New habit: Hitting the brakes. In a study, women who were asked to eat quickly consumed more food (and in less time)

than those who were told to eat slowly. The reason? When you pace yourself, your brain has more time to register fullness and tell you to stop eating.

Try this: Count your chews. The women in the study who were told to slow down chewed each bite 15 to 20 times and paused before taking the next bite.

New habit: Meditating on your meal. Researchers at the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University studied mealtime multitasking and found that most people underestimate how much they eat by 30 to 50 percent if they’re distracted.

Try this: Measure your food up front. People are significantly more aware of how much they’re eating when they pay close attention to their serving sizes, says Brian Wansink, Ph.D., director of Cornell’s Food and Brand Lab. So before you zone out in front of the tube with a plate of stir-fry, scoop out just half a cup of rice rather than piling a heaping mound onto your dish.

New habit: Noshing only when you’re hungry. Having a high-carb snack when you’re feeling anxious will produce a tension-relieving serotonin rush, says Joan Salge Blake, R.D., a nutrition professor at Boston University. Problem is, it will be followed by a blood sugar crash that will leave you craving more.

Try this: Keep a clear container on your desk. Every time you resist buying a snack, put money into the box, Blake says. The growing pile of dough will be a reminder that you can overpower those urges. When you have enough money saved, use the cash to splurge on a nonfood reward like a facial or a new bag.

New habit: Leaving half of your meal behind. Studies show that when it comes to chowing down, Americans rely on external cues (“Is the plate clean?”) instead of internal ones (“Am I still hungry?”). In his studies, Wansink found that even when he served mushy pasta in watered-down sauce, people still ate every last morsel. To make matters worse, in recent years the average plate size has grown by two inches in diameter.

Try this: Split an entree with your date. Or order appetizer-size portions, or have half of your meal wrapped up before you dig in so you’ll avoid temptation entirely. Research shows that just seeing and smelling food can trigger the release of hormones that make your tummy growl, even if you aren’t actually hungry.

New habit: Using meat as a garnish. Cut back on your carnivorous ways and you’ll cut back on total calories as well. Blake’s rule: Eat twice as much produce as meat at any given meal. (Think veggie stir-fry with a few chicken strips, or a big salad with a small piece of beef.)

Try this: Treat veggies like meat— marinate, season, and grill them—and you can enjoy the same flavors that come with a juicy steak. Or designate one day a week for a meat main course and cut back on the other six.

(Article from http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/eating-well)

DAYS 1 and 2

Breakfast
Omelet with 4 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1/4 c minced broccoli or asparagus, 1 tsp shredded low-fat cheese

1 c plain coffee or green tea

12 oz water

Snack
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt and 6 cherries
OR
12 oz protein shake with 1 scoop protein powder (low-carb, low-sugar, less than 115 calories)

20 oz water

Lunch
6 oz grilled chicken breast

3 c lettuce with 2 Tbsp light or low-fat dressing

1/2 c steamed broccoli, asparagus, green beans, peas, or carrots

20 oz water

Snack
8 almonds
OR
12 oz protein shake
OR
Apple or banana with 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter

20 oz water

Dinner
8 oz grilled chicken, beef, turkey, or Boca burger (no bread/bun)

1/2 c steamed broccoli or asparagus

3 c plain lettuce with 2 Tbsp fat-free dressing, lemon juice, or balsamic vinegar

20 oz water

Snack
1/4 c cottage cheese with 1/2 c mixed berries or 6 cherries


DAYS 3 to 7

Breakfast
Omelet with 4 egg whites and minced asparagus and 1 slice plain whole-wheat toast
OR
12 oz protein shake and 1 apple with 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter

1 c green tea

12 oz water

Snack
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c mixed berries or 6 cherries
OR
8 almonds

20 oz water

Lunch
Pick one: Small sweet potato, small baked potato, 1/4 c brown rice, 1 slice whole-wheat pita or bread
WITH
Pick one: 6 oz tuna in water; grilled chicken, tuna or turkey; turkey or Boca burger (no bread or bun)

2 c plain lettuce with 2 Tbsp lemon juice or low-fat balsamic vinaigrette

1 c broccoli with 2 Tbsp honey mustard

20 oz water

Snack
8 almonds
OR
6 cherries
OR
Apple with 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter

20 oz water

Dinner
Pick one: 6 oz sirloin steak, beef burger, grilled chicken or turkey; 8 oz tuna, salmon, or freshwater fish
WITH
1/4 c steamed brown rice

3 c lettuce with 2 Tbsp fat-free dressing

1/2 c mixed vegetables or 1 c broccoli

2 Tbsp honey mustard

20 oz water

Snack
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c berries
OR
1/4 c cottage cheese with 1/2 c berries

(Article from http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/eating-plan?page=1)

Your friends, your cold, your spending habits–

The risk: Your Flabby Friends – 2 lbs

Palling around with a tubby crowd could be worse than having Rosie O’Donnell as your diet coach. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at the social networks of 12,067 people over 32 years and found that for every 10 pounds a person gained, close friends of the same height gained an average of one to two pounds.

