Fact or Myth: Can You Trick Yourself into Becoming Thinner?

This is a FACT.

There are so many personal reasons for losing weight – bathing suit season, your high school reunion, your wedding (or someone else’s), vacation –no matter the reason, it’s important. Could the tips for getting thinner be in tricking yourself?

Perception Versus Reality

An extraordinary discovery found it’s often our perception of food that determines whether it will be filling or not.

In other words, if you perceive your meal to be a lot of food – your body will relay the message that you’re full and your appetite will be curbed.

One way scientists proved this was through a “smoothie experiment” that showed participants a very large portion of fruits that were supposedly going into their smoothie before it was made. They were asked to rate how filling the smoothie would be – the larger fruit group rated satiation much higher.

When they drank it, the group shown the larger amount of fruit were full – even though a much smaller quantity of fruit was actually used for all the fruit shakes.

Researchers then used memory after eating: they told participants that the current meal was the same size as a particularly large meal they had previously eaten.

Participants were convinced the portions were bigger than they actually were, and therefore believed that their stomachs were as full as when they ate the previously large meal.

Participants exposed to portion perception and meal memory remained full for longer than those given the food portion they expected. tips for being thinner

Lead researcher, Jeff Brunstrom of the University of Bristol UK explained, “The extent to which a food can alleviate hunger is not determined solely by its physical size, energy content, and so on.

Instead, it is influenced by prior experience with a food, which affects our beliefs and expectations about satiation.”

He added that foods labeled for “diet” purposes may cause consumers to believe the food will be unsatisfying – even before they eat it – and actually cause them to eat more.

Junk Food Marketing

One prime example of the link between perception and appetite is television commercials that market junk food and fast food. The Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior heard a presentation from Dr. Natalie Loxton regarding “reward” sensitivity.

Her research is based on the theory that some individuals are more susceptible to eating too much.

“We tested whether reward-sensitive individuals would experience greater pleasure and urge to eat after watching TV commercials featuring junk food, compared with those featuring healthy food or no food.”

The findings?

Reward-sensitive individuals – who represented a larger number of women than men – experienced a greater desire to eat after watching junk food commercials but not when commercials were played featuring healthy food or no food at all.

Healthy Does Not Mean Zero Calorie

Portion control is important no matter what food you’re eating. Loyola University Health System dietician, Brooke Schantz, said, “People tend to give themselves the freedom to overeat ‘healthy’ foods. While the label might say that a food or beverage is low-fat or fat-free, watch the quantity you consume and refrain from eating an excessive amount. Foods that carry these health claims may be high in sugar and calories.”

If you are eating more calories than you are burning throughout the day you will not lose weight. This may seem like common sense, but in order to lose weight, you must burn more than you consume, even if those calories are low-fat, low-sugar and organic .

Foods that are naturally high in fiber – such as broccoli, spinach, beans, avocados, whole grains, apples, almonds and pears – are the exception.

They make you feel full for longer while making your digestive system more efficient. Limit toppings to drizzled olive oil and spices to keep the calories and fat down.

3 Quick Tips for Getting Thinner

    1. Imagine yourself at your healthy weight: visualizing looking and feeling the way you want is helpful as a mental goal. Consider creating a visual display of a person with your similar body type at their fit weight. Create an action plan and treat it as a priority.

    2. Set reasonable goals in small increments:: for instance, focus on increasing your whole grain intake, limiting fast food, beginning an exercise program or cutting back on alcohol and tobacco consumption. You didn’t gain weight or get out of shape overnight and the situation won’t reverse itself overnight either. Be patient with yourself and track each step in the right direction!

    3. Reward yourself with non-food treats: perhaps getting yourself a manicure/pedicure when you lose your first ten pounds or a new wardrobe when you meet your ultimate goals. Avoid using food to “treat yourself” since you could sabotage your progress.

Mix it up – don’t use the treadmill if you find it boring and would rather cycle. If you aren’t a big vegetable eater, try a new way to eat vegetables – use spices such as turmeric, chili powder, or even cardamom to make them tastier.

If you’re like 75% of Americans, you are more than likely chronically dehydrated. Your goal is 8-10 glasses of water each day but work on adding another glass each week until you can easily drink at least the minimum per day.

Small steps will get you there a bit slower but you’ll be more likely to keep the weight off. Use these tips for getting thinner into your own lifestyle do what is easiest for YOU.

When it comes to weight, tips for getting thinner include shedding your old way of thinking. If you do the same things you’ve always done, your past results will repeat themselves.

Exercise and diet are crucial to your success but you can’t forget to keep your head in the game.