Stop Overeating

• Stop Overeating

  Provided By Men's Health
  
  Why do you keep shoveling food into your mouth -- and how do you stop? Modern food science explains why you just can't stop eating
  
  Hunger(appetite's physiological accelerator) and satiety (its brakes) are not the only reasons we start and stopeating. Researchers in the burgeoning field of food psychology have pinpointed a complex web of cues in the modern environment that all but overwhelm our once-adaptive systems: societal shifts in what constitutes appropriate portion sizes; the colors, embedded scents, and promotional language used in food packaging; the distracting effects of TV viewing during meals. These are just a few of the ubiquitous hidden persuaders that have converted eating from a natural human need into a national hobby.
  
  By better understanding how food psychology influences us, we can avoid being blinded by a false glow and simultaneously add more luster to the foods our bodies really need.

• Stop Overeating

  The Atmospherics of Appetite
  
  One of a food's most seductive additives is the setting in which it's served. In the case of fast-food emporia, profits depend on speed eating, whereas at high-end restaurants, the goal is to keep diners ensconced long enough to "up-sell" them drinks, appetizers, and desserts.
  
  At home, turn off the TV and instead play your favorite slow music softly in the background. Use decent china, which sends the message "fine dining ahead!" as opposed to plastic plates and bowls, which proclaim "time to spork down some biomass."
  
  If your goal is simply to eat less, try a more radical approach to ambience. Blue is the color most associated with mold and decay in food. Put a blue lightbulb in your refrigerator.

• Stop Overeating

  Tricks of the Eye
  
  The larger the size of our dishes, the smaller we invariably consider the portion contained within, which just as invariably leads to overeating.
  
  Research shows that dinnerware and serving sizes have continued to grow in tandem over the past 20 years. The standard dinner plate at a restaurant now averages 12 inches, up from 9 inches in the '70s. As a result, portion sizes are twice as large. At home, use smaller plates and bowls.

• Stop Overeating

  Eating by Association
  
  We all proceed through life surrounded by environmental stimuli that condition our own patterns of eating behavior through association; for example the link between late-night TV and snacking.
  
  Don't skip breakfast, and resolve to take a different route to and from work, one that steers you around fast-food temptations. At the same time, brown-bag a filling, healthy lunch to help you dodge the drive-thru.
  
  Another tactic: Eliminate as many distractions as you can so you concentrate on your food. Chances are you'll eat less when you pay full attention to the ingestion process.

• Stop Overeating

  Engorged at the Smorgasbord
  
  Variety in food is a surprisingly powerful force.
  
  Try to limit or eliminate visits to smorgasbords, breakfast buffets, food courts, Korean delis, and similar settings that lay out gastronomical porn.
  
  When you do find yourself at a food fest, be it a friend's gourmet dinner party or a business buffet, limit yourself to two items on your plate at a time. You can always go back for more.

• Stop Overeating

  The Language of Food Love
  
  Specific forms of language are used frequently because of their ability to evoke our emotions and stoke our desires. For example:
  
  Linking specific foods to the geographical regions famous for their production: Omaha steaks.
  
  Nostalgic labels like Grandma's Old World manicotti trigger associations with family, tradition, and comfort.
  
  A glowing description of great taste -- "tender, mesquite-smoked pork loin" -- can make our mouths water and stomachs growl as effectively as actual food.
  
  The fourth technique is using brand labels. The original producers of these products have established emotional connections between their food and consumers.
  
  You can fight back by simply remainingconscious of the hype that surrounds us. Sometimes reading the fine print can help, as well.

• Stop Overeating

  Strategic Eating Tip 1: Downsize your dishes
  
  Unless you're eating off decades-old dishes, you probably have the newer, plus-size plates -- the kind that cause your eyes to override your appetite. Give them to Goodwill, and use 10 1/2-inch dinner plates, 8-inch salad plates, and 7-inch soup bowls instead.

• Stop Overeating

  Strategic Eating Tip 2: Be small-minded about snacks
  
  Outsmart your snack habit by sticking with the tiny 100-calorie packs now being used for everything from Doritos to Goldfish.

