefits happens in Fitness. An incredible approach to keep up a solid weight, strolling works your heart and lungs, serves to lower pulse and could even decrease your danger of a few tumors. It could likewise support your intellectual prowess. US researchers have found that strolling six-to-nine miles a week may forestall age-related memory decrease by moderating the rate that your cerebrum recoils as the years pass by.

Yoga

Yoga is natural remedy for all health problems for human being, It is very beneficial for all ages of people to get relax from all health problems even small problem may have a chance to get rid through Yoga. Meditation in yoga will more beneficial to get relax from mental tensions, Meditation is more useful to give a tension free mind over a day. Everyone should do meditation for at least 10 to 15 minutes per a day and start your day with yoga and meditation.

Dancing

Dancing or Aerobics is also one of the Fitness theme to get relax form health issues and tensions, Dancing will make a physical change in body and steps in dancing makes the body to get vibrate in total body parts and Dancing may not be exercise for external body, It will be more exercise for all parts of the body.

Outdoor Games

Outdoor sports with team will boost the problems in body with anti agency fitness booster. Team sports are very good exercise to body than all fitness tricks, so make playing games as a habit to loss over weight which may lead to so many problems in the body especially for diabetic patients. Physical benefits will be more while Playing Games at Outside. It may have a chance to reveal unwanted mud in internal body.

Swimming

Make a habit of swimming as fitness task, get into the pool with fresh water to get health benefits, It is most enjoying exercise which may lead to good future. The time in pool will make us to feel relax in the body; go for swim daily at least for 30 to 45 minutes for better exercise. Swimming is very easy exercise for joints and it is good task to get 250 to 400 calories per hour.

Walking

A good way to handle a good weight with walking, Walking is more beneficial to get injure from heart and lungs to get relief from lower blood pressure and it will reduce risks of few types of cancers. Walking will leads to boost brain powers, Even though US Scientists have revealed that Walking is an exercise to get more energy and more calories.

Fitness Training

Fitness training is essential to get relief from overweight, functional training with exercise leads to good health with improvement of mineral density in the body and According to Canadian research more than 65 plus people are improving their strength by 20 percent by fitness training. Most of the people are getting relief from health problems with fitness Training and proper schedule for Fitness for every day. Make a habit of Fitness for every day and get good health with training from fitness Institutes.

Fitness training is providing better health with no cost and no medicine. Fitness will help more to get good health, age related injuries to DNA; Scientists discovered a earlier report for Fitness training with booster for age problem.

As always, comment below what you thought of the article; if it was helpful, wasn't helpful, how could it be better? I'd love to hear what you think! Have a wonderful day! Talk to you guys soon!

Source
http://newsfuzzy.com/top-2015-fitness-habits-fitness/

10 Sneaky Ways to Eat Less

One of the simplest ways to control your weight is often one of the hardest: Just eat less. A study in the journal Obesity found that 38 percent of people who were obese and actively controlled their portions lost 5 percent or more of their body weight over the course of two years. Meanwhile, 33 percent of the participants who didn’t watch their portions packed on 5 percent or more of their body weight. And it’s not hard to see why: With out-of-control restaurant serving sizes, giant-sized snack bags, and supermarket “buy one, get one free” specials, most people don’t even know what one serving is supposed to look like. But because facing the world armed with a measuring cup and a tiny food scale can take all the joy out of eating, try these strategies to eat less without even noticing.

Use Smaller Plates and Bowls

It turns out, this classic weight-loss tip really works. Cornell University researchers Brian Wansink, PhD, and Koert van Ittersum, PhD, found that when study participants were given identical servings in different-sized bowls, the participants with the smaller bowls ate less. Going a step further, the researchers suggest putting healthy foods such asfruits and vegetables on larger plates to encourage consumption and reserving smaller plates for richer, more fattening choices

Use a Larger Fork

It may sound counterintuitive, but a recent study published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that using a larger utensil actually may trick you into eating smaller portions. Enlisting the help of a local restaurant, a team of researchers looked at whether diners ate more or less depending on the size of their fork. To their amazement, they discovered that those using oversized forks actually ate less. Researchers believe that the larger utensil tricks diners into thinking they are making more progress on their meal and eating more, though in reality they eat less.

