Losing weight doesn’t have to be hard! Sometimes simple changes in your lifestyle can make a huge difference and help you shed the pounds without even realizing it. Check out our 11 ways to trick yourself into losing weight.
1. Relax, Don’t Do It
Stress can make it difficult to lose weight. Stress hormones increase fat storage and trigger cravings for carb-rich snack foods which will help you calm down but pack on the pounds. Instead of turning to food, do whatever you can to de-stress. Try exercising, getting more sleep, calling a friend, using some deep breathing techniques, listening to music, or whatever else helps you find your Zen.
2. Early to Bed, Early to Rise Makes You Healthy, Wealthy and… SKINNY
Sleep deprivation can make it harder to lose weight. Inadequate sleep upsets a person’s hormone balance, which decreases leptin (a hormone that makes a person feel full) and increases ghrelin (which triggers hunger). Studies find that people who go to bed late eat more food, have worse diets, and are more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI) than those who go to bed earlier. Scientists argue that getting enough sleep is the cheapest and easiest obesity medicine there is.
3. Be Swaggy, Pay With Cash, Eat Healthier
According to the journal Obesity, paying for meals with cash increases the likelihood you will buy more healthful food. So be a baller, pay with cash and get skinny.
4. Have Your Cake, and Eat it Too
According to the journal Appetite, people who said that eating cake makes them feel guilty were less successful at losing weight while people who viewed eating cake as enjoyable were more successful. Next time you’re at a birthday party, have a small piece of cake and enjoy it!
5. Eat Family Dinner at the Table, Talk More, Weigh Less
According to several studies, parents who ate with their family while sitting around a kitchen or dining room table weigh significantly less than those who eat dinner in front of the TV. Additionally, parents who stayed at the table until everyone was finished and had meaningful conversations also weighed less.
6. Don’t Sit, Move It, Move It
A recent study found that those who took more breaks from sitting throughout the day had slimmer waists, lower BMIs, and healthier blood fat and blood sugar levels than those who sat the most. In short, the longer a person sits, the more likely they are to die an early death and weigh more. That ought to scare you out of your seat!
7. Ditch The Soda, Ditch The Pounds
Someone who has soda readily available and in sight at home weighs on average 25 pounds more than someone who doesn’t. And don’t think you can just switch to diet soda. Studies show that diet soda messes with your gut bacteria increasing your risk for obesity. In fact, each daily can of diet soda increases a person’s risk of obesity by 41%.
8. Keep Serving Dishes Off The Table
Researchers noted that keeping serving dishes off the table reduced the amount of food men ate by 29%.
9. Out of Sight, Out of Mind
People who have candy on or in their desk reported weighing 15.4 more pounds than those who didn’t.
The “candy desk” at the US Senate.
10. Don’t Shop When You’re Hungry
Shopping while hungry makes people not only buy more food, it also makes them buy more junk food.
11. Post Fitness Motivation Pictures of VEGETABLES To Motivate You
Researchers have found that posting photos of low-calorie foods on the fridge may help in weight loss. Pictures act as a subtle reminder of a person’s weight loss goals. Researchers also suggest making the background on a smartphone a low-cal food.
