When it comes to sticking to your nutrition plan, weekends can be your most vulnerable days. We don’t blame you: That buck stops when you’re off the clock. But then Monday rolls around, and you’re left to try and mend your shattered healthy eating program.
You can avoid this, though, with six dead-easy ways to keep yourself from overeating.
Smile the Craving Off
To maintain a healthy weight, do something to make yourself smile. Scientists in Brazil say that serotonin, the "happy hormone," reduces appetite. And higher levels of it make you more likely to burn fat.
Crack Some Nuts
In an Eastern Illinois University study, people who were given shelled (that is, naked) pistachios ate 211 calories' worth, while those who had the in-shell variety (the ones that you have to crack open) consumed only 125 calories in the same sitting.
What minimal exertion you get from those nuts obviously deters you from consuming more.
Switch Up Your Utensils
If you’re more comfortable using both a spoon and a fork when eating (like most Filipinos), challenge yourself. Ditch the spoon, and eat your meal with only a fork. That way, you'll be more mindful of what you're putting in your body and probably end up consuming less.
Using chopsticks works too. Just make sure peas aren’t on the menu.
Portion Your Plate
A quarter of your plate should consist of meats and proteins; another quarter, of whole grains; and the remainder should be made up of fruits and vegetables. Portioning is a good way to limit your calorie intake. But it only works if you don’t squeeze and pile all that food into little mountains, like you do in hotel buffets.
Be an Early Bird
Late risers not only eat more calories (almost 200 more at dinner and another 375 after 8 p.m.) but also eat more unhealthily than those who wake up around 8 a.m., according to a Northwestern University study.
It might be the body’s way of compensating for that missed breakfast.
Eat with a Woman
Men consume 37% less when they eat with a wife or girlfriend than when they dine out with their buddies, according to researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
It could be a subconscious mirroring behavior...or maybe you’re just nutritionally competitive. Either way, you win.
This article originally appeared in MensHealth.com. Slight edits were made by the MensHealth.ph editors.
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