Improve your odds Instead of making plans to go out for drinks and dinner, catch up with your buds as you sweat on side-by-side elliptical machines, play racquetball, or cruise town on your bikes. Don’t take no for an answer!

The risk: Credit Cards – 5 lbs

Your plastic may be affecting more than just your credit score. Visa conducted a study of 100,000 fast-food restaurant transactions and found that people who pay for their food with a credit card spend 30 percent more than those who pay with cash. Opt to swipe and you could end up with a double quarter-pounder with cheese and a large Coke instead of a quarter-pounder with cheese and medium drink. For the average woman, who visits a fast-food restaurant once a week, that adds an extra 17,160 calories, or 4.9 pounds, per year.

Improve your odds If you must hit the drive-thru, pay cash. You’re likely to spend less. Better yet: Go home and make a sandwich. It’ll be better for your body and your wallet.

The risk: The Sniffles – 40 lbs

Forget feeding a cold–a 2007 review in Advances in Food and Nutrition Research found that in animal studies, critters infected with adenovirus-36–one of about 50 human viruses that cause upper-­respiratory infections–gained up to four times as much weight as those without it. Scientists speculate that the bug increases the number of fat cells in the body and that it could leave humans lugging around an extra 40 pounds.

Improve your odds Believe it or not, a vaccine to fight the fat culprit is in the works. And adenovirus-36 has already been deactivated in lab studies (there are no human tests yet). Until then, wash your hands often, as adenoviruses typically are transmitted through direct contact.

The risk: Your Meds – 45 lbs

Popping pills for allergies, birth control, depression, or diabetes could be an Rx for a wider rear. According to a report in Pharmacist’s Letter, side effects of drugs such as the antidepressant Nardil and the allergy medication Zyrtec can stimulate appetite; that can leave you eating more and gaining up to 45 pounds.

Improve your odds If you suspect a scrip is to blame for your suddenly bloated belly, talk to your M.D. about alternative options for the drug you’re prescribed. Just make sure you don’t stop your current meds without your doctor’s say-so.

A 2004 study in General Hospital Psychiatry revealed that 5 percent of patients surveyed would never take meds that caused weight gain–even if they had a life-threatening condition.

(Article from http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/4-things-that-make-you-gain-weight)

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The way nutritionists go on about restaurant diet crimes, you’d think the entrance to Bennigan’s would be blocked off by yellow police tape. But, breadbasket assaults aside, the riskiest place for your waistline is actually your own kitchen. That’s where you make daily decisions that affect your weight loss success: choosing between skim milk and whole, reaching for butter or olive oil, stocking up on Oreos or Triscuits. “Cutting calories when cooking at home is the first step to creating healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime,” says Lisa R. Young, R.D., author of The Portion Teller Plan. The following easy tips will help you crack down on fat and calories and serve and protect your figure.

Oil Be Damned

It’s healthier than butter, but it’s still fat. Here’s how to skip the slick stuff or make a little go a long way.

Make it a spritzer Oil in a spray can or mister (we like the Misto Gourmet Olive Oil Sprayer, $10, chefsresource.com) lets you fry foods with a fraction of the calories you’d get from a pour spout. A spritz works great on pasta and roasted vegetables, too. Calories cut: 112

Cook twice For crispy chicken or fish without all the fat of frying, use your oven, says dietician and nutritionist Molly Morgan. Coat a pan with a tablespoon of flavorless canola oil and fry the meat for 10 minutes per side. Blot up extra grease with paper towels, then transfer to the oven and bake on low heat (200 to 250 degrees) for 15 to 20 minutes. Calories cut: 2,767

Bring on the broth “Stir-fry your vegetables in a wok with a half-cup of broth,” says Sal Scognamillo, co-owner and chef at Patsy’s Italian Restaurant in New York City. “Chicken, beef, or vegetable stock give broccoli, zucchini, peppers, and carrots great flavor, and really cut down on the fat.” At 41 calories per half-cup (most oils have nearly 1,000 calories per half-cup), broth can save the caloric equivalent of three whole avocados. Calories cut: 959

Hit the sauce When baking, replace oil with sweetened applesauce (97 calories per half-cup) or canned pumpkin (42 calories per half-cup). “It lowers fat and calories, while keeping your cakes and muffins moist,” Young says. To add more berry flavor to berry muffins, try blackberry-flavored applesauce (we like Santa Cruz Organic Apple Blackberry Sauce, $4.50, available in grocery stores). Calories cut: 922

Great Impostors

“Accept no substitutes” doesn’t apply to healthy cooking. These flavorful imitations show why sometimes it’s better to fake it.

