Many of you are probably guilty of this – eating out of boredom, stress, habit, or frustration, so much so that you have forgotten what it feels like to be truly hungry. A growling stomach is a sign that your body requires food but most of the time, you choose to ignore your body’s natural signals and eat even when you are not hungry. Thus, it goes without saying that you will pack on the pounds unknowingly. Therefore, an effective way to lose weight is to find ways other than eating to relieve the boredom and stress in you; and wait until your stomach growls before you reach out for food.
However, it is also equally important not to starve yourself. Some ladies think that they can lose weight fast if they persevere and ignore their growling stomach. However, doing so will lead to hunger pangs and hence a greater desire for food, causing one to unconsciously eat more during the next meal.
Tip 2: Put your utensils down between every bite
During a meal, your brain receives signals from your stomach and intestines, informing it when you are full. However, it takes about 20 minutes for those signals to travel. Thus, if you are a fast eater, you will tend to keep on eating, past the point of necessity.
Therefore, an effective way to lose weight is to slow down your eating speed to allow the signals of fullness to be registered in your brain. One way of achieving this is to always put your utensils down between every bite and take your time to taste, chew and swallow each mouthful, before picking up the utensils again. In this way, your brain will have sufficient time to tell you that you are no longer in need of food and you can then better control the amount of food that you eat overall.
Tip 3: Eat more water-rich foods
Studies have shown that eating water-rich foods such as tomatoes, cucumbers and soups during meals reduces your overall calorie consumption and hence helps you to lose weight in the long run. This is because you do not feel full from calories but rather, from the weight of the food that you put in your body. Thus, eating water-rich foods which are generally heavier helps you to feel fuller faster and eat less overall.
Another important factor is that water helps food to stick around longer. When water is bound to food, it slows down absorption and gives you a longer lasting feeling of fullness. Besides, water-rich foods also help you to lose weight by flushing waste and toxins out of your body as well as reducing water retention and bloating.
Tip 4: Get most of the calories before noon
Studies have shown that a good way to lose weight effectively is to eat more for breakfast and lunch while skimping on dinner. If you wish to indulge in chocolates, cookies or cakes, do so in the morning. This is because research has shown that people who ate a larger breakfast which included sweet treats gained lesser weight than those who ate a smaller breakfast with no sweet food. It’s because the sugary treats during breakfast helped to suppress the appetite-stimulating hormone and curb sweet cravings throughout the day.
Besides, getting most of the calories before noon also means that you will have more opportunities to burn them off, as compared to consuming them at night.
Tip 5: Cut up your food into tiny pieces
An easy way to lose weight effectively is to cut your food into bite-sized pieces. Doing so will help to create an optical illusion and trick your brain into thinking that there’s more on the plate, which translates into eating less while still feeling satisfied.