7 Eating Hacks to Suppress Hunger and Control Your Waistline

Willpower.

It always seems to be in scarce supply, doesn’t it?

And over the years, you’ve begun to wonder if it truly is impossible to teach an old dog new tricks. Specifically when it comes to your diet – in choosing the right foods and not eating so much that it’s a struggle to button your pants.

Maybe you’re going about it all wrong. After all, the human brain, while amazingly complex, is in some ways still quite predictable. This is part of the problem. By getting science on your side, however, and playing games with your own human nature, you may be able to trick your way to a smaller stomach and overall better health.

Let’s have a look at some science-backed eating hacks you can add to your fat-fighting arsenal.

Hack #1: Check Your Eating Pace

Do you wolf meals down? Consistently finished before everyone else?

As you’ve probably guessed, this might have a lot to do with your thicker waistline. Research shows that slower eaters eat less and stay fuller longer (1). Rapid consumption probably isn’t the best for your digestive system either if you’re not chewing food properly.

Try slowing down your pace. Take the time to savor your food and actually appreciate the flavors – you may have found that in rushing you forgot to truly enjoy yourself.

As you chew your food, imagine that you’re squeezing the nutrients out. Set down your fork between bites, and engage in conversation. If you’re constantly searching for the next bite on your plate while still finishing another, you’re probably being too speedy about your food intake.

Hack #2: Take a Break after Your First Plate

Another reason eating fast makes you consume a lot more calories is that the gut hormones that signal your brain to say you’ve had enough food take around 20 minutes to work their magic (2).

This is why you’ll often go back for seconds, keep eating, and then suddenly realize you’re way overstuffed.

You simply outpaced your own “full-meter”.

To illustrate the power of this concept, hara hachi bu, a Confucian teaching to stop eating when you’re 80% full, is often credited for Okinawa having the world’s highest proportion of centurions (3).

Hack #3: Take a Whiff of Your Favorite Fruit

The human mind can be a fickle animal, and it’s possible to “seed” unconscious urges to get people to do what you want. Might as well leverage this type of thing to control yourself and elicit the behavior you want in your own life. For example, smell fruit before you order dessert and you’re more likely to make a healthy choice.

In one study of 115 participants, the ones who waited in a room sprayed with a fruit scent were far more likely to choose a healthy dessert with fruit (6).

Hack #4: Indulge Yourself with Micro-Snacks

For most of us, the snack is a key diet threat that often sabotages our goals. But in fact, you may be able to indulge if you just downsize the portions. In one study, 104 participants were given different-sized portions of common snack foods like apple pie, chocolate, and potato chips. Researchers found that smaller portions were just as adequate in satisfying cravings but equaled a lot less calories consumed (7).

Hack #5: Use a Smaller Plate

Portion control is one of your highest leverage points in eating less calories. But in our restaurants, we serve meals that are fit for two or three people, and over years of familiarity with these sizes, the habit has bled over into our homes.

Simply switching to a smaller plate can be a good way to combat this, and it actually creates an optical illusion for your mind – researchers believe that your brain mistakenly assumes a larger plate has less food on it because of the extra white space. In fact, using an 8- to 10-inch plate instead of a 12-inch one can equal eating to satisfaction on 22% less calories (8).

Hack #6: Choose Water

Water is obviously healthier and has less calories than most anything else you can drink, and this is reason enough to choose it as a beverage to pair with your meal. Not to mention that many dieters report great results in keeping their stomach full of water as an appetite suppressant.

But choosing a glass of water with your meal can also get you subconsciously on board with healthier eating, leading you to eat more vegetables and restrict your intake of less healthy food options on the table (10).

Hack #7: Make Your Meals More Awkward

Have you ever tried doing something with your left hand that you usually do with your right? Like brushing your teeth or writing a letter?

All the fumbling and trying to get it right really slows you down, right?

The same is true for eating with your non-dominant hand, which can drop your caloric intake on snacks by about 30%, as indicated by a study from the University of Southern California (11). Of course, it’s possible you’ll get used to using your non-dominant hand over time and adapt, but the awkwardness may give you the foothold you need to get control of your eating pace and habits.

How About You?

What eating “hacks” do you think should be added to the list for suppressing that never-ending hunger?

Share them in the comments below and let’s discuss!

Resources:

1. 1. http://greatist.com/health/ask-expert-will-eating-slowly-help-me-lose-weight
2. http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_nutrition/20_minutes_to_a_hard_body
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hara_hachi_bu
4. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141104121118.htm
5. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141104121118.htm
6. http://www.dijon.inra.fr/en/All-the-news/melon
7. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329312001188
8. http://greatist.com/health/cut-calories-switching-smaller-plates
9. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057740814000060
10. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666312001572
11. http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/20/overeating-which-hand-are-you-using/