If you want to lose weight, you are already familiar with the only working way to do it: healthy eating and exercising. However, it turns out that eat healthily and work out might not be quite enough… How so?
Recently I read a fascinating article (backed up by proven researches) revealing a few quite intriguing (as well as rather unusual, even sincerely odd – weight loss tips and curious tricks. Check what I found:
Sniffing at peppermint oil regularly might suppress appetite and thus your overall calorie intake.
Wheeling Jesuit University has made the research. Volunteers whiffed the scent of peppermint oil for five consecutive days – every two hours they had to sniff it.
After Day 5 of the experiment, the volunteers reported feeling less hungry, which lead to fewer calorie intake over the 5 day period (about 3.5 calories less).
It has very strong scent that is actually quite distracting for your mind. The theory suggests appetite would be the last thing on your mind after a deep sniff at peppermint oil.
My opinion: I’m still not aware how are things with peppermint fresh leaves odour… Would they work the same way as does the oil? And if YES, then I will gladly spread peppermint pots all over the house and will be sniffing their leaves like crazy. My other options for now are either to buy peppermint air fresheners, or to pour peppermint oil in essential oil vials and hang them all over the house (especially in the kitchen).
If your dishware is the right color, you could be eating less. A recent bizarre study has shown that color must be RED.
Hmm, a color that makes you eat less…Red… I can’t believe that, although the study published in the online journal Appetite looks pretty thorough.
240 participants were served snacks in red, white, and blue plates.
At the end it turned out that people who munched snacks off of red plates ate less than those who ate snacks off of blue and white plates.
Probably because people associate the color red with danger, stop, caution (remember traffic lights!) – do not eat the food in the red plate.
My opinion: Buy red dishware if you want to lose weight. I will 😉
I don’t need a research to tell you that’s true! Paying in cash instead of a credit card does make you more cautious of what you are buying. Thus you pick foods worth buying – healthier foods like fruits and veggies instead of mayonnaise and ketchup.
For this particular study the researchers from the University of Cornell looked at around 2300 public school students who attend their school’s cafeterias.
At schools, which cafeterias allowed cash purchases, 42 percent of kids chose nutritious foods; whereas at schools, which cafeterias allowed debit cards only, 31 percent of students chose healthier foods.
“Cash-kids” ate 20 percent more fresh foods like fruits and vegetables, whereas “debit-kids” ate more candy and sweets. Cash-kids ate on average 31 calories less than the debit-kids.
If that’s not remarkable, then tell me what is?
Because it’s proven by many studies, that credit-card paying makes adults spend money on more unwise food choices (sweets, fatty and salty foods) than they do when they pay cash.
Eating chocolate is somehow linked to lower levels of abdominal fat.
The researchers monitored the effect of chewing chocolate over around 1500 adolescents. Participants’ fat levels, location, workout and diet plans were also considered as factors that could influence the results of the study. Participants ate chocolate for two days (nonconsecutive days) and afterwards they were measured – weight, height, BMI, waist circumference, skin fat levels.
As ridiculous as it may sound, the conducted study proved that higher intake of chocolate is associated with lower levels of belly fat.
My opinion: It’s worth trying while it’s still allowed.
Lowered bedroom temperature at night might boost body metabolism. Thus your body burns more calories while you sleep, which inevitably leads to weight loss while you sleep. Great! Amazing! Unbelievable!
A conducted study made 31 participants sleep in a 66-degree bedroom and in a 75-degree bedroom.
At the end it turned out that the colder sleepers burned 7 percent more calories than the ones who slept at regular bedroom temperature.
The explanation is quite logical: Human bodies work to raise body temperature to regular 98.6 degrees when the surrounding temperature is lower. So no wonder why they’ve burn more calories while sleeping “in the cold” (author of the study – Francesco Saverio Celi, MD of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease).
My opinion: I’ll take this bizarre weight loss thing under consideration for the next fall and winter night heating.
Sounds crazy, but attaching pictures of low calories grub all around your kitchen could actually teach you better eating habits and thus lose weight.
The key point here is – seeing those pictures of the healthy low calorie foods just before you snack could end up eating fewer calories – hence eating less without even realizing. Imagine to become such a successful weight loser just by adding pictures around your kitchen – on the fridge and cupboards etc. 🙂
69 women participated in this study -the first group (of both dieters and non-dieters) was given pictures of low-calorie foods to observe while eating (picture of fruits, vegetables and other healthy items). The second group (again of dieters and non-dieters) was given pictures resembling the other group’s food photos, but weren’t actually food (what I mean is they got pictures of a sun – yellow sun – instead of a grapefruit like the other group).
As a result the non-dieters from both groups ate the same amount of snacks regardless of which pictures they were seeing while eating. On the other hand the dieters from the group who were watching at the low calorie healthy food pictures ate a lot less than the dieters who were looking at the pictures with objects resembling healthy foods.
The theory behind the survey is that the pictures act as a reminder for the dieters – the people who really want to lose weight and are ready to follow their weight-loss goals.
My opinion: That would be perfect especially when you are on a diet – pictures to remind you of your weight loss goals every time you reach for a candy. As for another bizarre idea – healthy food background of your iPhone – I find it extremely ridicules. After all you’ll be checking on some app on your phone while eating and won’t be staring at the background, so it will be pointless to put such low calorie food picture there.
If your work desk is messy then take some time to clean and tidy it up then you would be more likely to pick and choose healthier snack.
My opinion: I am a true believer on that one. My desk is a total mess right now… I definitely must throw away that empty pack of biscuits I just snacked.
University of Minnesota researchers wanted to know how people food choices are affected by the looks of their workspaces (whether they are tidy or not). 34 students were assigned to both types of offices – tidy up and messy. On their way out students were offered to take either an apple or a chocolate bar.
The results were astonishing: 67 percent of the participants who had been in the tidy office picked and chose an apple, whereas 80 percent of the students in the messy office picked and chose a chocolate bar.
These results raise an interesting question:
Why do people care for and make healthier food choices when their work desks, offices and workspaces altogether are clean and organized? Well, the theory of the researchers is quite logical to some point: Clean and organized workspaces stimulate people to take well staid decisions.
That makes me think of something… If “clean and order” make people choose healthy foods and that helps them stay thin, then are all geniuses fat? Because as we all know untidiness stimulates creativity. No wonder why some of the most brilliant ideas have come to life at untidy workspaces.