We all know ‘eat a bit less, exercise a bit more’ is key to weight loss, but there are many other factors at play that are only now being discovered by scientists.
EAT WRONG-HANDED
Many of us eat out of habit, particularly when we are distracted by something else, such as the TV.
But doing something to break that habit, such as eating with the ‘wrong’ hand (ie, left hand for right-handers and vice versa) can make a difference, say researchers from the University of Southern California.
The study of movie-goers, published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, found that people ate only half as much popcorn if they were asked to eat it with their other hand.
STICK TO QUIET RESTAURANTS
Restaurants, with all their clanging noises, make us want to eat sweeter and saltier foods, according to research in the journal Food Quality and Preference.
Our nervous systems are wired to respond to loud noise with a faster heartbeat and higher blood pressure, so that we are ready to flee from danger.
In noisy restaurants we respond by eating faster and drinking more alcohol, says research by Dr Adrian North, a psychologist at the University of Leicester.
MAKE A FIST FOR 30 SECONDS
Clenching your fists for half a minute can halt temptation when you have a food craving, reported the Journal of Consumer Research in 2011(USA).
The researcher, Iris Hung, says we subliminally associate flexed muscles with endurance and can use this link to bolster our willpower.
AN APPLE (PEEL) A DAY…
Apple peel contains ursolic acid, which increases muscle and levels of brown fat (found in the neck and between the shoulder blades). Both of these boost the rate at which our bodies burn calories.
HAVE A PUDDING AT BREAKFAST
Eating a breakfast that includes a sweet dessert may help you to lose weight, say researchers from Tel Aviv University.
Their study, published in 2012, found that dieters who followed this regimen lost 37 lb more over eight months than those on the same calories but who had a smaller, low-carb breakfast. The key is to indulge in the morning, when the metabolism is at its most active and we can work off the extra calories.
EAT BORING FOOD TO FEEL FULL
Our appetite is partly governed by a mechanism called sensory specific satiety. Basically, we feel fuller if we’re eating only one food.
It is like eating a plate of meat and thinking you’d burst with one more forkful — then pudding arrives and you can eat it.
Nutrition scientist Barbara Rolls says variety in the form of colours makes you eat more and the greater the contrast in taste between the food on your plate, the more you will eat.
Plan BEFORE YOU’RE HUNGRY
Thinking ahead can help you to avoid eating junk food. Scans show that hungry brains release hormones that make us crave high-fat, high-sugar foods.
Dr Alain Dagher, of the Montreal Neurological Institute, told a meeting of neurologists in 2011: ‘If you go to the supermarket hungry you are drawn to high-calorie food.’
CHEW A MOUTHFUL 15 TO 20 TIMES
Your mother was right to tell you to chew each mouthful. A Japanese study of 4,700 people found fast eaters weigh on average 15.5 lb more than slow chewers.
In the Journal of Epidemiology, the researchers also warned that eating too fast may raise the risk of diabetes.
TUCK IN WITH A BIG FORK
Bigger forks can mean slimmer tummies. So says a 2011 study, which found that taking larger bites can lead to us eating less.
DROP YOUR FAT FRIENDS
Our idea of ‘normal’ weight depends on the size of those around us.
A long-term study in the U.S. revealed that if someone has a friend of the same sex who becomes fat, their risk of being overweight doubles.
Being influenced by those around us in this way is called ‘social contagion’. Research in the journal Obesity says it explains overweight families.
DON’T PUT BUTTER ON YOUR BREAD
Use olive oil instead of butter on bread and you will eat 16 per cent fewer calories and drop your bread consumption by a quarter, according to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity. It is thought that olive oil stimulates taste receptors more powerfully than butter, making people feel fuller quicker.
GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP
Insufficient sleep knocks our appetite hormones out of kilter.
A Chicago University study that cut 12 young men’s nightly sleep down to just four hours found their levels of the appetite hormone ghrelin rose by 28 per cent after only two days.