Hamburger helper Who would have thought beef could be the lighter choice? It’s true: Just make sure you stick with the skinny kind. A 4-ounce serving of 95 percent lean ground beef contains only 155 calories that’s even less than turkey (168 calories), and beats ground pork (297 calories for the same amount). Calories cut: 132

Carb unload Steamed, shredded cauliflower is a great starchy-tasting stand-in for potatoes and rice. “I put the cauliflower through the shredding blade of my food processor and season it with whatever goes with the rest of the meal, like soup stock, or curry powder and chopped pistachios,” says Dana Carpender, author of eight books, including 500 Low-Carb Recipes. “It tastes great, and not only is it low in carbs, it’s low in calories, too.” One cup of cauliflower weighs in at just 29 calories, compared with 205 for a cup of white rice. Calories cut: 176

Hasta la pasta Noodle lovers: You can do more than just switch to whole-grain varieties you can also swap your angel hair or linguini for a low-cal lookalike. Young recommends spaghetti squash, scooped right out of its shell. “Boiled and tossed with marinara and parmesan, it’s as if you’re having pasta without all the calories,” Carpender says. Calories cut: 179

Use your noodle Adventurous eaters should try shirataki noodles, made from tofu and yam flour. They taste sweeter and the texture is squishier than regular pasta, but at a measly 40 calories per 8 ounces (pasta packs 221), they’re worth getting used to. (We like House Foods’ version, housefoods.com, or pick them up at health food stores, Asian markets, and some supermarkets for about $2 per two-portion bag.) Calories cut: 181

Coat with care If you like the satisfying crunch of breaded chicken or fish, swap your usual breadcrumbs (460 calories per cup) for cornflakes (101 calories). Crush them and make them stick to your protein by dunking those fillets in water instead of beaten eggs or milk; you’ll save about 289 more calories. Calories cut: 648

Think cottage industry Yes, cottage cheese, with a taste inversely proportional to how good it is for you, is a food only a nutritionist could love. But hear us out: Your tongue won’t be able to tell a lick of difference if you use low-fat cottage as a stand-in for whole-milk ricotta in lasagna. Your thighs will thank you, though, when you do the math: ricotta has 216 calories per half-cup; cottage has 81. “Whip it in a food processor or blender until it’s smooth,” Morgan says. Also swap it for sour cream on baked potatoes and for cream cheese in cheesecake. Calories cut: 135

Flavor savers

Cutting calories doesn’t have to mean cutting flavor. And some foods have nearly miraculous properties that can help you stay trim.

Live in cin Like cinnamon? You may like it even more when you know that, according to a study by the USDA’s Human Nutrition Research Center, it can lower blood sugar. “That can curb your appetite,” says Marlo Mittler, a nutritionist in Great Neck, New York. Sprinkle the spice on your oatmeal, and you might not want a second bowl. Calories cut: 150

Heat things up Capsaicin, the chemical in chilies that gives them their tongue-flaming heat, can help curb appetite, according to a Canadian study. Subjects who ate appetizers containing red pepper before lunch consumed an average of 189 fewer calories at their next meal and snack combined. Make it your new favorite condiment and add some to omelets, stir-fries, hummus, and salads. Calories cut: 189

Pucker up “Drinking anything with fresh lemon in it can stop you from being hungry,” Mittler says. Hey, if a slice of lemon in our water (a better choice than lemonade, which is usually full of sugar) will prevent us from inhaling that cupcake, we’ll do it. Calories cut: 131

Think Thin

Sometimes getting slender requires tricking yourself into doing the right thing. These tips put the brakes on bingeing.

Rearrange your refrigerator It sounds way too simple to work, but it does: Moving healthy foods out of the crisper drawer and onto the most visible shelves, and pushing the fattening stuff out of sight can help you trick yourself into eating healthfully. You’ll be more likely to reach for a cup of berries (84 calories) to satisfy your sugar jones instead of that leftover cheesecake (257) under foil way in the back. Calories cut: 173

Stay single Whenever possible, buy individually packaged snacks, says Carpender. The pre-portioning makes you less likely to go overboard. That means three Hershey’s Kisses (77 calories) instead of a full-size milk-chocolate Dove bar (200 calories), and a Skinny Cow Low Fat Fudge Bar (100 calories) instead of a cup of full-fat chocolate ice cream (285 calories). After all, we know what happens when you settle down with a tub of Chocolate Moose Tracks. Calories cut: 185

