Even the biggest losers reach a weight loss plateau. These tricks will help you shift those last few kilos.
Pump protein
A Baylor University study found that women on a short-term high protein diet lost 1.3 kg more body fat than those on a more conventional carbohydrate plan. Protein preserves muscle mass, which elevates metabolism and helps burn fat faster.
Avoid distractions
Women who ate identical lunches for 4 weeks consumed 11% more on the days that they watched TV at the same time, according to French researchers. Focusing on food prevents overeating.
Add spice
When overweight people added savoury flavour sprinkles to their food, they lost an average of 17kg over 6 months. “Stronger food aromas fool your brain into thinking you’re full,” explains study leader Alan Hirsch, MD, Director of the Chicago Smell and Taste Research Foundation.
Cultivate quiet
Noise raises levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which stimulates production of the fat-storing hormone insulin. It also causes you to overeat, especially when you’re trying to concentrate, say Pennsylvania State University researchers. They found people working in a noisy room ate twice as much junk food as those doing the same tasks in silence.
Eat grapefruit
San Diego researchers studied 100 overweight men and women who ate ½ a grapefruit (or drank 1 cup of juice) three times daily. Within 12 weeks, they had lost an average of 2kg. Researchers don’t understand why, but speculate that compounds in grapefruit may somehow block fat storage.
(Caution: Check with your doctor. Grapefruit may interfere with certain medications.)
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