There are few known facts in the weight loss industry, but one that has been proven time and time again is that eating less calories than you expend is bound to make your waistline shrink.
Unfortunately, many of us struggle with the above for one simple reason – we just can’t say ‘no’ to food. Whether it’s at a certain hour of the day, or it’s a constant cycle, turning down food is nigh-on-impossible. Over time, the situation simply gets even worse and before long you are checking into Sono Bello and undergoing a laser lipo procedure or something along similar lines.
On the positive side, there are some “hacks” out there which can make your life much easier in this regard. Ultimately, you can fine-tune your behavior so saying ‘no’ becomes that little bit easier, and your waistline benefits as a result.
Forget about liquid diets
They have become pretty fashionable of late, but now is the time to put liquid food replacements on the backburner. Nutritionally, they sound perfect. They carry the same amount of punch as a standard meal and as such, all should be rosy.
Unfortunately, there are flaws in this approach. Recent studies have found that those people who had liquid snacks were 38% less likely to eat less when they next turn to food.
There’s plenty of science behind this as well. Unsurprisingly, when you start to chew food you send signals to your brain and over time this will create the “full” feeling. If you instead drink your calories, these signals will be delayed and the result is additional hunger.
The water-factor
As you have already reached this article, we’re going to assume that you’ve read all about the importance of water. A lot of this advice will be in relation to staying hydrated though – many people don’t realize that this is a liquid which can significantly help your cravings as well.
Studies have shown that if you drink a couple of glasses of water prior to a meal, you will eat 22% less food at your next meal than someone who didn’t utilize this approach.
Experts say that this occurs as water stretches the stomach somewhat, and sends signals to the brain that your body is full.
You can still treat yourself – with dark chocolate
Most diets seemingly strip out everything with an ounce of sweetness. Well, here’s some good news.
We’re here to tell you that one food which can help you suppress your appetite is dark chocolate. This isn’t some sort of pie in the sky idea either; there is plenty of science to suggest that dark chocolate can help you immensely. Firstly, the fact that this food is bitter can decrease your appetite, with this then compounded through the stearic acid which is able to slow down the digestion process.
If we turn to even more eyebrow-raising results, it was found that simply smelling dark chocolate can decrease your appetite as well.