Don't be a slave to your appetite.

15 Actionable Tips to Control Your Appetite

You can actually control your appetite. It’s definitely possible, but it’s not easy. There will be hurdles, failures, relapses–but there will also be victories. And if you don’t lose heart, you’ll be able to look, feel, and act like you’ve always wanted to.You don’t have to be a slave to your appetite.Follow these fifteen (15) actionable tips to control your appetite; and if you forget them, just come back and read it again. Easy… (the reading part)!

1. Consider why you eat

Much of the time, we eat without thinking. It becomes second nature, like checking our cellphone upon waking up or understanding advertisement cues on television. Sometimes we just eat.

We’re bored; we’re tired; we’re nervous; we saw an ad somewhere–or it’s just nearing the time of day that we usually eat. Regardless what caused it, try to be conscientious of when and why you’re eating: even if it’s just a snack. You might be able to relate your hunger cues to other factors, like a dog trained to salivate at the ring of a bell.

2. Return to the basics

We get so accustomed to hearing the “top, new Hollywood appetite suppressing” tips that we forget there are basic rules to follow, ones we learned when we were young. Consider the food pyramid, the geometric guidelines for the healthy amount of food groups.

It’s always easy to take a step back and ask yourself, “Am I eating too much dairy? What about too many grains? Do I need more vegetables?” Yes, yes you do.

The food pyramid takes you back to the basics of appetite control
Image: MyPyramid, U.S Department of Agriculture

3. Drink water and more water

When it comes to taking control of your appetite, you always want to be sure you’re getting enough water. While coffee, tea, milk, and even watermelon are sources of water, you likely won’t get enough in your system by those alone.

Drinking water before or at the onset of a craving allows you to determine whether you really are hungry or you were just thirsty. You were probably just thirsty.

4. Don’t skip breakfast

Having a healthy, considerable but not oversized breakfasts kicks your metabolism into gear early in the morning. Research has shown that missing breakfast causes “metabolic and hormonal differences in response to food” that was consumed later in the day, which means your body may compensate for a lack and you may eat more. Uh oh.

Macadamia nut is an excellent source of protein

Also, if trying to choose a light breakfast meal, make sure you choose protein. The protein versus other food groups like cereals, oats, and simple carbohydrates will make you feel full immediately, but the effect will taper off soon and you’ll have a hunger ravenous for two buffets by lunch.

5. Look at the label

Do you ever have a mouthful of some yummy food, look down, and realize that you just ate your day’s worth in calories? Same. Don’t let yourself unknowingly deplete your caloric quota for the day: look at what you’re consuming. Is that snack you want to eat going to be a sizable crater on your daily values? Choose an alternative.

Look at the amount of calories in an item, then scan the rest of the label. If the snack is anything over 100-200 calories, you should probably ditch it (unless you’re very active).

Take our weight loss fitness stick, for example. It only has 15 calories, and there’s only one serving: there are no calories hiding from you. But when looking at food labels, always check the amount of servings. You may be enjoying that 90 calorie snack, only until you realize that the package you ate was actually 3 servings worth (270). Ouch.

Allura Trim weight loss 15 calories

6. Get up (not the movie)

Okay, don’t cry. Hold on. The movie was adorably sad–yes. But do you know what the old man did? He got up! Even at his old age, he adventured and tossed the idea of an aged, sedentary lifestyle in the trash.

This part–the correlation between appetite and physical activity–is complex. In fact, many scientists disagree about the conclusion. Some say your body’s appetite hormones, ghrelin, the appetite increaser, and leptin, the appetite suppressor, are stimulated by exercises; others dismiss the idea.

Bottom line: exercise is healthy for you whether or not it suppresses your appetite, but doing jumping jacks, push-ups, or walking around the house or office now in then will definitely stimulate your mind and deter you from mindlessly snacking.

7. But don’t get down

This emotive tip for controlling your appetite is actually quite an important one: Don’t beat yourself up if you overeat while sticking to your dietary regime. I mean, if you downed an entire row of Oreos, you might want to repent a little.

You can’t climb to the top of the ladder if you get off it every time you descend a rung. You have to keep going up it, even if you slip and fall down 3 or 4 rungs. If you curbed your appetite successfully for a week, and totally messed up on the weekend, you have to keep going on Monday.

