How to eat less to lose weight psychology. How to learn to eat less to lose excess weight? The best way to eat less

Ecology of consumption. Life hack: Are you determined to lose weight? There is a wonderful diet: you need to eat less! And how to do this - read our tips!

Why is it hard for us to force ourselves to eat less? There are several explanations for this. Firstly, the stomach is the same muscle, which means that if we regularly eat large portions, it stretches, and it takes time for it to “get used” to smaller portions.

Secondly, the satiety center, located in our brain, receives a signal of fullness from the stomach with some delay: you have not yet realized that you are full, so you continue to chew.

Well, thirdly, there are psychological factors that make us overeat: stress, melancholy, resentment, fatigue - all these feelings provoke overeating.

How to train yourself to eat less

1. Keep a food diary.

In it, note the time and volume of portions that you ate during the day. In the evening, after analyzing what you have written, you will be amazed at how many calories you have absorbed without noticing. If you are not lazy and keep a diary for at least a month, you will be able to take control of your food absorption process.

2. Use smaller plates.

On a large plate, even a normal-sized portion looks small. And if you eat from a small plate, you will have the feeling that you have eaten even more than normal. Also pay attention to the color of the dishes, it also affects your appetite.

3. Eliminate distractions.

While eating, turn off the TV, move away the computer and book. Focus only on food. Distractions trigger overeating.

4. Define right size portions.

The correct serving size is the amount that fits in your cupped hands. Anything more is already excess.

5. Take your time.

Eat slowly and chew each bite thoroughly. This method will allow you to be satisfied with less food. It will be nice if you allow yourself no less than 30 minutes to eat.

6. Take breaks.

After each bite, place your knife and fork on the table. Do you think this is too much? Try it and you will immediately notice the effect!

8. No additives!

Don't rush to take your supplement. Wait about ten minutes. Most likely, after ten minutes you will realize that the supplement would be unnecessary.

9. Remove uneaten food.

There should be no tempting bowls of cookies or fruit on your dinner table between meals. Because when you see them, you are tempted to take an unauthorized snack.

10. Share.

Do you dine together at a restaurant? Divide each serving into two and share with your companion. Or, if possible, order a half portion. published

It is difficult to lose excess weight not only because you are on the warpath with your own laziness. To complicate the task, marketers have spent millions studying colors, tastes, aromas and consumer psychology. They did everything to make you eat more.
But don't worry, you and I have a few tricks up our sleeves too.
You can use proven facts to force yourself to give up excess food on a subconscious level..

1. Hang a mirror in the kitchen

Earlier this year, scientists at the University of Chicago published a study showing that eating in front of a mirror is one way to limit yourself from eating unhealthy foods. When you see your reflection eating a burger or chips, you feel ashamed of yourself, which helps you make healthier decisions.

2. Pay for groceries in cash

On the website about healthy way Life Prevention.com published a text about the connection between payment method and belly fat. It's hard to believe, but Indian scientists confirm that using bank cards promotes obesity. The trick is that in the process of fishing out bills and change from your wallet, you have a few seconds to think about the benefits of the products you buy.

3. Clean the kitchen

If you spend 10 minutes organizing groceries and arranging plates by color, you won't have to sweat for hours at the gym. According to a study published in Environment and Behavior, a cluttered kitchen can make you more likely to neglect your diet.

4. Harness the power of peppermint

A small bunch of this refreshing herb helps you control sudden urges to overeat. This was recently discussed in the journal Appetite, where a study by English scientists was published. Study participants who snorted peppermint every hour throughout the day consumed 2,800 fewer calories per week than those who did not.

If you can’t gradually reduce the amount of foods you consume, and you decide to use heavy artillery in the fight against fat, here’s a fat burning workout with dumbbells. But remember: this is not for you to shake with a fork.

5. Eat with a long fork

Yes, this is a strange conclusion, but it was reached by Taiwanese scientists who eat with chopsticks and hardly gain weight. An elegant long fork (which can be used to steal food from your neighbor's plate, haha) will not only be a great addition to your kitchen design, but will also help you refrain from overeating. Research suggests that shorter utensils encourage us to scoop or spear more food.

Those who want to lose weight have always wanted to know how to lose weight in the shortest possible time, and preferably as effectively as possible. And probably everyone heard advice from others “eat less” but did not pay much attention to it, looking for the secrets of losing weight further. But in reality there are no secrets, and the advice to eat less is quite valid. In addition, most people who have managed to lose significant weight cite reducing the daily amount of food they eat as one of their most important actions.

Perhaps not everyone knows, but to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. If you do not lead a very active lifestyle and spend approximately 1500 kcal per day, then by eating 2000 kcal you will gain weight. The principle of the simplest diet is to eat less in order to move the number of calories you consume to the other side of the number of calories you burn.

