The purpose of this article is not to discuss the percentage of overweight people nor how it becomes a major concern globally. You see them everywhere, and you see them all the time! Chances are you probably see it in your mirror everyday and spat at it each time. If you are a struggling weight-watcher who had the pattern of falling in and out of the radar of your weight loss goals, then the 4 simple tricks can help you get back in shape. Perhaps like most people, you also lack motivation and focus especially if you can see your favorite chocolate bar chilling in the fridge, or the oh-so crunchy potato chips flaunting itself from the counter top. All these sinful buggers are brazenly giving your equally sinful appetite a "come on". But man oh man, why is it so excruciatingly painful to stay away from bad food?
Like most struggling weight-watchers, you have probably tried almost everything to be fit, from dieting to exercise and even drinking pills, and some might have worked out for you temporarily. Anyway, these simple tricks are really common and most often overlooked but before we discuss the simple tricks, please remember that these are not the overall solution to being fit!
The first trick is to use smaller utensils. Yes, smaller plates, bowls and silverware. It has a psychological effect like it can reduce your calorie intake and it prevents you from having a second or third serving!
The second trick which is commonly known to human kind is to eat slower and chew the food bit by bit. It is supposed to buy you time until the "fullness signal" reach the brain and turn off your appetite before you have devoured all the food on the table but there is a twist to this theory. Starting at your normal eating rate followed by a slower rate (where you have to savor every mouthful of food) is much more effective than just eating slowly all throughout the meal. So the perfect combination would be normal-slow rate, instead of slow-slow.
The third trick supports the theory "out of sight, out of mind". Again, the study simply shows that a person tends to consume more chocolates (or any tasty treat for that matter) when it's visible to them and accessible, than the person whose chocolates are hidden in the cupboard. So it goes without saying, if you want to lose weight, then don't go on putting all those mouth-watering buggers anywhere in your house! If you can't see them, the less you will think of them and the better chances of you resisting temptation and achieving your weight loss goal.
The fourth trick is to concentrate on your food while eating. The study shows that a person who is distracted from movies, TV, games or other activities while eating, are inclined to eat more as they do not realize how much they are eating. So the trick here is to stop what you are doing and concentrate on your food.
The 4 simple tricks have been concluded to be effective. Needless to say, it won't hurt if you implement these simple tricks in your lifestyle.
Julie Brealy is the Health Manager at FitFarms, No. 1 Weight Loss Camp in the UK. She has been working for over 10 years in the weight loss and fitness industry advising companies in the US and the UK. Her expertise include weight loss retreat and fitness boot camp course design; sports science; massage therapy; nutrition programmes; and fitness training.