Move Healthy Food Up Front

When you walk into your supermarket, you’re likely to snap up the sale items at the front because they’re the first thing you see. It turns out this same behavior happens in your home kitchen. Other research by Wansink shows that we are three times more likely to nab the first food item we see than the fifth. So if you want to eat more healthfully, move those fresh fruits and vegetables front and center in your fridge and hide small portions of goodies in the back.

Eat With Your Nondominant Hand

At one time or another, everyone goes a little overboard on snacks such as popcorn, pretzels, and chips without being aware of the serving sizes. But research shows you can stop yourself simply by switching the hand you normally eat with. When psychologists at the University of Southern California gave moviegoers bags of stale popcorn, those who were challenged to snack with their nondominant hand were more discriminating — and ate far less overall. They found that participants who used their dominate hands were simply eating out of habit, without regard to whether they were hungry or liked the food.

Chew Sugarless Gum While Cooking

Diet lore suggests chewing sugarless gum to curb cravings and eat less, but studies have shown mixed results. A recent 8-week trial published in the journal Obesity had dieters in one group chew gum for 90 minutes a day. At the end of the trial, the chewers had not lost any more weight than the control group, suggesting that chewing gum at regular intervals did nothing to control appetite. But selectively popping a piece or two at certain times may help you eat less. Chew gum while you cook dinner to stop any mindless snacking and sampling of the dishes.

Slow Down Your Eating

From the time we were kids, many of us have been told to slow down when we eat. And for good reason: A study of 3,000 people in the British Medical Journal found that those who reported being fast eaters had triple the risk of being overweight. When you eat, your brain doesn’t know for certain that you’re full until it receives a series of messages from hormones in your gastrointestinal tract. If you continue to shovel in food, you override these hormonal messages, and before long you can no longer recognize the signals. Several studies, including a 2010 analysis at the Athens University Medical School, show that eating more slowly can also help cut calories, and make dieters feel fuller after smaller portions.

Say Nice Things to Yourself

If you are a chronic dieter, you’ve probably been down on your willpower at one time or another. But such negativity can feed the cycle of overeating, says Michelle May, MD, author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat. “To change this pattern, begin to use an encouraging, gentle inner voice and positive self-talk to motivate yourself toward the changes you want and literally think yourself thin,” she says. Praise yourself for portion control, and you’ll want to keep up the habit of healthy eating.

Make Smart Substitutes

If you crave a steak, you probably think a veggie burger just won’t do, no matter how many condiments you pile on top. A steak is a steak, bacon is bacon, and chocolate is chocolate, right? Well, yes and no. “You can trick your mind into thinking you’re satisfied if you know what healthy substitutions to make,” says Melissa Dobbins, RD, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “My whole approach is to eat healthier while not feeling like you’re giving something up.” Substituting lean filet mignon for sirloin strip steak, lean Canadian bacon for regular bacon, and more healthful dark chocolate for milk chocolate are all ways to eat healthier while still indulging.

Practice Mindfulness Eating

Mindful eating is the practice of contemplating what you are eating and concentrating on how you feel about the food. When you practice mindful eating, you become aware of food in all its aspects — not just how it tastes but also how it makes you feel as well as the sensory experiences it evokes, like the smell, the visual cues, and the texture. Eating becomes a meditative process. According to a study published in Bariatric Times, mindful eating can be an effective treatment for obesity.

 Eat Meals With Men

Although not always practical, this approach is certainly interesting. A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology looked at the behavior of college students in a cafeteria and discovered that when women eat with men, they unconsciously eat fewer calories — on average 112 fewer — than when they eat with their female friends. But take heed: This portion control strategy does not work the other way around. It turns out that when men eat with women instead of other men, they actually eat more. Researchers say this for the most part aligns with cultural norms: Many women consciously or subconsciously feel like they have to eat less around men. And as for guys eating less when they’re out with the guys, researchers report that unconscious cues could be at play, but more study needs to be done.

Source
http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-and-nutrition-pictures/sneaky-ways-to-eat-less.aspx