You’re ready to lose some weight. But you're tired of listening to
all that stale, tried-and-true weight loss advice, like eating more
vegetables, limiting portions, and exercising more.
Maybe what you need is a
fresh idea or two. So WebMD asked diet experts to come up with some
lesser-known diet tips that could make the most jaded dieter drop that
cookie and vow, "Oh wow! I'll try that today."
Here are nine diet tips you may not have not heard yet. Some
involve different ways to eat, or adding certain foods to your diet.
Others involve learning new behaviors or strategies to help you stay on
track.
Weight Loss Tip No. 1: Variety Is Overrated
Who hasn't heard the advice to "just take a bite of everything" if you're at a buffet?
But as it turns out, variety doesn't deserve its good reputation,
says Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, a Chicago dietitian and author of The Flexitarian Diet.
"We know that variety makes you eat more," she says, citing
several published studies and her own experience in counseling weight
loss patients.
For example, researchers in France found that study participants
ate more french fries when they were offered catsup and mayonnaise along
with them. And when they were given the option of having cream or
whipped cream with their brownies, they ate more than when the brownies
were offered plain.
Other researchers have found that people who have been able to maintain weight loss tend to eat diets with limited variety.
Weight Loss Tip No. 2: Have Barley for Breakfast
"Barley is the new oatmeal," says Jackson Blatner.
Barley got its hunger-fighting reputation after Swedish
researchers found that eating barley or rye kernels for breakfast kept
blood sugar on an even keel. That's because the carbs in barley and rye
kernels are "low glycemic index," meaning they raise blood sugar more
slowly than some other carbohydrate foods. This helps you avoid a spike,
and then a drop, in blood sugar, which can leave you feeling famished.
One caveat: "Buy hulled barely, not pearl barley," Jackson
Blatner says. The Swedish researchers used minimally processed hull
barley, and they can't vouch for the same effects for more processed
forms, such as pearl barley.
Weight Loss Tip No. 3: Beef Up Your Lunch Salad
One of the most common mistakes dieters make is to eat a
vegetable salad with little or no dressing for lunch, says Joan Salge
Blake, RD, professor of nutrition at Boston University and a spokeswoman
for the American Dietetic Association. "Then they are starving by
mid-afternoon," she says.
A salad is a great choice, she says, if you add some protein and a little fat to help keep you feeling full longer.
Top your greens with a 3 oz piece of chicken breast, and you've
added about 26 grams of protein but just 140 calories. Add about two
tablespoons of light salad dressing, and your salad may be filling
enough to get you through the 3 p.m. hunger slump without hitting the
vending machine.
Weight Loss Tip No. 4: Stock Up on Frozen Vegetables
Sure, fresh vegetables are delicious and nutritious. But faced
with the need to scrape a carrot, wash and slice a zucchini, or cut
broccoli into florets, many of us say, "Too much trouble!" and reach for
chips instead.
To make things easier, stock your freezer with frozen vegetables, Blake tells dieters.
"They are already clean, chopped and ready to cook in the microwave," she says. "It's like having Rachael Ray in the freezer."
An even better way to be sure you eat more vegetables: Cook the
frozen veggies ahead of time. Microwave the whole bag of green beans,
for instance. Then keep them in the refrigerator, ready to dump into
canned soups, add to a salad, or just eat by the handful.
Weight Loss Tip No. 5: Make Yourself a Party Tray
The type of party tray Jackson Blatner is talking about is a big
vegetable platter, maybe with some low-fat dip on the site -- the kind
you put on the buffet for weight-conscious guests.
But this one is just for you and any interested family members.
Keep it in the fridge at eye level, encouraging you to snack healthy and
avoid the higher-calorie contents of your refrigerator.
Several studies have found that we tend to eat more when food is
within easy reach. Secretaries who placed candy on their desks ate about
48% more than when the candy was 6 feet away, according to research by
Brian Wansink, PhD, director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell
University.
Weight Loss Tip No. 6: Turn Down the Thermostat
Spending time in a chilly house -- about 61 degrees Fahrenheit --
may boost the fat-burning power of the "brown fat" in your body.
Brown fat is considered "good" fat, as opposed to regular or
white fat, which stores calories and tends to accumulate. Researchers
believe that lean people have more of the brown type of fat, and that
the amount of brown fat a person has declines with age.
Scandinavian researchers found that exposure to these chilly
temperatures boosted the metabolic rate of brown fat 15-fold, helping
burn more calories.
But Jackson Blatner cautions not to expect too much: "It's not
going to be any kind of a miracle," she says. And beware if you're the
type who eats more when you feel cold.
Weight Loss Tip No. 7: Downsize Your Dinnerware
Experts say they've seen it again and again: The larger your
plate, the more you're likely to put on it. So serving your meals on
smaller plates can help you eat less.
But don't throw out those dinner plates, Blake suggests. Use the
smaller, lunch-size plates to serve dinner, and use the dinner plates
for salads.
Weight Loss Tip No. 8: Go Out for Treats
If you're the type who overdoes it on sweets and snacks, Jackson
Blatner suggests, make yourself work a little for your favorite
indulgences. Don't keep them in the house, but give yourself permission
to go out and get them when you really need to.
Want a brownie? You have to go to the bakery. Craving a frozen yogurt? You must find the nearest frozen yogurt shop.
"The more hassle tasty treats are, the less likely you are to eat
them," says Jackson Blatner, who does this herself and finds her sweets
consumption has declined without making her feel deprived.
Weight Loss Tip No. 9: Try on Your Skinny Jeans Every Friday
Find a pair of pants that is tight, but not impossible to zip,
Blake suggests to her weight loss patients. "Every Friday morning, try
them on," she says.
Why Friday? Weekends are typically a tougher time to stay on
diets, she says. And the Friday morning try-on will motivate you to
watch your eating during the weekend.
"If they are loose, you will say to yourself 'I am making progress, I am staying on track during the weekend,''' she says.
And if they're snug? That will provide motivation to stick to your diet so they'll fit better next week, she says.