You can’t quit (even though, of all days, Monday is the easiest day to quit).

8. Watch for hunger cues

Our body is like a machine: it remembers our patterns, like the muscle memory a professional MLB player gathers that makes him an incredibly dexterous and explosive asset. Your body will remember–encode–certain behaviors that cue your appetite.

Tame your appetite by watching for what makes you hungry.

TICK. It’s time for you to eat… or is it? Is it “that time of the day that you eat,” which means you must be hungry? Maybe you aren’t really hungry; and maybe just everyone else ate early and you want to fit in.

What triggers your stomach to say, “Hey, I think I’m hungry”? Audit your body’s behavior and look for those moments that you get hungry out of the blue, and then see if any of them are false readings. Maybe you’re hungry, or maybe you just got home from work and opening the fridge is just part of your routine.

9. Eat early, not late

In an earlier blog we gave some hacks to avoid late-night snacking, and talked about how silly the myth is about eating late at night. Now we’re reinforcing it: instead of just shunning late-night snacking, control your appetite earlier in the day by eating your last meal well before bedtime.

When you don’t set a time frame for eating dinner, you remove parameters on meals and snacks. Instead of eating at a static time, you might push back dinner and snack in the mid-afternoon. You’ll end up eating late at night, sleepily snacking and rue it all in the morning.

Your body best operates in routines, and unless you are in control of your appetite, it will control you.

10. Brush your teeth

Have you brushed your teeth today? Don’t answer that unless it’s yes. Brushing your teeth is an excellent way to suppress your cravings immediately. Have you ever tried drinking orange juice right after brushing your teeth? Worst mouth event ever.

We suggest you get in a habit of brushing your teeth immediately after dinner. This prevents you from snacking and from delving into the cupboards late at night when everyone else is asleep… unless you’re stubborn, and you’d rather snack and brush them again. We can’t help stubborns.

11. Drink strategically

Alcohol makes it easy to overeat

“What does drinking have to do with controlling the appetite?”

This special liquid is a conniving joy-giver. It makes you feel good, content, bold, and usually not hungry–until your body reaches that point and says, “Okay, where’s the fridge?” There’s a reason you crave simple carbohydrates when you drink.

Alcohol, when consumed, depletes your glycogen stores (carbohydrates) to metabolize it, so it needs to refill the carbs. The more you drink, the more your body is robbed of stored energy, and the greater the need it will have to fill it.

You have a few options. You can either…

  • Cut out alcohol completely (just kidding)
  • Drink less
  • Eat before you drink

When your glycogen starts to deplete from that wine, beer, or hard stuff, you will have built a barricade against the fickle behavior of your boozy appetite. Having eaten, you won’t have to deal with two appetites (natural appetite + boozy appetite = unmet dietary goals).

12. Shop like a minimalist

Minimalism is the “art or lifestyle of living only with things we need,” and when it comes to shopping for food, it’s a powerful lifestyle to embrace. If you’ve ever gone to the grocery store when you’re hungry, you know the game: your appetite chooses what to buy, not your brain.

It’s crucial you either eat before you shop, or only buy the bare necessities. While buying in bulk will usually get you the deals, if you buy a family size when you just want a bite, you’re giving your appetite a way in: “There’s extra in the house, so I can have a little more.”

13. Find your motivators

Sometimes it takes motivation to do just about anything: go to work, get off the couch, wake up… Choosing to eat healthy and not glut at every moment possible also needs motivation, which is why we recommend you find what or who motivates you to control your appetite.

Find what motivates you to lose weight

Do you have a wedding or grand event coming up? Do you look up to a certain fitness instructor or someone who clearly has his/her appetite under control? Are you tired of the lazy, stuffing, lugubrious feeling after overeating? Whatever is your motivation, cling to it and set it before your eyes at all times.

14. Get accountability partners

Find someone who will walk with you side by side, to fight your appetite and overeating together. There’s nothing quite as powerful as having accountability for the things that you do (or don’t do); and when you’re trying to achieve fitness goals, you want find people who both praise you in victory and encourage you in defeat.

And when you learn how to control your appetite–once you’ve donned the medals and achieved your fitness goal, you can be someone else’s motivation. What a feeling that is when, not if, you get there…

15. Get confident, overly confident

There’s nothing more intimidating than someone who isn’t afraid to speak his/her mind or back down from a challenge. You might think those people have a certain “type of personality” or are just different from you. Maybe, but I think you’re scared.

