Sure, fresh vegetables are delicious and nutritious. But faced with the need to scrape a carrot, wash and slice a zucchini, or cut broccoli into florets, many of us say, “Too much trouble!” and reach for chips instead.
To make things easier, stock your freezer with frozen vegetables, Blake tells dieters.
Weight Loss Tip No. 5: Make Yourself a Party Tray
The type of party tray Jackson Blatner is talking about is a big vegetable platter, maybe with some low-fat dip on the site — the kind you put on the buffet for weight-conscious guests.
But this one is just for you and any interested family members. Keep it in the fridge at eye level, encouraging you to snack healthy and avoid the higher-calorie contents of your refrigerator.
Several studies have found that we tend to eat more when food is within easy reach. Secretaries who placed candy on their desks ate about 48% more than when the candy was 6 feet away, according to research by Brian Wansink, PhD, director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University.
Weight Loss Tip No. 6: Turn Down the Thermostat
Spending time in a chilly house — about 61 degrees Fahrenheit — may boost the fat-burning power of the “brown fat” in your body.
Brown fat is considered “good” fat, as opposed to regular or white fat, which stores calories and tends to accumulate. Researchers believe that lean people have more of the brown type of fat, and that the amount of brown fat a person has declines with age.
Scandinavian researchers found that exposure to these chilly temperatures boosted the metabolic rate of brown fat 15-fold, helping burn more calories.
But Jackson Blatner cautions not to expect too much: “It’s not going to be any kind of a miracle,” she says. And beware if you’re the type who eats more when you feel cold.
Weight Loss Tip No. 7: Downsize Your Dinnerware
Experts say they’ve seen it again and again: The larger your plate, the more you’re likely to put on it. So serving your meals on smaller plates can help you eat less.
But don’t throw out those dinner plates, Blake suggests. Use the smaller, lunch-size plates to serve dinner, and use the dinner plates for salads.
Weight Loss Tip No. 8: Go Out for Treats
If you’re the type who overdoes it on sweets and snacks, Jackson Blatner suggests, make yourself work a little for your favorite indulgences. Don’t keep them in the house, but give yourself permission to go out and get them when you really need to.
Want a brownie? You have to go to the bakery. Craving a frozen yogurt? You must find the nearest frozen yogurt shop.
“The more hassle tasty treats are, the less likely you are to eat them,” says Jackson Blatner, who does this herself and finds her sweets consumption has declined without making her feel deprived.
Weight Loss Tip No. 9: Try on Your Skinny Jeans Every Friday
Find a pair of pants that is tight, but not impossible to zip, Blake suggests to her weight loss patients. “Every Friday morning, try them on,” she says.
Why Friday? Weekends are typically a tougher time to stay on diets, she says. And the Friday morning try-on will motivate you to watch your eating during the weekend.
“If they are loose, you will say to yourself ‘I am making progress, I am staying on track during the weekend,”’ she says.
And if they’re snug? That will provide motivation to stick to your diet so they’ll fit better next week, she says.
