If you’ve been trying to lose weight for a while, you’ve probably heard a million different “tips” on ways to make your weight loss easier.
And, of course, each tip seems weirder than the last.
With so many outlandish ideas out there, it’s hard to determine what’s helpful, and what’s complete poppycock.
So I sifted through all of the weird diet tricks out there and compiled my favorite wacky tips into a list. Some of these might seem outlandish…but I promise they work!
1) Get big on dental hygiene.
Portion control is a huge problem for most people – myself included. One great way to get over this is to brush your teeth after you’ve finished eating. This sends a message to your brain that eating hour has ended.
Even if that signal doesn’t work, your minty mouth should do the trick. If you’ve ever tried to eat right after you brush your teeth, you know what I’m talking about. The mintiness mingles with the flavor of your food, making it incredibly unpleasant tasting. What better way to keep from eating unnecessarily between meals?
2) Change the way you sleep.
Sleeping in a cold, dark room won’t just help you catch better zzz’s…it can also help you lose weight.
Researchers at Ohio State University found that mice who sleep in total darkness are less prone to obesity. The mice who slept with light exposure had odd eating patterns, choosing to eat at irregular times, which leads to dramatic weight gain.
While total darkness can help prevent weight gain,changing the temp can help with weight loss. By turning down the thermostat a few notches, you force your body to heat itself – which means your body will be burning off calories for fuel.
3) Check out some (healthy) eye candy.
Before you sit down to eat, pull up a picture of a low-calorie meal. Take some time to really take it in before eating, keeping that image in your head during your meal.
Although they aren’t 100% sure why¸ scientists have found that humans are prone to eat much less if they look at a picture of healthy food. What was interesting is that it didn’t matter what they were eating – whether it was a big salad or a plate full of pasta, looking at a picture of a low-cal meal resulted in eating less.
4) Get active on Facebook.
Social media is taking over our lives in many ways, and not all of them are bad. In addition to providing us with a great way to keep in touch with long-distance friends and relatives, Facebook also seems to be inspiring people to lose weight.
It seems that the extreme “shareability” of social media has given birth to a new fear: the fear of being tagged in an unflattering photo. In fact, a recent poll cited unflattering Facebook photos as the #1 weight loss trigger.
5) Sniff around.
This is the weirdest but most effective tip on this list. Researchers have found that sniffing a banana, apple or some mint can make you feel less hungry.
Dr. Alan R. Hirsch of the Smell & Taste Research Center conducted a test using 3,000 volunteers to study exactly how much your sense of smell influences your weight loss. He found that the more often he had his volunteers sniff, the less hungry they were and the more weight they lost.
Mint, it turns out, is the most effective, and it’s really easy to grow right in your window. Just remember to water it every day, and you’ll have an unlimited supply of mint to sniff!
Keep in mind that none of these tips will work if you’re eating tons of junk food or gorging on candy every night!
Try to make healthy choices, by drinking more water and getting more fruits and vegetables into your diet.
If you find that you’re really struggling, don’t be ashamed to get a little help. We all need help from time to time, and the worst thing you can do is not ask for it when you need it most.