Don’t be timid to be the best damn you possible: to be confident in the face of failure, to say yes when everyone is saying no, and to keep getting up when the easiest thing to do is lie there and let someone else tame the appetite.

You don’t have to be a slave to your appetite.


Do you have any tips that have helped you control your appetite?
Avoid late night snacking and develop healthy habits for weight loss

Attacking Late-Night Snacking

Have you ever been told not to eat late at night because that’s how you gain weight? And it wasn’t just about eating extra food: it was about eating specifically late at night? Oh yes, truly that is when the voracious calorie monsters come out at night to breed. There they stand, arm in arm, to replicate a hundred fold as you lie there in innocent sleep, only to awake to an extra, totally-uncalled-for belly fold or striation of cellulite!Nah. That’s not true. (But gosh, I’d start installing security cameras and setting up booby traps if it were.)Calories are calories, and 3500 of ‘em is one pound of fat. While exercise is vital to live a healthy life, you must get in control of your diet. For the most part, that means eschewing high-calorie foods… and eating fewer of them on a regular basis.So let me show you why eating at night is so… sinister… so deadly–in the form of melodrama.
You wake. It’s 12:37 A.M. and you are in a sleepy stupor, perhaps a stumbling one; and even though you have lived in your house for years, you’d be doomed to navigate through it with your eyes closed or in the pitch black, because you’d hit every wall and stub all your toes (in my experience…).(Or you walk through your house like Frankenstein with stretched-longer-than-usual arms to get your bearings.)You slowly navigate to the one place in the house that is your haven: the kitchen. You’ve arrived in the dark chambers of the culinary palace, careful not to make a peep on the wooden floor or frigid tile to wake someone who may know that you’re snacking at night.Now it’s time! Light of light emerges from the vertical rift between both sides of the refrigerator door: It’s the pearly gates of food within, and you are eager, so eager to know what’s inside (even though you do, because you stock it).Regardless whether the treats are novel or drab, fresh or stale, you devour all in sight and cloy yourself into oblivion. You feel great!Haha, no… You feel miserable and trapped. You might feel like it’s a whirlpool of appetite that will drown you; and you left the floaties in the car, didn’t ya?
But be of hope! We have some tips to help you control your appetite as you wield the shield against the power of late-night snacking–except against Pop-Tarts. I… I have no defense against those. 

Late Night Hacks

 

Brush your teeth after dinner

Yeah, yeah. Hygiene. We’re serious, though. This tactic is easy to implement but not always supremely effective (depending on the person’s inclination toward hygiene). It usually works for those who don’t like to eat after brushing your teeth before going to bed. Eating after brushing is almost like drinking orange juice with the faint taste of toothpaste in your mouth. Gross.

Brushing your teeth, [hopefully] part of the phase when getting ready for bed, is that penultimate act of sleep that tells you and your voracious, greedy appetite that you have a date with your pillow, and the refrigerator needs to get a life.

“I want a snack, but I’d have to brush my teeth again… I don’t wanna do that. I’ll just go to bed.” BOOM. Victory.

 

Avoid alcohol

Not everyone likes the sentence above. It may be a menace to you—but if you’re looking to refrain from snacking, it may be the best thing you can do. Not only does alcohol have a sly ability to sneak in calories here and there without you knowing it, it also surrenders you of any ounce of self-discipline you had before you took that sip or chug… or keg-stand.A glass of wine or a swift cold one may sound wonderful after dinner (or before), but it’s not going to be your friend when you realize the next morning that you unnecessarily ate two handfuls of Cheez-Its when you really weren’t hungry. (But they were good and you know it.)
“Now that I can think soberly, I realize I’m not really hungry: I just like the cheesy dust that adorns my fingertips after a late-night date with Cheez-Its.”
 

Drink more water

If you can, drink water only. Even though it is translucent, tastes like nothing (except maybe a few minerals to the water connoisseurs), and has zero calories, it still fills your stomach. Now you may be like me and find it nearly impossible to drink and eat at the same time. That cup of water may be sitting there, staring at you while you eat your food one piece at a time: but once the meal is over, only then it will get drunk. It is worthy.But if you’re not like me, try giving the water/healthy beverage of choice some attention before or while you eat. Much like eating a salad to fill your stomach before you gorge on meat or heavier foods, water will sate you enough to give you discipline as you eat. It will mean that you will eat less potato salad when you know you’re not hungry—as it takes roughly twenty minutes for your stomach to alert you that you are actually full.
“Ohh, so I wasn’t hungry enough to eat three fistfuls of food—I was just compensating for thirst? I should work on that daily water quota!”
 

