Lose Weight Without Dieting!
It may sound too good to be true, but you can trick yourself into eating less. Drop pounds effortlessly with these five stay-slim strategies.
1. FOOL YOUR APPETITE
"The amount of food on a plate-whether it's one helping or four-is what most people consider a 'normal' serving," says Jim Painter, Ph.D., R.D., a food psychologist at Eastern Illinois University. His recommendation: Downsize your dishes. "If you have a visual cue that tells you to stop before you get stuffed, you'll eat less but feel just as satisfied."
2. SAY NO TO CRIME
You may want to record the latest episode of CSI or 24 so you can watch it after you finish dinner. "TV shows that feature murders or medical emergencies tend to remind us of our own mortality," says Dirk Smeesters, Ph.D., an associate professor of marketing at Erasmus University in the Netherlands. "On a subconscious level, this can make some people feel a little depressed or upset-which can then trigger them to eat more food than they normally would."
3. GIVE YOUR FORK A REST
Chowing down like it's an extreme sport can seriously up your calorie count, according to a new study from the University of Rhode Island. Researchers found that women with a body mass index of 22 (the middle of the "normal" range) who took 20 additional minutes to dine ate 10 percent less food and felt more satisfied than those who finished faster. "It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to register that you're full," says lead researcher Ana M. Andrade. Pile a little less onto your fork and put it down between bites. Then every five minutes or so, reassess whether you're still hungry.
Go to Shape.com for more ways to lose weight without dieting.
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