Of course, these figures are very arbitrary. It is impossible to measure them in practice, so you need to reduce the amount of food you eat until you begin to lose weight.

How to eat less

You don't need to cut your diet in half right away (although if you really want to, you can try). You can cut it down, say by a third, and try to stay on this diet for a week. If you managed to lose at least 1 kg, it means you started eating less than you spend. If the weight does not go away, then reconsider your diet (have you really reduced the amount of food), and reduce it further.

At the same time, while reducing the amount of food you eat, do not switch to sweets or fast food. These foods have more calories, even in a smaller volume, than healthy foods. Try to eat the same or healthier food.

Eat half

Eating half of what you ate before is very radical, but effective method lose weight. If you decide to use it, then try to reduce not the number of meals, but the volume of each serving. But at the same time, you can leave the amount of vegetables consumed the same. They are low in calories and will not interfere with your weight loss.

How to get out of a diet

After you have received the desired result and the desired number on the scale, do not rush to return to your previous diet with joy. This may cause you to not only regain your previous weight, but also gain even more. Your body has already adjusted itself to spend fewer calories and has adapted to this diet. Therefore, you can only afford to slightly increase the amount of food you consume. At the same time, keep an eye on the scale - if the weight begins to return, reduce its volume back.

Pros of this diet

1. You are guaranteed to lose weight.
2. There is no need to change your diet and products.
3. It’s easy to understand, there are no tricks or problems.
4. There is no restriction on vegetables.

Minuses

1. It can be difficult to stick to a diet and fight hunger.
2. Due to the reduction in calories, fatigue and lack of energy may occur.

As you can see, this diet is very simple, but at the same time it can be quite strict.

Little secret

To make your life easier, eat more vegetables. They, of course, will not satiate you completely, but they will help eliminate sudden hunger. It will also protect you from a lack of vitamins (which could also be reduced by half) and nutrients that you get from food.

Obesity is becoming a serious problem throughout the world. One of the many ways to lose weight is to eat less. However, this can be difficult, especially if you are used to eating a lot or find it difficult to control hunger. Fortunately, there are various methods that allow you to eat less and still feel less hungry. To do this, try changing your diet, eating patterns and eating habits.

Steps

Reduce your portion sizes

Measure the size of all portions. An easy way to eat less is to start measuring your portions. Limit your portions so you eat less.

Use smaller plates. Once you start measuring portions, you may find that the amount of food you eat has decreased noticeably. This may make you appear undernourished.

Put away anything that might tempt you. While eating, try to remove anything from the table that tempts you to eat more. This will help you focus on your portion and reduce the likelihood that you eat too much.

Leave food on the plate. Regardless of portion sizes, try to leave a little food on your plate each time.

• Many of us are not taught by our upbringing to leave food on our plate - we are used to finishing everything, even if we are already full. Try to overcome this habit and leave a little food on your plate every time.
• To make your task easier, leave a couple of small pieces in the plate to begin with.
• After you finish eating, immediately clear your plate of any leftover food.
• If you don't want to throw away leftover food, put it in a container and eat it at lunch the next day or save it until dinner.

1. Order small portions at restaurants. As a rule, restaurants serve portions that are too large. Don't eat too much and watch the size of your dishes.

   Overcoming hunger

   1. Drink before meals. Research shows that in order to partially fill your stomach, reduce hunger and eat less, you can drink a low-calorie liquid before meals.

      Eat nourishing and hunger-satisfying foods. Right choice foods also help cope with hunger during the day.

      Use mint flavor. According to many studies, the taste of mint in the mouth helps cope with hunger throughout the day.

      • Brush your teeth after eating! If your mouth is clean, you will not want to eat again, so as not to disturb the pleasant minty aroma of cleanliness. Try taking a toothbrush with you to work to combat the temptation to snack after lunch.
      • Chew chewing gum! Many people just like to chew something. Chewing gum will distract you from thinking about food, and your brain will get the impression that you are eating.
      • Also try drinking a little peppermint tea or sucking on sugar-free mints. As already noted, the aroma of mint helps muffle the feeling of hunger.

   2. Take a break. Often the feeling of hunger occurs suddenly. At such moments, we feel a strong desire to immediately eat something. Take a break to deal with this feeling.

      • Perhaps you have a sweet tooth or want to eat something after dinner just out of boredom - whatever the case may be, try to keep yourself busy to take your mind off food.
      • Often the desire to eat something lasts no longer than 10 minutes. Do something for 10-20 minutes and see if the feeling of hunger goes away.
      • You can do the following: organize your desk drawers, fold laundry, take a shower, read a book, answer a few emails, or visit your favorite Internet sites.

