4 Dieting Tips to Help you Stay on Track

1. Eat Treats & Sweets Away from Home

I saw on the TV show “Healthy Appetite” (on the Food Network) a suggestion about eating treats. When losing weight, you cannot deny yourself the treats you love. But to rid yourself of the temptation of having these treats in your home, go out to an ice cream shop or restaurant and have dessert. This way, you can still have sweets, but still control the amount you are eating and not hinder weight loss.

2. Drink Green Tea

The University of Connecticut reported in The Journal of Nutrition that green tea may block fat from the body. Laboratory tests were performed on mice. It is not certain yet whether the results in mice will carry over to people, but the test results are still very interesting. In the study, obese mice that ate food containing green tea extract gained less weight than mice that did not have green tea extract. Also, the obese mice that consumed green tea showed less sign of liver disease (which can appear as a result of obesity) and lower cholesterol.

3. Chew Gum to Stop Snacking

Glasgow Caledonian University reports a study where one group of subjects were given chewing gum after eating lunch and a second group did not receive any gum. The group that chewed gum at 36 fewer calories during late afternoon snacking than the group that did not chew gum. The study’s authors claim that chewing gum can help reduce cravings in the late afternoon. Also, people who chew gum after eating are more likely to skip dessert.

4. Eat an Apple Before Meals to Cut Calorie Consumption

A Penn State performed a study for the Obesity Society about eating apples before meals. One group of subjects ate an apple 15 minutes before eating at a lunch buffet. A second group at applesauce before eating the buffet, a third group drank apple juice with fiber, a fourth group drank apple juice without fiber, and the fifth group did not consume anything. The group that ate the apple ate 15 percent fewer calories than anyone in the four other groups. A grad student who ran this test suggests that this is because apples stay in the stomach longer than applesauce or apple juice, helping the body to feel fuller, longer.