Be active in the day

I know, it’s difficult to live an active lifestyle when we’re so busy all the time; and if you add in a full work schedule or a quiver of children, you hardly have time to take intermittent sips of your wine (Just kidding… kind of.). When you exercise, especially to the point of sweat, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. I’m sure you heard of what these babies can do for you, but I’ll tell ya.Endorphins are by and large pain relievers, like that good feeling you get when you go on a run. But, once you finish the run, when your legs turn into Jell-o, you need someone to carry you, and you forgot how to function. You’re sore. The natural chemicals were exuded in you to relieve pain so that you can continue exercising and pushing your body past its comfortable limits. Once the endorphins run out, though: Let the hurt come in. (It’s the same thing that happens when you laugh so hard that your stomach hurts: the endorphins ran out.)Exercising in the day will rob you of your excess energy you get from your food, and that’s good! You won’t be restless when dusk comes, and the energy needed for the arduous walk to the fridge to get another handful o’ chips well be much harder to muster, considering your body already used it.
“If I were active earlier in the day; then the leer of that cake on the counter that *SOMEONE* bought won’t mesmerize me anymore because I’ll be too tired to get up.” Muahaha.

 These are a few quick tips to help you control your appetite and defend against the midnight siege upon your appetite! What are some other life hacks you’ve used that have been successful?
Monday is like eaten, burnt toast: sad, dejected, and gross tasting.

Paving Your Way to a Greener You

It’s a hot topic right now: a push toward a greener earth, a rapprochement with international green thumb agencies, a call to redefine and rediscover our energy methods. I get it. Vegetables and dietary supplements help you achieve your weight loss goal fastI find it silly, though, that in the wake of this wave, we are getting less and less fit. We find ourselves caring about the dumps in which we throw our fast-food wrappers more than the corporal wrapper we’ve worn since birth.The average American consumes fast food over 150 times a year, which is about 3 times a week.[1] I don’t know about you, but the last time I went to a drive-thru I did not order a salad. If I did, I ordered some nuggets atop the salad, in a sweet, faux French accent to legitimize my pitiful gluttony. I was under the impression that as long as nuggets are contiguous—or touching—greens then they are transformed into healthy morsels, and the calories average out between the two foods.No? This is news to me.Versus this statistic, we visit the other end of the stem: How do I compare to the average intake of vegetables? Well, if you eat more than 1.5 cups of vegetables a day, you are in the upper-half echelon of Americans, at least according to your intake of greens.[2] You are the cream of the crop (like, some of the crop).Now, if you are there, Is that a manageable intake? Could it be easier, or more difficultThe cake is a lie.

It’s not cake. (The cake is a lie.)

I reckon it depends on several factors: your work, your social structure, your habits and upbringing, and your supplemental help. I’ll get to that in a second.Take, for example, a young buck (a smaller human), and look at his/her dietary habits. Eh, I’ll just recall my habits from “a few” years ago:Breakfast: Some type of cereal, either one with or… with sugar. Top that off with some fruit (that has natural sugar, like grapes, strawberries, cantaloupe, etc).Brunch: Poptart. Sometimes I’d deviate, but I would almost always choose the Strawberry one, because it was adorned with a galaxy of sprinkles that put me in Candyland with each bite.Lunch: Chicken or a sandwich, or a chicken sandwich; or chicken and a sandwich.You may have been more disciplined, with a guardian sneaking green mutant trees (broccoli) into your lunch; or you just preferred to eat leaves (salad) like the rabbits  that run too fast for you to pet them.But you get the gist. Unless you have the genes of a leek or the restraint of an acolyte, you’re gonna have a hard time getting all the vegetables you need. Here is probably the greatest of factors that will either help or inhibit your input of greens. 

Work, lurk.