   Be satisfied with less food

   1. Allow 20-30 minutes for each meal. Many doctors recommend eating for at least 20 minutes. During this time, the body has time to feel full, which helps avoid overeating.

   2. Chew your food thoroughly. Take your time and chew each piece thoroughly - this promotes digestion and helps you feel full with less food.

      • Enjoy every bite. As you chew your food, enjoy its aroma, texture, and taste. Try to use as many senses as possible.
      • Focus all your attention on the food and on every bite you chew - this will allow you to enjoy it and feel full faster.
      • If you eat large chunks and don't chew them properly, your brain won't receive the signals you're full in time, and you may end up overeating.

   3. Don't limit yourself to certain types of food. Many people try to stick to a limited diet and completely eliminate a number of foods from their diet in an effort to improve their health. However, this can be counterproductive.

      • Remember that you won't be able to lose (or gain) weight quickly. in natural ways. Measures such as making drastic changes to your diet, eating too few calories, or cutting out certain healthy foods can be detrimental to your health.
      • Sometimes give yourself some slack and treat yourself to something delicious. Dieting too strictly and making significant restrictions can eventually lead to overeating and poor dieting.
      • Provide days in which you can relax a little and break your diet slightly. This can be done 1-2 times a week, or on Friday evening. Choose what works for you so that you can still maintain your desired weight.
   • Eat slowly. It takes the brain about 20 minutes to register satiety. If you eat faster, you will miss the moment of satiety and eat too much.
   • Use smaller plates. Most people eat everything on their plate, so smaller plates will help you eat less.
   • Avoid sugary drinks and switch to low-calorie drinks and plain water.
   • If you really want to eat something, but you're not really hungry, think about the reasons for your desire. For example, ask yourself, “Wait a minute, do I really need to eat or is this just a whim?” This will help you resist temptation.
   • If possible, do physical exercise. This is the best way to lose extra pounds, especially when combined with a healthy, balanced diet.
   • When it comes to healthy eating, avoid all-or-nothing thinking. Remember that every bite you eat matters!
   • Learn to distinguish between the desire to eat something out of boredom and real hunger. Often all you need to do is drink a glass of water, and the “hunger” will go away - this means that you were not really hungry.
   • When visiting a fast food restaurant, don't order the largest meal just because it will save money. Realize that you don't need that much food.

Oddly enough, today we will talk about foods that do not make you want to eat anything, but on the contrary, help reduce your appetite. Agree, for our warm, delicious “Kitchen”, this is an unexpected topic. But very popular!

The vast majority of people, especially as they age, experience a slowdown in metabolism. And then... every bite, every sip goes into fat storage. What to do? Starve? Exhaust yourself with fitness? No, you need to eat with appetite. However, there are precisely those foods that suppress the appetite itself.

How it works?

Let's figure out how the process of suppressing appetite occurs in our body, as well as the normal functioning of metabolism. The thyroid gland is primarily responsible for this process. She loves foods with iodine, which allow her to maintain the desired balance in her metabolism. If the metabolism is in order, it means that body weight does not increase, because. what you eat “burns.” Products containing a lot of iodine are known to everyone: these are any sea fish and all seafood - especially kelp, pears, onions; Iodized salt can also be included in the diet, but it is better to replace it with sea salt.

We also have the task of deceiving our own stomach, which has a direct connection with the “flight center” - the brain. As soon as you are left without work, you immediately get a signal “up”: SOS! Hunger! And the brain orders you to immediately find and eat something to calm the brawler. You can trick your stomach by giving it low-calorie foods that are difficult to digest. There are quite a lot of vegetables rich in fiber, which are great for reducing appetite. Fiber in the stomach increases in volume and causes a feeling of fullness, but does not add calories.

There are also foods, a small amount of which improves mood and reduces appetite due to the production of the “joy hormone” seratonin. You know, these are also simple and well-known products: cheese, cottage cheese, oatmeal, bananas, nuts, as well as legumes - beans, lentils, peas, etc.

Plus – dark chocolate with a high cocoa content. Many nutritionists advise eating 2-3 small pieces of dark chocolate after a working day - in this way you can reduce your appetite to a minimum, and in the evening a light and low-calorie dinner will be enough for you. Chocolate should not be bitten immediately - it is better to suck it for several minutes, like a lollipop, so that the brain receives signals for as long as possible that the body is receiving calories. By the way, required amount We will actually get calories, and there are enough nutrients in chocolate.

Considering the glycemic index

Products that resist appetite can be different - vegetables, fish, fruits, and dairy products. They have one thing in common: a low glycemic index. A study by British scientists from Cambridge states that white bread, many cereals and sweets have a high glycemic index, while fruits, most vegetables and dairy products have a low glycemic index. They increase the production of hormones that suppress appetite and send a signal that the body is full.