• Stop Overeating

  Strategic Eating Tip 3: Raise your glasses
  
  Since even experienced bartenders pour more into short, wide glasses than they do into tall, narrow ones, you'll need to be creative at home. Start by using highball glasses to replace the squat tumblers you use for scotch and brandy. Next, put away your pint beer glasses and buy the pilsner kind. Finally, switch balloon wine glasses with regular wine glasses.

• Stop Overeating

  Strategic Eating Tip 4: Divide and dine
  
  Restaurants use large plates. When your entree arrives, dive in and eat half, then wait at least 10 minutes before coming out for round 2. While you chat and sip water, your stomach will have a chanceto digest and decide whether you've had enough -- no matter what the plate's saying.

Smart Diet Swaps

• Smart Diet Swaps

  Smart Diet Swaps
  
  Hidden calories and fat can sneak into the meals of even the most diet-conscious. Here we show you nine creative ways to shave calories and fat from your favorite foods.

• Smart Diet Swaps

  Soup Savvy
  
  Abandon heavy, cream-based soups -- they can saddle you with 240 calories per cup. Stick with broth-based varieties, at roughly 150 calories a cup, and thicken them up by cracking a small egg into the soup while it's heating and swirl it throughout the pot. The egg makes the soup smooth and offers healthy protein while adding only 60 calories. You'll save about 30 calories, and about whopping 15 grams of fat per serving over the creamy soups.

• Smart Diet Swaps

  Squash Calories
  
  Spaghetti can cost you 200 calories per cup -- and that's before you top it with sauce. For pasta lovers, spaghetti squash is a vibrant alternative. When cooked, the squash flesh becomes thread-like,resembling spaghetti. At only 75 calories per cup and no fat, it makes for a healthy and tasty stand-in.
  
  Image Credit: Jupiter Images

• Smart Diet Swaps

  Slimmer Cocoa
  
  A store-bought hot cocoa mix made with low-fat milk can add up to 250 calories per cup. Shave off about 115 calories, and some unwanted sugar, with this flavorful hot milk beverage: Heat 8 ounces of low-fat or non-fat milk with a cinnamon stick. Pour it into your mug and stir in one tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder and one teaspoon of vanilla extract.

• Smart Diet Swaps

  Tuna with a Twist
  
  It's easy to overdo it with mayo in tuna salad. At 103 calories per tablespoon, you could easily add 300-plus calories to your dish. A lighter, tangy alternative to mayo? Toss canned tuna packed in water with lemon juice, onion, and capers and save yourself upwards of 100 calories. For an extra peppery flavor, add chopped watercress.

• Smart Diet Swaps

  It's a Wrap
  
  Put a new spin on the sandwich by doing away with the bread. Even two slices of the most dietetic versions can add 70 calories per slice. Place sandwich ingredients in buttery-soft bibb lettuce or the long leaves of romaine and wrap them up for a crunchier and much lighter meal.

• Smart Diet Swaps

  Hold the Mayo
  
  If bread is a must for a sandwich, skip the fatty mayo and use lower-in-calories pickles or relish to moisten it. If it's a sandwich with cheese, use only one slice, then skip thecondiment altogether and heat the sandwich in the toaster oven to melt the cheese. It adds the moisture that the condiments would. Both tricks can save up to 40 calories per sandwich, and will spare you the 11 grams of fat per tablespoon of mayo.

• Smart Diet Swaps

  Better Beef
  
  Reduce your fat content and boost fiber by swapping cooked, ground lentils for some of the ground beef in a recipe. Ounce for ounce, lentils and ground beef have a similar calorie count. But 3.5 ounces of ground beef racks up 20grams of fat, while the same amount of lentils carries only 0.8.

• Smart Diet Swaps

  Muffin Tips
  
  Lighten up dense morning muffins. Trade whole wheat flour for half of the white flour in the recipe, and use unsweetened applesauce or pureed bananas for up to half of the oil. Both swaps can save you as much as 500 calories.

• Smart Diet Swaps

  Salad Toppers
  
  Take full advantage of the health benefits of your light salad by avoiding toppings like bacon bits and croutons. Crowning the dish with chopped red onion and herb mixtures like cilantro and mint, or dill and flat-leaf parsleywill save you from the 60 calories or more the traditional toppings would normally add.