Do you want to slim down? Are you tired of your ravenous appetite that seems to never let up?
Perhaps your diet efforts are thwarted by a growling stomach and mental torture of potato chips, cookies, cupcakes, donuts, and whatever else can feed those cravings. The good news, here, is that you can make changes that will help you curb the cravings.
Tips to Decrease Appetite for Weight Loss Success
Weight loss comes down to a mathematical equation; you must eat less and burn more. Whether you’re doing Keto, the Mediterranean, or the Paleo plan doesn’t matter. You must adjust your eating. If you want to curb your appetite and slim down, then here are 14 tips from experts.
1. Pile on the Protein
The group who ate the eggs felt fuller longer, and at the end of the eight-week trial, they had lost over 65 percent more weight than the bagel group. Protein also helps to balance blood sugar levels and prevents muscle mass loss by reducing your weight.
2. Eat Your Calories Don’t Drink Them
If you are allotted 1,200 calories on a weight-reduction plan, why would you waste 120 of those on a soda? Toss the fruit juices, pop, and other sugary drinks that will only be counterproductive to weight loss. Even in fruit juice, the high sugar content will only make your cravings for the sweet stuff increase.
3. Load Up on Fiber
Fiber is filling as it expands inside the stomach during the digestion process. So be sure to add things like beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils to your daily eating plan.
If you add 14 grams of fiber to your day, it can reduce your caloric intake by up to 10 percent. Plus, fiber has other great benefits when it comes to regularity.
4. Have a Cup of Joe
The gut-brain connection is becoming a more significant part of the picture when it comes to weight loss. As you drink your coffee, a hormone in your gut called peptide YY is released. This hormone plays a role in how much you will eat as it works to curb your appetite.
It’s believed that decaffeinated coffee is better than the caffeine variety. It can help to stave hunger for up to three hours after you drink it.
5. Fill Up on Water
Did you know if you drink two glasses of water before you eat that, you will automatically eat about 22 percent less? Water helps to fill your stomach, and it leaves less room for food.
Having a stomach full of water also helps the contents to flow through the digestive system quicker too. Since around 50-60 percent of your body is water, then it only seems natural that you should drink more of it.
6. Practice Mindfulness During Meals
The next time you sit down to a meal, you need to pay attention to how much you eat out of hunger and how much is an indulgence. Most people eat way more than they need to in a setting. They overeat out of pleasure and not need it.
How many times do you walk away from the dinner table, bloated and miserable? Try chewing each bite ten times and pushing back your plate when you feel hungry. Even though it goes against everything, your parents taught you, go ahead and leave some food on the plate.
Once you learn to gauge how much you can eat, you will learn the appropriate amount and won’t waste any food.
7. Indulge in Dark Chocolate
What is the difference between dark and milk chocolate, and why are so many encouraging that you eat the darker variety? First, dark chocolate has way less sugar.
Second, this sweet treat has stearic acid, which helps curb your appetite for sweets. When you give yourself a little indulgence like this on occasion, you won’t be as apt to crave cake, ice cream, and other delicious sweets.
Try having about 2 ounces each day to help with your cravings and give you a little indulgence.
8. Pour on the Ginger
Ginger packs a powerful punch, but this spice is known for its many antibacterial properties. When it comes to weight loss and filling up your stomach, ginger can help.
Take 2 grams of ginger and mix it with some hot water before a meal. You will see a noticeable reduction in your hunger, not to mention all the other health properties you will gain.
9. Add Some Hunger-Reducing Spices
While ginger is a great spice to add to your day, there are plenty of other ones that can help too. Hot peppers can do wonders for your appetite. These spicy, colorful veggies have capsaicin in them, which will do wonders to help you feel fuller faster.
No wonder people in Mexico, the Mediterranean, and Asia don’t have the obesity problems that Americans do. They use a wide variety of spices in their cooking.
10. Use Smaller Plates
You’ve heard that size matters, and when it comes to your plate, it certainly counts. Have you ever noticed the size of a dinner plate at some of the famous restaurants? They could serve 2-3 people with the size of those platters.
While the restaurant chains are interested in luring you in to eat more for less, it wreaks havoc on your waistline. A little trick is to use a smaller plate. When you visualize a full plate, regardless of its size, then you can easily trick your mind into thinking you got a sufficient portion.
Americans suffer from portion distortion when it comes to plate sizes. You don’t need a big plate, and you certainly don’t need to go back for second helpings. Avoid all-you-can-eat buffets as well as places that serve endless fries and free bread.
When you frequent these places, you are setting yourself up for failure. Plus, think of all the extra calories you can avoid.
11. Add Omega-3 Fats to Your Diet
You’ve probably heard the weight loss community touting that need for Omega-3 fatty acids. These acids are found naturally in fresh fish, specifically salmon. Leptin is the hormone in your body that signals your brain that you’re full.
Foods rich in omega-3s trigger this hormone, making your body feel full even if you’re not. Fish is low in calories and an all-around good protein source. So, fish on Fridays isn’t a bad idea after all.
12. Add High-Protein Snacks to Your Day
You know protein helps fill you up, but you don’t need to reserve your protein punch for your three main meals. You can easily have a power snack to give you energy and keep you from becoming ravenous. Try bringing along some beef jerky, cheese cubes, or nuts.
When you feel your stomach start to growl, eat about 100-200 calories worth of these snacks. It will tide you over to the next meal and keep your blood sugar levels stable.
13. Visualize Eating the Foods You Crave
Have you ever dreamed about eating a piece of chocolate cake with thick buttercream icing? What about a dish of smooth and creamy ice cream with hot fudge and peanut butter cups crumbled on the top? Though your brain is a smart processing unit, it can be tricked.
A study was conducted using 51 people to see how visualization could be used to help you eat less. The people were put into two groups, and one group was told to imagine themselves eating three M&M candies, while the other group was told to visualize 33 of the chocolate goodies.
The results were remarkable. When it came time to indulge, the people who envisioned eating 33 candies ate remarkably less than those who saw themselves eating only three. The test was repeated with cheese cubes, and it had a similar outcome.
14. Don’t Forget to Exercise
You can eat 2,000 calories a day and do everything you are supposed to do, but you won’t get the same results without exercise. When you’re sweating and getting in a good workout, you’re reducing hunger hormone levels.
You’re also raising your serotonin levels, which can boost your mood. Aerobic and resistance exercises seem to be the styles that have the most significant impact on your appetite, which can reduce hunger and calorie intakes.
Final Thoughts on Appetite and Weight Loss
The battle of the bulge is a prevalent struggle in this country. It’s estimated that over 160 million Americans are either in the overweight category or are considered obese. Sadly, 60 percent of these people are women.
The weight loss industry brings in over $72 billion a year. However, you don’t need a fancy eating plan or a meal plan that’s so restrictive that you feel deprived. It would help if you learned how to eat what your body needs for fuel, and it will naturally reduce your appetite and help you slim down.
Many of the meal plans and gimmicks offered today are geared towards making a profit. Mother Nature provides everything you need to be healthy and happy without buying anything fancy or killing yourself. By following a few of these tips, you should see a drastic change in your waistline and your mood.
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