Ban bulk to lose bulk “Costco is great for toilet paper,” says Young, the Portion Teller author. “But you don’t want to buy jumbo bags of snack foods.” Can’t say no to a good bargain? Divvy up your emergency stash of BBQ chips into one-ounce servings and store them in resealable plastic bags or Tupperware. Polishing off half of even a puny 7-ounce bag costs you about 500 calories. Calories cut: 361

Cook ahead The single-serving rule doesn’t apply only to naughty snacks. Cook your favorite healthy meals and store them in individual portions in the fridge or freezer. “When you come home from work tired, you can pull that food out and microwave it, rather than call for greasy takeout,” Carpender says. Doesn’t homemade chicken and broccoli stir-fry sound more appetizing than a bag of SunChips anyway? Calories cut: 412

Get mugged Out-of-control portions don’t look quite so insane when you’re eating them off a dish the size of a kiddie pool. Serve entreés on salad or dessert plates, and you’ll eat less, according to a 2006 study at Cornell University. Use coffee mugs, which hold about 50 percent less than typical bowls, for your Raisin Bran and soup. “Both foods are easy to eat in too much volume if you use a regular bowl,” Mittler says. Calories cut: 115

Mix it up Studies have shown that “the more varieties of food on our plates, the more we eat,” Young says. Use that principle to your advantage by stocking just one kind of cookie but keeping half a dozen different snack-friendly fruits and veggies on hand. You’ll get so sick of Oreos that a banana — or an orange, or an apple, or a bunch of grapes, or a handful of baby carrots will look delicious. Calories cut: 55

(Article from http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/)

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• Put down the knife. By putting down whatever utensils you’re using between every bite, you can significantly slow down your eating time, leaving your stomach a chance to feel full and reducing the likelihood that you’ll go for seconds. Another technique that can have a similar effect is to take a sip between each bite.
• Choose whole grains over a whole belly. If you switch out all of your refined grain food (white bread, food made with white flour) for whole-grain food (oatmeal, whole-grain cereal, whole-grain pasta, brown rice and barley) you won’t lose additional weight overall. However, you will lose more weight in the belly area, which will make you look thinner.
• Eat less lunch than usual. For example, make your own sandwich and limit the use of margarine or butter and full-fat mayonnaise (store-bought sandwiches often contain both).
• Cut down on alcohol intake
• Finally, don’t be tempted to skip breakfast – or any meal to lose weight. While skipping a meal will reduce your calorie intake for that hour, it will leave you much hungrier later on. Not only are you likely to overeat to compensate, but you’ll often make bad choices to fill the gap: a cereal bar is not as healthy as a bowl of cereal or as filling, leading you to ‘need’ something extra for lunch. Irregular eating habits also disrupt your body’s metabolism, which makes it harder to lose weight in the first place.

Daily Caloric Requirement (DCR)

Translation The math is pretty simple: Eat 500 fewer calories a day than your body requires and you’ll drop a pound a week. But most online calculators (and even the pen-and-paper variety) are only 82 percent accurate (even less so if you’re obese, sick, or an ethnic minority), according to the American Dietetic Association. And, says Mary Hartley, a registered nutritionist for about.com, the results can be flawed because the equation isn’t tailored to the individual and because many people misjudge their fitness level. Plus, if you lose 10 pounds or more, you’ll have to do the math again.

Salvation Let sites like caloriecount.about.com, mayoclinic.com, or mypyramid.gov do the work for you. All factor in activity level and are backed by health pros.

Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)

Translation While DCR calculates calorie input (how much you need to eat), the Resting Metabolic Rate tabulates calorie output (how much you burn doing absolutely nothing). Unfortunately, the ADA says the accuracy of these formulas is 45 to 80 percent (and again, they’re less accurate if you’re obese).

Salvation Skip the formula and get tested by a pro; you can do this at many gyms (members pay about $50). You’ll have to sit and breathe into a scubalike plastic tube while a computer records how much oxygen you inhale and how much carbon dioxide you exhale. After 12 minutes of fun, you get a printout showing you (with 95 percent accuracy) how much you burn at rest and how many cals you can consume and still ditch your saddlebags.

VO2 Max

Translation This test, often used by athletes who train for grueling events, can also be useful for noncompetitors looking to lose weight, because the result helps pinpoint a target heart rate for fat burn. The formula is nearly 100 percent accurate, as long as you don’t flub the test, which requires you to run or bike at top speed, typically for 12 to 14 minutes, while wearing a gas-mask-like apparatus that measures your oxygen intake. An ill-fitting mask (it should seal around your mouth) or not reaching your peak speed on the treadmill can skew the results.

Salvation Search at vo2max testing.net for places that provide the test, which costs about $120. The test will tell you the amount of calories you burn in different heart-rate zones. Once you get your results, invest in a heart rate monitor–either one that straps around your chest (the most effective) or a watch (like the MioMotiva)–to keep tabs on your ticker as you work out within your ideal fat-blasting range.