This was confirmed by the results of a study in which participants ate low-GI foods for breakfast and, as a result, had 20% higher plasma GLP-1 levels and 38% lower insulin levels compared to those who ate high-GI foods. Note that this is the first study in which experts were able to clearly illustrate the effect of low-GI food on the production of GLP-1 and satiety in the body.

Blood sugar levels remain normal when there is enough chromium in the body - the feeling of hunger is reduced. Sources of chromium include wholemeal wheat flour, wheat germ, brewer's yeast, liver, black pepper, lemon balm, and cheese.

Glycemic index table for various foods:

Anti-appetite products

Apples. As American nutritionists have proven, by snacking on one apple before a meal, a person eats 15% fewer calories during a meal. In addition, during the digestion of apples, like other fruits, our body produces the hormone GLP-1, which sends satiety signals to the brain.

Hot red pepper. Nutritionists have found that if you eat a piece of chili pepper before eating, the feeling of hunger is dulled. The reason for this is capsaicin, which makes peppers so hot. Capsaicin can not only reduce appetite, but also speed up energy production processes in the body, thereby actually replacing exercise.

Seaweed. According to Dutch scientists, seaweed, once in our stomach, turns into a gel, and this allows us to reduce appetite by a third, giving a person a feeling of fullness for a significant period.

Scrambled eggs for breakfast. Eggs, which are rich in protein, keep you feeling full for a long time throughout the day. Water. A glass of water drunk before a meal reduces the feeling of hunger.

Green tea. The catechin found in green tea stimulates calorie burning, and three cups of green tea daily increases the rate at which your body produces energy by 40 percent.

Lemon. The pectin contained in lemon removes excess fat from the body and also slows down the digestion process.

Garlic. Due to the presence of a special component of garlic - allicin, which produces a specific smell, a clove of garlic will reduce the feeling of hunger and also stimulate the production of the hormone adrenaline, which speeds up metabolism and burns excess calories.

Useful replacement

Instead of confectionery products, which constantly add fat, sugar and extra calories to us, eat fruits, dried fruits and honey. They contain fructose - it successfully replaces sweets and reduces hunger, and there are much fewer calories than in any usual dessert. Plain clean water or juice reduces appetite well.

It is better to drink mineral water, but not carbonated water. Of course, you need to drink 20-30 minutes before meals; You should not drink after meals - this slows down digestion, as gastric juice is washed away.

Ginger tea helps reduce appetite. Grate the ginger and add 1 tsp. gruel with boiling water (2 cups), infuse and add honey (1 tsp). They drink this tea before meals: appetite decreases, metabolism speeds up, and sexual activity also increases - and from this we definitely become more beautiful.

Your appetite at lunch will decrease significantly if you eat a beauty salad in the morning at least 2-3 times a week. It is prepared simply and quickly: 2 tbsp. oatmeal, 1 tbsp. crushed walnuts, finely chopped half an orange, grated apple mixed with 1 tbsp. honey, pour a glass of low-fat yogurt over everything, stir and leave for 10 minutes.

If you really want to eat, you can eat this unusual sandwich: put a sliced ​​ripe banana on a small piece of black bread. Brown bread contains fiber, and bananas contain a lot of glucose: the stomach will start working, and a signal will be sent to the brain that food has entered the body.

For lunch, eat clear soups - low-fat meat, fish, or even better, vegetable broth. This soup fills the stomach and satiates better and faster than main courses, and it has fewer calories.

You can also have a snack with a piece of low-fat cheese or a boiled egg, and drink green tea with a little honey. Curdled milk, fermented baked milk, kefir and natural yogurt They also satisfy your hunger for a long time – you won’t feel like eating for several hours.

Noble deception

Skimmed dry milk helps to quell an increased appetite: you just need to chew it for a while (about 1 tsp), swallow and wash it down with a small amount of water.

To avoid wanting to eat before bed, eat a small piece of lean boiled meat at dinner - this will not only reduce hunger, but also help the body burn fat during sleep.

Eat fish dishes 2-3 times a week - as already said, this helps the thyroid gland.

Try to add legumes to vegetable salads - this will fill you up faster and improve digestion.

Season your salads vegetable oil or kefir; Try to use sour cream less often, choose low-fat sour cream, and avoid mayonnaise altogether.

You should eat at least 300 g of vegetables per day, raw or stewed - they contain a lot of fiber and vitamin C, which our body needs in large quantities every day.

If you feel like eating, but know that you shouldn't, rinse your mouth with mint water - you can do this several times during the day.