7 Ways to Trick Yourself to Eat Less

To eat less, you can eat food that are high in protein and fiber to keep you full for a long period of time, without feeling the pangs of hunger. Mindful eating can also help you to eat less.

Eating less food can be a channel to reduce weight, manage chronic diseases and to keep fit. In the abyss of hunger and appetite, eating less food can be challenging, especially for those starting out.

Hunger and appetite are innate experiences that we deal with, without even realizing. They occur when the body needs energy or crave certain food.

If you are looking to control your appetite and eat less, here are 7 ways to trick yourself.

1. Eat enough protein

Making protein a greater part of your food can help give the feeling of fullness without having to eat too much. Research has shown that all source of protein- animal and plant- can have appetite suppressing effects.

Getting at least, 20- 30% of your total calorie intake from protein is sufficient to provide health benefit. Some studies suggest 1.2- 1.6g/kg per body weight.

However, there have been conflicting results when it comes to high protein diets. In essence, explore other dietary options that suit your needs and preferences.

2. Learn which dinnerware works for you

The size of your dinnerware can save you from eating more. Using a small-sized dinner ware unconciously reduce your meal portion, without feeling deprived. Eating from a larger plate that holds more food would have you eat more without realizing it. The benefit of eating from a small dinnerware cannot be overemphasized.

In addition, studies have shown that eating with a smaller spoon or fork may not directly affect your appetite, but it can cause you to eat slowly, leading to less consumption of food.

Overall, the size of your dinnerware may have correlation with your hunger level based on factors such as; culture, upbringing and learned behaviour.

3. Eat mindfully

Being distracted or eating too quickly can make it difficult for the brain to process hunger and satiety cues. Mindful eating involves being in the present moment whilst focusing on your meal- paying attention to the texture, taste and sound.

With mindful eating, you can tap into your hunger and satiety cues, just like your emotions, thoughts and physical feelings. Research has shown that mindful eating may help weaken emotionally driven or impulsive cravings, which can influence hunger and apppetite.

In essence, mindful eating appears best for limiting food cravings and increasing awareness of food when it’s paired with a healthy diet, regular physical activity and other behaviour-focused therapies.

4. Eat slowly

When you are very hungry, you tend to eat fast and eat more than you planned. Eating slowly can be a strategic way to eat less.

One study founds out that people who eat fast end up eating too much, ingesting alot of calories.

Interestingly, some researches have also found out that, eating slowly do not only affect appetite, it also affect endocrine system, including hormones that interact with your digestive system. It also has to do with hunger and satiety cues, such as insulin and pancreatic polypetide.

5. Always drink water

Do you know that, sometimes thirst can be mistaken for hunger? An animal studies relays that sometime thirst may be mistaken for hunger, thus impacting food preferences and intake.

Sometimes, thirst and your water intake can greatly influence your food choices than hunger would do. The neurons that regulate appetite for both water and food are similar, hence the need to understand why drinking water might also satisfy your hunger or appetite for solid food.

It is not to say that food should be replaced with water, but it is important to be hydrated before taking meal in other to eat less. You can also sip water in between meals to hasten your fullness cue.

6. Exercise regularly

Exercise is a strategic medium to eat less, aside weight loss. This it does by reducing the activation of brain regions linked to food cravings, thus increasing the desire to eat low calorie foods than high calorie food. Exercise helps to reduce hormone associated with hunger,  whilst increasing feelings of fullness.

Even though there might be variability pertaining to how exercise induce appetite in humans, there is a positive correlation between exercise and appetite.

However, there is no guarantee that this might work for everyone. Though, exercise promises alot of benefits, it’s best to incorporate it in your routine, irrespective of reducing appetite or not.

7. Get enough sleep

Studies have shown that less sleep prioritization can negatively impact hunger, appetite, and food cravings.

Sleep deprivation can elevate a hunger hormone called ghrelin. This hormone increases food intake and also give sign that the body is hungry. Sleep deprivation can also elevate the appetite-regulating hormone leptin.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an adult need 7-9 hours of sleep, while 8-12 hours is recommended for children and teenagers.

Final thought

To eat less, hunger and appetite are to be put into consideration. You should enable strategies that can help you tame them.

The above tricks are some strategies to eat less, whether you are looking to loose weight, keep fit, or manage a chronic disease. These tricks can help you can help reduce your appetite and hunger during times when these sensations feel higher than normal.

If these strategies doesn’t work for you, consider seeing a healthcare professional for more viable options.