(Article from http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-formulas)

Berries

You probably know that fiber is the magic bullet of weight loss. It keeps you satisfied throughout the day — and away from the fridge. But you may not know that berries are an excellent roughage source. Raspberries are the fiber queens with 8 grams per cup. Blackberries come in a close second with 7.4 grams, and blueberries have 3.5 grams.

Turkey

This clucker has the fewest calories per ounce of any animal protein. Like dairy, it contains the amino acid leucine, which may play a role in preserving muscle mass during weight loss, keeping metabolism running at full speed. Protein is also more satiating than fat or carbs — so you’re less likely to overeat.

Enova Oil

Enova — made from soy and canola oils — is made of diglycerides, a type of fat that’s metabolized differently from triglycerides (found in other oils — even olive) and so not stored as fat as easily. In a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, dieters who used Enova lost more weight than those who used other oils.

Peanuts

Ironically, this elephant favorite fights weight gain, slows rises in blood sugar, and curbs hunger. One study from Purdue University found that individuals who added 500 calories of peanuts to their diets for 3 weeks experienced almost no change in body weight and a 24 percent drop in triglycerides — blood fats associated with heart disease. Researcher Rick Mattes, Ph.D., says peanuts’ satiating power helps people eat less overall.

Low-Fat Yogurt

Plain, low-fat yogurt is one of the best sources of calcium — a mineral that may fight fat. According to Michael B. Zemel, Ph.D., director of the Nutrition Institute at the of Tennessee, not getting enough calcium triggers the release of calcitriol, a hormone that causes us to store fat, whereas meeting our daily calcium needs helps us burn fat more efficiently. Like turkey, yogurt and other dairy foods are leading sources of leucine, which also helps fight fat.

Breakfast Cereal

By boosting fiber and providing fewer calories from fat than other popular breakfasts (bacon and eggs, anyone?), ready-to-eat cereal can help you fill up — and slim down. Study from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that women who ate cereal were 30 percent less likely to be overweight than those who ate other breakfast foods. To get the most bang for your breakfast buck, choose fiber-rich (aim for 5 grams per serving), low-fat cereals like Kashi Heart to Heart.

(Article from http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/foods-that-burn-fat)

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©iStockphoto.com/Bill Grove

By boosting fiber and providing fewer calories from fat than other popular breakfasts (bacon and eggs, anyone?), ready-to-eat cereal can help you fill up — and slim down. Study from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that women who ate cereal were 30 percent less likely to be overweight than those who ate other breakfast foods. To get the most bang for your breakfast buck, choose fiber-rich (aim for 5 grams per serving), low-fat cereals like Kashi Heart to Heart.

When you’re dieting,

1. Pack a packet Instant oatmeal beats out All Bran and Muesli for fullness factor. We love Quaker’s Weight Control Maple and Brown Sugar it tastes heavenly and has more fiber, protein, and whole grains than the regular variety.

2. Find berry treasure Raspberries are one of the most fiber-filled fruits, packing 8 grams into a cupful a whopping 32 percent of your RDA. Add some to your cereal or yogurt.

3. Can the juice Whole fruit has a higher fiber content and makes you feel fuller than fruit juices, even those with pulp.

4. Make a dinner date A study found that women eat less than usual on dates (men tend to eat a lot more).

5. But don’t eat by candlelight Dim light can trigger binge eating.

6. Better yet, make it a blind date It’s worth a try dine blindfolded and you’ll eat 22 percent less food without missing it. Just watch out for the salad fork.

7. Bulk up Soluble fiber expands in your GI tract to make you feel full, so get your 25-gram RDA. That’s a packet of oatmeal, two slices of whole-wheat bread, and 1 cup each of broccoli, edamame, and raw carrots.

8. Ignore diet labels One study found that after eating full-fat muffins, subjects were less hungry and ate less over the next 24 hours than after eating a fat-free version.

9. Hold your breath Just smelling a fresh-baked cupcake in the break room can induce the insulin secretion that makes you think you’re hungry. Sight activates the appetite snowball too, so avert your eyes.

10. Down a multivitamin Research suggests that your body may compensate for a lack of nutrients by increasing your appetite so you’ll eat more.

11. Save your bread Dodge the white wonder and go for whole wheat it’s 5.5 times more satisfying.

12. Meet meat One study found that people ate 441 fewer calories a day when following a 30 percent protein diet versus a 15 percent protein diet.

13. Eat like a cow Graze: Five evenly spaced, 350-calorie mini-meals a day will regulate your appetite and ward off sugar cravings caused by skipping meals.

14. Attempt ambidexterity Switch your fork to your nondominant hand you’ll eat much more slowly. That gives you time to recognize your couldn’t-eat-another-bite feeling when it first sets in.

