Losing weight was never a cakewalk. It requires a combination of balanced diet with regular exercises and a perseverance to stick to the journey you have embarked upon. There are just no shortcuts. Now don’t get us wrong, we are not here to scare you or dim your motivation. In fact, we have some unique tips and tricks that may help you shed those extra set of kilos soon. You need to follow these in tandem with a good diet and physical activity of course. Not many would tell us that weight loss has much to do with smart food choices and psychology. These steal-worthy tips are just that. Have a look for yourself!
1. Don’t surround yourself with food or ready to eat snacks
Try to put as less food around you can, alternatively make sure you don’t venture into places where good looking is on display right in front of your eyes. The more food in front of you, the more you’ll eat or want to eat. This is basic human psychology. Go to a lovely bazaar with street food stall and chances are you will not return with an empty stomach. That bag of chips lying next to the TV will get over in under 5 minutes even if you were not particularly craving for it. To stop yourself from munching keep food especially the fattening, tempting ones a little out of range.
Surrounding yourself with snack may urge you to binge more
2. Have smaller size of plates and glasses
Larger plates give you the illusion that you haven’t eaten enough, even if you are already full. Have smaller plates and eat accordingly. Similarly smaller glasses would amount to lesser number of liquid calories. You would be surprised to know that weight loss is closely linked to psychology too. If you manage to convince your mind that you are not tempted, you win a significant part of the battle!
Larger plates give you the illusion that you haven’t eaten enough
3. Include more water rich foods in your diet
Eating water-rich foods such as zucchini, tomatoes, bottle gourd and cucumbers during meals can help reduce your calorie intake while making you feel full. You can ‘eat’ water through salads, and soups too. They not only keep you hydrated, but are also naturally rich in both soluble and insoluble fibers. This not only facilitate smoother digestion, but also helps curing tummy problems like constipation, piles and flatulence. Another amazing quality of these water rich foods is their ability to induce fullness, which is usually not possible with water or other beverages. Our bodies have separate mechanisms to process thirst and hunger. Umpteen glasses of water and juices may quench your thirst but may not make you feel satiated.
Water rich foods help reduce your calorie intake while making you feel full
4. Don’t eat with a large group
No, we aren’t saying you stop socializing over lunch and dinners. Here’s what happens when you eat with a large group – its tough to keep tabs of your portion and you tend to eat more than what you would when you are eating with family, a significant other or alone. Larger the group, more the time spent on table and greater the noshing.
Larger the group, more the time spent on table and greater the noshing
5. Sneak in maximum veggies alongside your mains
On a weight loss diet? You have to load up on veggies and no you need not do that the same old common ways. You can sneak them in your pastas, sandwiches, soups, stir fries, omelets and so much more. Veggies can mingle with your favourite savoury treats, and need not be the boring affair you always thought it to be. Eating a 1:1 ratio of grains to veggies can do wonders for your weight loss, the high-fiber veggies will help satiate you much before you overeat the grains.
lasagna filled with goodness pf spinach
6. Try having 90 percent of your food in home
Lets admit it! It is hard to resist temptation when you are out and unfortunately that’s not the best news for the inches around your belly. Try and have majority of your food at home, not only is it made with good quality ingredients, but you can also keep track of your portion sizes. On days when you are planning to go out, make sure to tuck into a healthy snack before you head out. If you reach a party famished its likely you will eat anything and everything that comes your way. Surely, that isn’t the best idea if you are planning to fight that flab.
Try and have majority of your food at home
So what are you waiting for, now that you have these tips and tricks in hand get started already!
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