Everybody except Simon Losiaboi or Posh Spice wants to lose weight. This is a fact. Like longing to be as voluptuous as Iza Calzado or pleading to stand beside (says my wife) Derek Ramsey, we all want to look trim, lean and svelte.
How to do it? Simple: Do sports. (Like running a marathon?) But the even simpler and more balanced formula: Eat less and sweat more. Lessen the calorie intake plus engage in badminton smashing or 28-lap swimming or dribbling full-court in basketball.
How else can we shed off extra poundage? Scouring through the internet late yesterday, I found Reader’s Digest (rd.com) and this eye-catching title: “Easy Ways To Lose Weight: 50+ Ideas.” To all wanting an Angel Locsin figure, here are (from that piece) a few of my favorite tips…
Hang a mirror opposite your seat at the table. One study found that eating in front of mirrors slashed the amount people ate by nearly one-third. Seems having to look yourself in the eye reflects back some of your own inner standards and goals, and reminds you of why you’re trying to lose weight in the first place.
Eat cereal for breakfast five days a week. Studies find that people who eat cereal for breakfast every day are significantly less likely to be obese and have diabetes than those who don’t.
Passionately kiss your partner 10 times a day. According to the 1991 Kinsey Institute New Report on Sex, a passionate kiss burns 6.4 calories per minute. Ten minutes a day of kissing equates to about 23,000 calories — or eight pounds — a year!
Brush your teeth after every meal, especially after dinner. That clean, minty freshness will serve as a cue to your body and brain that mealtime is over.
When you’re eating out with friends or family, dress up in your most flattering outfit. You’ll get loads of compliments, says Susie Galvez, author of Weight Loss Wisdom, which will be a great reminder to watch what you eat.
Spend 10 minutes a day walking up and down stairs. The Centers for Disease Control says that’s all it takes to help you shed as much as 10 pounds a year (assuming you don’t start eating more).
Switch to ordinary coffee. Fancy coffee drinks from trendy coffee joints often pack several hundred calories, thanks to whole milk, whipped cream, sugar, and sugary syrups.
Carry a palm-size notebook everywhere you go for one week. Write down every single morsel that enters your lips, even water. Studies have found that people who maintain food diaries wind up eating about 15 percent less food than those who don’t.
Eat slowly and calmly. Put your fork or spoon down between every bite. Sip water frequently. Your brain lags your stomach by about 20 minutes when it comes to satiety (fullness) signals. If you eat slowly enough, your brain will catch up to tell you that you are no longer in need of food.
Downsize your dinner plates. Studies find that the less food put in front of you, the less food you’ll eat.
Bring the color blue into your life more often. There’s a good reason you won’t see many fast-food restaurants decorated in blue: Believe it or not, the color blue functions as an appetite suppressant. So serve up dinner on blue plates, dress in blue while you eat, and cover your table with a blue tablecloth.
Don’t eat with a large group. A study published in the Journal of Physiological Behavior found that we tend to eat more when we eat with other people, most likely because we spend more time at the table.
Serve your dinner restaurant style (food on the plates) rather than family style (food served in bowls and on platters on the table). When your plate is empty, you’re finished; there’s no reaching for seconds.
Get up and walk around the office or your home for five minutes at least every two hours. Stuck at a desk all day? A brisk five-minute walk every two hours will parlay into an extra 20-minute walk by the end of the day.
Clean your closet of the “fat” clothes. Once you’ve reached your target weight, throw out or give away every piece of clothing that doesn’t fit.
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