Unfortunately, the bulk of your eating habits–your potential to be green–revolves around what you do during the week. And if you’re like the most of us, you frequent something of a 9-5.Most workers are in two categories: solid or fluid, as I call ’em.If you have a solid work schedule, you are likely stationed in the same spot and are given the option to buy food around your work vicinity on lunch break (and doing so you may befriend the vending machine), or bring your own food from home (a sack lunch/Power Rangers lunch pail). For the first scenario, I’ll just tell you: I’ve seen only one salad vending machine in my life.You may get up, squeeze that tight 30-60 minute time frame, get in your car, drive a mile and hustle to the nearest grocery store for a pre-packaged meal; or you may with ground-gazing eyes leer at the McDonald’s at the corner of the street (it’s only, like, 50 steps away).
Monday is like eaten, burnt toast: sad, dejected, and gross tasting.
A candid picture of Monday.
You’re going to have a bad time.But here you can also pack your lunch, provided you have the right foods at home (that were bought from the store when you weren’t hungry). I’d always recommend either shopping with an Allura Trim on you or packing one in your lunch. Work days are long (about half as long as Monday work days).Then there’s the the fluid work schedule: the one in flux. Like molecules in the fluid state that fill and conform to their container, so a worker with a fluid schedule fits her lunch to her time frame. This avails her hardly any time to tactfully buy and consume food.What’s near me? Oh, seventeen fast food chains? Nice. I’ll eat water (maybe choose a safer way…). 

The verdict.

Incorporating greens in your diet is difficult. It’s going to take time and discipline–and failure and discipline, and then some failure–and then SUCCESS (with drops of failure, of course).But we know you can do it.What’s beautiful is that greens act as a natural detoxifier. They may not be so “gentle,” but they will assist in your daily bowel movements and bodily health.And when you hike up the green intake, your body will react at first a bit strangely: “Why are you feeding me rabbit food?” Just kidding. It will put your weight loss and your overall bodily health in hyper mode! So what are your green goals? [1] https://fastfoodnutrition.org/news/fast-food-eat-year-1357710862[2] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6426a1.htm
Successful weight loss with Allura Trim

10 Tips for Sticking to Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan

Don’t get derailed from your healthy weight loss plan! If you have more than a few pounds to lose it can seem overwhelming. Don’t let that stop you. Stick to it. The best long lasting weight loss results occur over a period of time. Here are a few hints to keep you going strong! Successful weight loss with Allura Trim

1. Plan ahead.

Meal planning is key to maintaining a healthy diet. Last minute meals when you’re hungry can lead to less healthy choices. Be sure to include a variety of foods including lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein and whole grains.

2. Avoid commercially pre-prepared foods.

Many are high in fat, low in fiber and usually heavily salted. When you cook from scratch you can control what goes in, opting for lower calorie versions of milk, sour cream, and leaner meats.

3. Pre-package your own healthy snacks.

If it is ready and visible, you’re more apt to reach for a better option. *Hint: Put them in see-through containers so you will see them when you open the fridge! This helps develop good food habits for your kids, too.

4. Pack your lunch.

Whenever possible bring your lunch to work. Not only will it save you money but you have more control over the menu!

5. Break a sweat!

Aim for a cardio workout daily. No equipment is necessary. There are lots of exercises you can do in your living room: jog in place, lunges, squats, jumping jacks, jump rope. I bet you can think of a dozen more!

6. Set reasonable goals.

If you set your goals to high and don’t achieve them it can be discouraging. Long term slower weight loss is healthier and kept off longer. 1 to 2 pounds a week is great. Think about that over a period of time!

7. Do not weigh yourself every day.

Focus on healthy living, not the scale!

8. Get adequate sleep.

Studies show that sleep deprivation can contribute to weight gain. Sleep helps reduce stress. Stress is related to increased levels of the hormone cortisol which stimulates appetite. Your energy expenditure is also reduced when you’re tired, resulting in fewer calories burned.

9. Stay hydrated.

Thirst is often mistaken for hunger. Water is a critical for each organ in your body to operate properly. There are a lot of options for flavoring water is the “plain” variety is hard to swallow.

10. Think small.

Little changes, consistently applied, add up to big losses. Simple diet substitutions can save 100 calories at a time.

More tips for effective weight loss here.

 Image credits:Healthy lunch in containers: Copyright:bialasiewicz / 123RF Stock PhotoWoman on scale: Copyright: rocketclips / 123RF Stock Photo