That doesn’t sound sexy, but science proves that crash diets don’t work and weight-loss pills can’t replace nutritious foods.
When you’re craving something sweet or salty and you’re limited to the office vending machine or a cracker-filled pantry, you’re likely to splurge on candy or a carb-heavy snack—which sacks you with oodles of empty calories, spikes your blood sugar and won’t fill you up.
To avoid gobbling hundreds of calories without even realizing it, “focus on your meal and the people sharing it with you,” she suggests. “Consider the sensations of sight, smell, texture and taste as you eat.
“As you chew your food, the digestive enzymes in your saliva begin to break down food to allow for the absorption of important nutrients.”
Add chili peppers and other spices into your cooking. Peppers contain capsaicin, a naturally occurring compound that research suggests may speed up metabolism and make you feel full.
“Drinking a couple of glasses of water roughly 20 to 30 minutes before sitting down to eat will make you feel full faster,”“Do this three times a day—before breakfast, lunch and dinner—and you can cut 225 to 270 calories from your daily diet.”
Before settling in for after-dinner family or TV time, make a quick trip to the bathroom to brush and floss your teeth. Polished choppers and minty breath may also make dessert less appealing.
When trying to lose weight, the best candy is no candy. But certain situations—kids’ birthdays, holiday parties, work celebrations—call for the sweet stuff.
To avoid extra calories and fat, choose something light like white bean and kale soup or miso soup with mushrooms and green onions.