Losing Weight and Reducing Food Cravings

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Shedding those extra pounds to lose weight may seem impossible, but with these 10 weight-loss remedies, it can be a little easier and much more rewarding.

Lighten up! Shedding pounds doesn't have to be a grim affair.

  • Do activities you love. Vacuuming around the house in an aerobic manner, walking through the neighborhood instead of driving, and zipping around the grocery store, can burn some calories.
  • A glass of water could do the trick. Before you tell yourself you are hungry and want to grab a snack, try drinking a glass of water. Water has zero calories and gives you a feeling of being full. Or, try green tea.
  • Stick to the serving size. Read the serving size on what you are snacking on. If the serving size is 2 crackers, only eat 2! And don't go back for seconds or you need to add an extra serving.
  • Try using smaller plates!  Research has shown that simply switching to a small dinner plate helps people eat less. Even going from a 12-inch plate to a 10-inch plate reduced consumption by 22%.

  • Eat at the table.  Don't snack in the car or in front of a TV. Sit down at a real table and pay attention to what you are eating.
  • Chew a lot. It takes your stomach 20 minutes to tell your brain it is full. The slower you eat, the less calories you intake. Try not to scarf your food down.
  • Eat more plants.  Try shifting to a more plant-based diet. Eat dinners that are 2/3 vegetables and 1/3 meat.  As Thomas Jefferson once said, think of meat as a “flavor principle.”
  • Say no to the booze. One beer has about as many calories as eating one bagel. So 3 beers, essentially, is equivalent to 3 bagels. Drinking also leads to excessive eating, so if you want to shed the pounds, saying no is sometimes best.
  • Stay to the edges of a supermarket and out of the middle. The edges have real food (fruits, vegetable, produce, dairy) where sugary, processed foods are in the middle aisles.  Better yet, shop at farmers' markets when you can. You don't find much junk there.
  • Walk the dog. Research shows that dieters who exercised their dog for 30 minutes a day shed an average of 11 pounds.

At least half the exercise I get every day comes from jumping to conclusions.

If you have weight loss ideas, add them below!

Losing weight

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann

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