7 Weird Weight Loss Tips Backed By Science

When it comes to losing weight, we all know to exercise and eat well. Adopting a healthy lifestyle is the most important factor when it comes to slimming down, but there are a number of quirky tips that can actually help move your weight-loss journey forward. As strange as they sound, these seven weight loss tips are completely backed by science, even if they seem farfetched.

1. Avoid Color Coordinating Your Plate

Choose your dishware carefully. Research shows that when people eat off of a plate that is the same color as their food, they end up serving themselves more. When their plate and food are contrasting colors, they end up eating less.

2. Keeping Healthy Food On The Counter

A study from Cornell University found that people who leave a bowl of fruit on the counter weigh less than those who don’t have a healthy snack within arm’s reach. And people who leave unhealthy foods like cereal or soda on the counter weigh more than those who don’t have junk food so readily available.

3. Paying With Cash

When checking out at the grocery store, always opt to pay in cash rather than credit. Another study from Cornell University found that people buy more unhealthy food products when paying with a credit card rather than with cash. This is because junk food purchases are often impulse buys, and you’re less likely to end up spending more when you can see the money exchanging hands.

4. Eating Before Going To A Restaurant

You would think that eating before you go to a restaurant would only result in a higher intake of calories, but research shows that eating something healthy like an apple or broth-based soup can help you reduce calorie intake at your meal by up to 20 percent. Filling up on something healthy can help prevent you from getting too hungry and then overeating, or choosing foods that are more unhealthy.

5. Sniff Your Food

It might sound creepy, but scents can play a powerful role in your appetite and how much you eat. Smelling certain foods such as olive oil, garlic, and fruit can help reduce your appetite and limit your intake of calories.

6. Eating A Sweet First Thing In The Morning

Dessert fans, rejoice. Research shows that including a dessert with a high-carbohydrate and high-protein breakfast helps people stick to their diet and keep the pounds off longer than people who ate a low-carb and low-protein breakfast with no dessert. Just be careful to not go overboard and only allow yourself a little treat alongside a healthy meal.

7. Enjoying Your Pasta, Cold

If you’re a fan of pasta and don’t feel like giving it up, consider eating it cold. Cooling pasta, and even reheating it later, helps change the structure of the food to become a resistant starch, which helps prevent a surge in blood sugar and even absorption of fewer calories.

Photo by shamaasa