15. Skip soft drinks High-fructose corn syrup, the main sweetener in soda, doesn’t spur insulin production to make the body process calories, nor does it trigger leptin, the hormone that tamps down appetite.

16. Trade your corkscrew for a bottle opener Participants in one study ate more food while drinking wine than while drinking beer.

17. Boost your bean count The musical fruit’s high fiber content causes glucose to be released slowly into the bloodstream, preventing the sudden slumps that cause hunger spikes. Add garbanzos or black beans to soup or salad.

18. Shape up Wedge-shaped foods like pizza make it difficult to estimate proper portions. (No wonder the apple pie always goes so fast.)

19. Start with soup Have a cup of soup, such as chicken noodle or vegetable, before your entrée you’ll feel fuller sooner and eat fewer calories overall.

20. But only one cup Served buffet style, diners ate 73 percent more soup without realizing it or feeling any fuller.

21. Bag the dried fruit Go for 2 cups of grapes over a quarter cup of raisins both are 100 calories, but the grapes’ water content feels more filling.

22. Dig pop culture Because it’s mostly air, popcorn is twice as filling as a candy bar or peanuts, with fewer calories. We like Pop Secret 100-calorie packs.

23. Slurp a smoothie Make it with low-fat yogurt and loads of fruit for a satiety trifecta: protein (to decrease hunger), fiber (to fill you up without extra calories), and calcium (to help burn, not store, fat).

24. Whey your options Boost that smoothie with 1 to 2 tablespoons of whey powder. New studies suggest that in addition to a protein punch, whey may affect the hormones that make you feel full. In one study, participants who ate a liquid meal made with whey ate significantly fewer calories 90 minutes later than their counterparts.

25. Go cuckoo for cocoa Participants in one study were significantly more satisfied 30 minutes after they drank low-fat chocolate milk than they were after they drank soda.

26. Crunch on raw carrots Researchers in Ireland noted that carrots are more filling when they’re uncooked. Bonus: A 1-cup serving has 3.6 grams of fiber.

27. Add avocado Your body burns carbohydrates in an hour or two, so toss a little healthy fat into the mix (avocado in salad, peanut butter on bread) to buy a few hours before the pangs hit.

28. Start a pack-a-day habit Chewing gum (sugar-free or regular) suppresses your desire for sweets. (If you prefer potato chips, spit out the gum it may make a salty craving worse.)

29. Get nutty Nosh on pine nuts they have the most protein of any nut or seed, and the pinolenic acid they contain stimulates two powerful hunger-suppressing hormones.

30. Listen to Norah Jones Eating while listening to mellow music slows you down. It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain it’s full that’s the first seven tracks of Come Away with Me.

31. Go beyond the pale White pasta and other foods made with refined flour cause blood sugar to drop and leave you hungry again in no time. Choose whole-wheat pasta and you’ll be satisfied almost twice as long.

32. Ride a roller-coaster Nausea is responsible for a subsequent loss of appetite (bring your own barf bag).

33. Get hitched A study found that happy marriages lower the risk of metabolic syndrome, which could lead to overeating. Women in consistently dissatisfying marriages were about 3 times more likely to develop metabolic syndrome. Widows carried nearly 6 times the risk.

34. Find a new china pattern Research shows that blue is a natural appetite suppressant, so using blue plates, napkins, or placemats may make you eat more slowly and realize when you’re full.

35. Re-paint your dining room beige Red, yellow, and orange hues stimulate appetite and make you eat more.

36. Be antisocial On average, people who eat with one other person consume about 35 percent more than when they dine alone; at a table of four, that figure rises to 75 percent more; if you’re in a party of eight you’ll nearly double your intake.

37. Enjoy your salad days According to one study, women who ate a 100-calorie salad before dinner consumed 12 percent fewer calories during the meal without trying to diet or limit their intake. The fiber in the greens probably helped.

38. Choose surf over turf Fish is more satisfying, per calorie, than lean beef or chicken, according to Dr. Susanna Holt’s Satiety Index, a ranking of different foods’ ability to satisfy hunger.

39. Live in your own private Idaho If you need starches, yams and white potatoes (with skin) are 7 times more filling than a croissant. Sorry, French fries don’t count.

40. Practice patience Before you go for seconds, wait 20 minutes. Once the leptin kicks in, you might find you’re already full.

41. Declare yourself perfect Accept your body and, according to a study at Ohio State University, you’re more likely to eat healthily and not for emotional reasons.

42. Request a doggy bag Wrap up half your meal to go before you take the first bite and you’re likely to eat less. Study participants who were offered a portion and a half of a food consumed 43 percent more of it and ate 25 percent more calories in the meal overall.

43. Have a seaweed spritzer When you mix agar-agar, a fiber-rich thickening agent derived from seaweed, with fruit juice, it soaks up the liquid, making you full-full. Pick it up at Whole Foods Market.

