Mental Tricks to Help you Lose Weight

Losing weight is no less than a battle. Been there, done that! And all those winners who have actually defeated the weighing scale swear by the ultimate rule of motivation- mind over matter. A real change in your life will only come when you will make a plan and will follow through with it. You must be thinking how it’s easier said than done, but we are not writing for you without substantial advice.

Here are some mental strategies for you which will help you trick yourself into slimming down regardless of the place you are at. Make losing weight as easy that you can do it with a benumbed mind with these simple mind tricks.

Losing Weight at Home

Intervals Between Bites: Your stomach takes about 20 minutes to send a signal to the brain if you’re satiated. If you don’t take time to chew properly, you don’t give your stomach that chance and most likely end up overeating. Put your spoons and forks down between bites and chew your food properly. Stop eating when you feel you are full.

Small Dishes: It was found by Cornell researchers that people having tomato soup from soup bowls that were being slowly and imperceptibly refilled, consumed 73% more than people who ate it in regular bowls. They neither felt satiated nor thought they ate more than the control group. It is a good idea to have your meals in smaller plates, bowls, and spoons to reduce your portion sizes. This way you naturally eat less.

Turn off the TV: If you want to rate your food more appetizing, you should eat it in silence rather than dining in a loud setting. Research published in the journal Food Quality and Preference discovered that noisy surroundings may intervene with a person’s ability to appreciate elusive flavours. And it is no rocket science that you eat more when you aren’t satisfied.

Losing Weight at the Office

Planning Ahead: Play a “if, then” game with your diet. For Example, use statements like “if I’m hungry at 4 p.m., then I will eat some dry fruits.” Dutch researchers found such people to lose more weight than those who did not use a game plan to fight their hunger. Toss the candy jar and stock up on healthy snacks to get you over the afternoon slump.

Desk Manners: If you are eating in front of your computer, you are distracted with activities like web surfing, and may not recall what and how much you ate. This may leave you feeling not satiated and you may consume extra calories throughout the day.

Losing Weight at the Market

Shop after Eating: When you are already full, and then head out for grocery shopping, you are less like to indulge into impulse purchases. Starvation can make you susceptible to buying the unhealthy things you might be craving for.

Healthy List: Put down to paper all the items you need for eating and stick to the list. Shopping without purpose not just leads to splurging but also buying the things you don’t need or you don’t intend to buy.

Losing Weight at the Restaurant

Menu Research: When you plan to eat out, research the restaurant’s menu before actually visiting it and getting surprised. When you want to slim your waist, look for eating venues with options for lean protein and green vegetables. Decide in advance what you should be eating at the place and don’t give in to your cravings while you actually visit the place.



Visual Power: Carnegie Mellon University researchers say that visualising yourself eating a specific food might help you consume less amount of it.  The study found that when you repeatedly think about having a particular food, your desire to actually eat it might get decreased. Next time, you are waiting for the server to bring your dessert, imagine yourself relishing each bite of it.

Packing the Meal: As soon as your elaborate dinner arrives at the table, bag half of it. By doing this, you save yourself from sitting and chatting and picking at the second half of the meal you didn’t want to eat.

Losing Weight Anywhere

Keeping a Journal: Write about what you eat or how you feel before and after a workout. It will help you trace problem areas and healthy patterns in your diet or exercise plans.

Short-term Benefits: The immediate health benefits of losing weight will keep you motivated to go further. Noticing reduced pain in your back or hips, or fitting into slim jeans can pump you to ignore the number on scales and keep going through the efforts.

Losing weight doesn’t mean you have to crash and burn. Occasional indulgences are fine and to avoid binging, you can have your favourite meal once a week. And remember, all these mental strategies to lose weight are meant to keep you inspired and take off mental pressure. If you want to lose weight effectively, just follow these tips without stressing out about the numbers on scale. Results will come gradually.

Images: Getty

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