Seven (7) Easy Tricks To Drop Pounds

Chew Gum
Volunteers who chewed gum for 15 minutes each hour between lunch and a snack consumed 60 fewer calories from sweets than when they went gum-free.

Vegetable Juice
Here’s a surprising way to supercharge any diet—and your health: Chug a glass of low-sodium vegetable juice every day. In a study of 81 overweight adults at risk for heart disease and diabetes, those who drank at least a cup of low-sodium V8 daily lost four pounds over 12 weeks, while those on the same reduced-fat diet who drank no juice lost one pound.

Drop Sugary Drinks
Calories from solid foods and liquids both add up, of course. But in a recent multicenter study, the only menu change that had a significant payoff for dieters was cutting back on sugary beverages, says lead author Benjamin Caballero, MD. Reducing intake by just one serving a day took a pound off after six months, enough to add up for people with a soda or fruit-drink habit.

Green Tea
Overweight or obese exercisers burned off three more pounds and 7 percent more belly fat when they drank green tea instead of another beverage with the same calories, according to a new multicenter study.

More Sleep
A study of 32 summer students at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas over three weeks showed that those who slept an extra two hours ate nearly 300 calories less.

Mushrooms
When ground beef was swapped out for mushrooms in lasagna, sloppy joes, and chili, adults consumed 400 fewer calories per day, according to a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study. Researchers estimate that if you sub mushrooms for ground meat in one meal every week, you can lose five pounds in a year.

Simple ‘Till Six
That’s what author Mark Bittman named his diet plan of eating in a mostly vegan fashion during the day—no animal products and no simple carbs—and then eating a reasonable dinner. His focus on consuming plants “as close to their natural state as possible” will lead to a natural reduction in calories.

Cheers!

Hi Stayhealthy,

I’ve made some of these changes and they stuck. Mushrooms instead of meat works in all kinds of things and just this week I learned to make a vegetarian “cheese” mixture for an Italian dish. I’ve learned to cook this way because family members have allergies to dairy, but it is better for me, too.

I think for me the biggest struggle is the sweets. I do great for a while and then cave to a craving and spiral out of control!

Donna