44. Make some miso When your metabolism is dragging and your energy dips, you crave foods and drinks that give you a quick lift. New research reveals that protein-rich miso soup boosts metabolism.

45. Count sheep Sleep-deprivation leads to lower leptin levels and higher ghrelin levels, boosting your appetite. Try to get at least 7 hours tonight.

46. Have a cocktail with lunch Fruit cocktail, that is. Mixed fruit can curb a sweet tooth, and it has plenty of fiber, which helps regulate your blood sugar.

47. Eject the junk Science has proven that a food’s tasty appearance can trump feelings of fullness. Ask the waiter to remove your plate before you scarf the rest of those fluffy mashed potatoes.

48. Turn up the heat Temperature is a satiety signal, and the cooler a room, the more people tend to eat which is why restaurants often keep thermostats low.

And, in the not too distant future…

49. Chew on this London researchers found that moderate doses of the “feeling full” hormone pancreatic polypeptide reduces the amount of food eaten by 15 to 20 percent. They’re working on a chewing gum, but a finished product is still a good 5 years down the line.

50. Pop a pill Italian scientists looking to make a more absorbent diaper lining ended up creating a cellulose pill that expands in your stomach to ward off hunger pangs for up to 7 hours. Look for it (pending safety trials) in May 2008.

(Article from http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/prevent-a-binge?page=2)

Don’t sabotage your workout routines with unhealthy binge eating. Instead, find out what you need to do to stop the binging.

Eating so you’re full and satisfied, rather than giving in to emotional overeating to fill a void or simply because the food is there, takes some planning—and a few good strategies. Here they are:

Healthy eating tips # 1. Identify high-risk situations.

Few people overeat in every situation, so determine the circumstances that are likely to trigger a binge. Once you’ve identified which situations are most likely to spark emotional overeating, come up with a game plan for each one. For example, if eating at relatives’ always involves plentiful gooey desserts, plan to make or buy a low-fat dessert, and bring it with you for everyone to share. If you can’t go to the movies without snacking on something, sneak in your own bag of air-popped popcorn or some low-cal candy.

Healthy eating tips # 2. Keep a record of what you put in your mouth in a food diary.

In a study at the Center for Behavioral Medicine in Chicago, researchers asked 38 people who were trying to lose weight to keep a food diary; doing so not only helped them control their weight during high-risk holidays, but even helped them peel off unwanted pounds. Keep it simple—it doesn’t have to include total calories or fat grams—but don’t forget to jot down snacks or drinks, which can add up. You need to maintain a record at least 75 percent of the time for a food diary to be effective.

Healthy eating tips # 3. Explore food-free ways to socialize.

In social situations, everybody eats more if they see everybody else doing so. If this sounds familiar, get in the habit of bonding with friends over activities that don’t center around food: a walk at the park, an afternoon at a paint-your-own-pottery shop, a long bike ride or hike, or trying a new class at the gym.

Healthy eating tips # 4. Dine smart and use portion control.

Research—and common sense—tells us we eat much more when we dine out. Do damage control at restaurants by speed-reading the menu: Skip past “appetizers” and head straight for “salads” for a safe starter, and look for any mention of plate-sharing charges, a sure sign that the restaurant’s meals are enormous and that you and your dining companion may want to split one. (Note some restaurants will honor requests for half-size portion control, or if it’s a low-key establishment, ask the waiter to serve just half and box the rest for you to take home.) Once you pick a healthy option from the menu, order before anyone else at the table. That way, you make the commitment and you won’t be persuaded by other people’s orders.

Healthy eating tips # 5. Eat thin before fat, choosing low calorie foods – or at least lower – first.

People tend to overeat the more-delicious, more-palatable foods, which have a higher fat content. The solution: Fill up on low calorie foods first—fruits, vegetables and grains—and you’ll be less likely to overindulge in the high-calorie stuff.

Healthy eating tips # 6. Keep temptation out of your path.

Get rid of junk food and replace it with better choices—rice cakes or pretzels for your pantry; low-fat frozen yogurt, pre-made fruit salad and baby carrots for your fridge; and reduced-fat popcorn or dried fruit for your desk drawer. It’s going to be easier for you to avoid overeating if you control your external environment.

Healthy eating tips # 7. Don’t eat meals just anywhere.

Make a point of always sitting down at a table to eat, rather than dining by the light of your computer screen or TV set. Focus on what you’re eating—including how it looks, smells, and tastes—and you’ll be less likely to continue eating after you’re full.

Healthy eating tips # 8. Eat small meals more often.

Eating frequent small meals during the day not only keeps your blood sugar stable and your energy high, but it can help you avoid excessive hunger. People who get into night eating generally follow a typical pattern where they don’t eat much during the day, then binge at night.

