31
Push Back Breakfast
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Instead of gobbling down breakfast at home, eat at your desk
a few hours later than you typically do. Pushing back your first meal of the
day naturally reduces your "eating window"—the number of hours you
spend each day grazing. Why's that beneficial? Sticking to a smaller eating
window may help you lose weight, even if you eat more food throughout the day,
a study published in the journal Cell Metabolism found. What's more, time-restricted eating reduced
excessive body weight by 20 percent and prevented further weight gain.
32
Swap Your Noodle
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The average American consumes 15.5 pounds of pasta each year—and most of it
is the refined white stuff. What's the trouble with that? This type of noodle
is almost completely void of fiber and protein, two vital nutrients for weight
loss. To boost the belly-filling fiber and hunger-busting protein in your meal,
opt for a bean-based noodle like Banza Chickpea Shells (2 oz., 190 calories, 5
grams of fiber, 13 grams of protein) or Explore Asian Black Bean Low-Carb Pasta
(2 oz., 180 calories, 12 grams of fiber, and 25 grams of protein).Alternatively, whip up a batch of zoodles, or spiralized veggie noodles with
the help of these mouthwatering spiralizer recipes.
33
Add Coconut Oil to Rice
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Good news
for carb lovers: Scientists discovered an easy way to slim down any bowl of
rice by as much as 60 percent! And the best part is that you don't need a fancy
lab or a PhD. to make the slimmed-down dish. Here's how to whip it up: Add a
teaspoon of coconut oil and a half cup of non-fortified white rice to a pot of
boiling water. Cook it for about 40 minutes, stick it in the refrigerator for
12 hours and enjoy the rice either cold or reheated. How does such a simple
cooking hack—that adds fat, no less—slash calories? When the rice begins tocool, its glucose molecules form tight bonds called "resistant
starch." This type of starch, as the name implies, is resistant to
digestion, meaning that the body is not able to absorb as many calories or as
much of the glucose (a nutrient that's stored as fat if it's not burned off)
from each molecule. While you may be hesitant to add the oft-vilified oil to
your pot, it actually plays an integral role in the process. As the rice cooks,
the fat molecules find their way into the rice and act as an additional
digestion barrier. Best of all, the research team found that reheating the rice
didn't change the levels of resistant starch (as it does with pasta and
potatoes), deeming this calorie-slashing cooking hack safe for leftovers, too.
34
Dine With a Dude
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Want to stay on track with your diet while dining out? Leave
your lady at home, guys. Strange but true: When men dine with women, they eat
up to 93 percent more, according to researchers at Cornell Universityresearchers at Cornell University.
"These findings suggest that men tend to overeat to show off," lead
author of the study, Kevin Kniffin, explained. "Instead of a feat of
strength, it's a feat of eating." Women, on the other hand, ate the same
amount food no matter who they broke bread with.
35
Get a Workout Buddy
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People exercise for an average of 34 minutes longer with a
friend than they do when they hit the gym solo, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. And the
longer you sweat, the more quickly you'll reach your goals! Looking for a
healthy way to refuel after your weight room session? Whip up a quick and
delicious protein shake for
on-the-go nutrition.
36
Keep Protein on Hand
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Lately, we're noticing protein-packed everything—from breads
to nut butter and milk. While you don't need to load up on weird franken-foods
to amp up your intake of the nutrient, if you're trying to drop a few pounds,
then it's wise to keep some high-protein
snacks on hand. Noshing on these canprevent eating something high-calorie every time hunger strikes.
37
Eat More Fiber
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Instead of depriving yourself of all your favorite
indulgences or meticulously counting calories to drop a size, simply consume at
least 30 grams of fiber daily. This simple, no-fuss method fuels weight loss
and improves health just as effectively as more complex diet approaches, University of Massachusetts Medical School researchers discovered. "Very few people reach the goals that
are recommended," said lead study author Yunsheng Ma, MD, PhD, adding that
"Telling people to reduce this or reduce that is just too hard to
do." However, asking people to focus on eating more of a certain
nutrient—rather than eliminating things from their diet–can help people reach
their weight loss goals, he explains. Interested in giving the diet strategy a
try? Incorportate high-fiber foods for weight loss into your favorite recipes and start slimming down!
38
Have a Midnight Snack
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Even if
you're trying to reduce your eating window, you shouldn't go to sleep starving.
In fact, going to bed with a rumbling stomach can make it more difficult to
fall asleep and subsequently leave you feeling ravenous the next day. And get
this: Eating the right type of bedtime snack can actually boost your metabolism
and aid weight loss, registered dietitian Cassie Bjork explained. "The
right snack can help keep blood sugar stable so the fat-burning hormone
glucagon can do its job. I suggest pairing a natural carb with a healthy fat.
Apple slices and almond butter, berries with heavy cream and carrots with
guacamole all fit the bill."
39
Incorporate Coconut Oil
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What smells like an exotic vacation and can shrink your
waist faster than your favorite Zumba class? You got it: coconut oil. A study
of overweight participants published in Pharmacology found that just two tablespoons per day reduced waist
circumference. However, the health benefits of coconut oil are still
debated—coconut oil is high in saturated fat. But that's not necessarily a bad
thing; it's in the form of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), which aren't
processed in the body the same way long-chain triglycerides (LCTs). A study
published in the International
Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders found that when MCTs replaced LCTs in the diets of
overweight women, they were less likely to gain weight.
Plus, itshigh smoke point makes coconut oil great for just about every dish, from eggs
to stir-frys. And at roughly 117 calories per tablespoon, it's close in
calories to olive oil—just be sure you keep antioxidant-rich olive oil in your
cooking rotation, too.
40
Snuggle up With Your Sweetie
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Not like you needed another reason to fall in love, snuggle
up with your sweetie, kiss or get it on. Harvard
Medical School researchers found that all of
those things can aid weight loss. How? Lovey-dovey feelings cause levels of thehormone oxytocin to increase, which in turn, decreases appetite.
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