Healthy eating tips # 9. Don’t diet.

Being too rigid about your eating is likely to make you feel deprived. A study from Louisiana State University found that calorie counting and consciously dieting were associated with overeating, especially while alone.

Healthy eating tips # 10. Buy single-serving-size snacks.

Get rid of big bags of food since people tend to graze until they’ve eaten the whole thing. While food shopping, think small: packages of several single-serving-size cereals, boxes of animal crackers and individually wrapped string cheese.

Healthy eating tips # 11. Use the 10-minute rule before indulging.

When the vending machine or kitchen beckons, stop and ask yourself if you’re truly hungry, and not just bored or using food to procrastinate from something. Get involved in another activity for 10 minutes, then see if you still want what you were craving. Sometimes we get hunger pangs and they’re more mouth hunger—a desire to taste or chew—than stomach hunger.

Healthy eating tips # 12. Have an hor d’oeuvre before the party.

It’s easy to lose control when you go to a party or dinner hungry. Eating a piece of fruit (half a banana, an apple, or some dried fruits with a glass of water) or having a glass of milk or tomato juice and some whole-grain crackers before going out will act as an appetite suppressant.

Healthy eating tips # 13. Buffer against buffets.

To avoid overeating at a party, hold a non-caloric drink in your dominant hand. It’ll interfere with the likelihood of reaching for problem foods. Take the focus off food: Identify people you want to talk to—and keep your distance from buffet tables.

Healthy eating tips # 14. Lick TV temptations.

While watching television, polish your nails, knit, do a puzzle—anything that occupies idle fingers. You want to keep your hands busy so you’re less likely to eat.

Healthy eating tips # 15. Turn down food pushers (politely).

When people push food, you need to be clear and say, “No, thank you.” Choose your words carefully: Saying you’re on a healthy eating program is more persuasive than saying you’re trying to lose weight.

Healthy eating tips # 16. Keep it up with your workout routines.

Workout routines do more than help counteract the excess calories that come from overeating. People who exercise regularly are less susceptible to overeating, most likely because their mood is elevated, so they don’t need food to make them feel better. Exercising most days of the week also reinforces your commitment to a healthy lifestyle, which is likely to make you more mindful of when, where and how much you eat.

Healthy eating tips # 17. Seek alternate stress relief.

You can learn to manage your emotions in a way that doesn’t involve food. Find another outlet for frustration—whether it’s taking a long bath, meditating, getting in a workout, chatting with a friend or another form of healthy stress relief. If you can distract yourself from upsetting feelings or learn to sit with them for a while, you’ll probably find they pass more quickly than you’d thought. And, you’ll feel better afterward because you’ll have avoided another potential source of distress: losing control of your eating.

(Article from http://www.shape.com/weight_loss/diets/stop_stuffing_yourself_secrets/p/page/1)

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Your best bet for working through this is to minimize the task ahead. Tell yourself that you only have to exercise for ten or fifteen minutes today – something you know you can do with minimal effort in a minimal amount of time.

If you finish your ten or fifteen minutes and still don’t feel like doing it, then don’t. You’ve still gotten some exercise in and you’ve energized yourself for the day. However, I think you’ll usually find that you want to continue. Getting started is the hard part. Once you’ve started, you’ve overcome the biggest obstacle to exercise.

Here are four more things you can do to stay motivated and exercise on a regular basis..

1. Create your personal “reasons list”. Keep a piece of paper and pen handy for a couple of days. Jot down EVERY reason you can think of that you want to get healthy / get fit / lose weight, through consistent exercise. This list is VERY powerful motivation when you don’t feel like exercising.

2. Know the benefits of exercise. We are more motivated to do things that we’ll benefit from. The more we benefit => the more motivated we are. For example, if I told you I’d give you a million dollars to take a 30 minute walk tomorrow morning, would you do it? You bet you would! The benefits of exercise aren’t quite that compelling, but they are pretty motivating. Do read my article on the benefits of exercise, send any email message to.. Top20@Landry.com

3. Keep records. Write down your exercise time (minutes) each day. Keep a running total for the month and year. Calculate your average exercise time per day. Set some lofty goals!

4. Make your exercise as enjoyable as possible. For example, if you’re a walker, you may want to get a good cassette or CD player to listen to music or books on tape, etc. If you’re exercising inside, set up a TV so that you can watch it while exercising. On the other hand, you may just prefer peace and quiet. Do whatever makes exercise most enjoyable for you. You are much more likely to exercise consistently if you enjoy it. Get movin’!

Author and exercise physiologist, Greg Landry, offers FREE weight loss success stories and his “Fast, Healthy Weight Loss” newsletter at his site: http://www.Landry.com

copyright 2003 by Greg Landry, M.S.