10 psychological tricks to lose weight

Are you one of those people who gain weight almost without realizing it? The genetics and the metabolism of each person are closely linked to a greater or lesser propensity to gain weight. The (a bit awkward) reality is that there are factors in your body that are difficult to change, and therefore having a few extra pounds is something that many people cannot easily remedy.

However, there are reasons (scientifically proven) that invite optimism from those who want to lose weight. Not only do we gain weight because we have "bad genetics", or because we eat a lot or do little sports. In fact, recent studies show that, more than the amount of what we eat, the quality (the low quality, it is understood) of what enters us through the mouth, and that usually ends up in the adipose tissues (love handles, cartridge belts, belly ...).

Luckily, for the problem of a poor diet there are a number of resources available to mitigate its effect, learn new and better habits and thus be able to feel lighter and healthier.

Psychology has a lot to say in the way we eat

The psychology and the nutrition are disciplines of study that are increasingly related, as we saw in a previous post:

• "Psychology and Nutrition: the importance of emotional nutrition"

exist several psychological tricks that can be very useful when losing weight. The latest trend in researchers studying body transformation processes (gaining weight and losing weight) is to assess the impact of psychology and how it influences our silhouette.

One of the most respected theorists in this field is Brian Wansink, from Cornell University, who is honored to have been recruited by the White House to develop nutritional and feeding guides in the United States.

Culture and habits are the best allies of obesity

Wansink poses the importance of the family and social environment in the development of overweight and obesity:

“Many people I know eat much more than is recommended. And they do not eat so much because they have an excessive appetite, but because their closest environment (family, friends) encourages them to do so. What's more, There is a whole XXL food marketing that is responsible for presenting us the food in an inappropriate way: packaging, portion sizes, names, colors, labels, shapes, colors, smells, ingredients... We don't give ourselves account of the perversion of the food industry because we have always lived in a culture that conceives the feeding of this mode".

Psychological tricks that will help you lose weight

Wansink tips uncover the crucial of habits, senses and psychology in general in the way of feeding. By following them, it is possible to create the right psychological and nutritional dynamics to lose weight and maintain good health.

These are the tricks that Wansinck proposes:

1. Remove from your sight those foods that you do not want to eat

If you have before your eyes foods that are for you irresistible temptations (They are usually foods rich in fat or sugar ...), it will be more difficult not to eat a bite. Stimulate your eyesight with healthy foods: display fresh fruit and healthy food, and hides soda, junk food and candy.

2. Get used to practicing sports little by little

Food is important, but the calories you eat daily have to be burned if your goal is to lose weight. It's a no-brainer that practicing physical exercise will help you lose weight. Also, you should keep in mind that doing sports brings you multiple benefits on a psychic level, which can make you start living life in a healthier way and food becomes much less important to you.

3. Get rid of anxiety

There are a lot of bad eating habits that are underpinned by the same common factor: anxiety. Being anxious can lead you to eat between meals and / or eat more than necessary... do you know what the Binge eating disorder? If you manage to control your anxiety, you will notice that you do not feel as much need to eat.

• I recommend that you take a look at this article: "Fighting anxiety: 5 guidelines to reduce tension"

4. Never go grocery shopping hungry

It is more than proven that shopping on an empty stomach is a bad option. By getting hungrier, you will be more inclined to buy foods that seduce you by the eyes, especially those that contain high doses of glucose (sugars), which is precisely what you lack in your blood when you are hungry. By the way, do not go to buy angry either, you will also tend to buy more.

5. Put little food on your plate

For the same reason that shopping hungry makes you make bad decisions, the same happens when we are hungry and we go to serve food on the plate. We tend to wear too much. If you put in less, you will probably eat enough but not to the point of feeling bloated... and you will not accumulate calories that you do not need.

6. Eat slowly and without haste

When we eat, the signal sent by the stomach to the brain to tell it that it feels full takes 20 minutes to arrive. If you eat slowly and without haste, you will feel satiated and avoid eating more food than your body demands. If you eat in a hurry, you will eat more calories. Give your body time and it will tell you when it is enough.

7. Don't put too many ingredients on the same plate

A golden rule: just put two ingredients on the same plate at the same time (without taking into account oil, salt and stuff, of course). If you put a lot of ingredients you will tend to perceive food as a pleasure. The idea is not that you start to hate food, far from it!, but sobriety at the table plays in your favor when it comes to controlling your appetite and losing weight.

8. Losing weight: a slow and steady process

It is common for some people who perform special diets to lose weightend up frustrated by not getting the desired results in the time they had estimated (a classic to illustrate this is the "bikini operation"). Diets to lose weight must be oriented in such a way that evolution is constant and lasting... not abrupt and after two months it will be the same or worse again. That is why it is important that you realize that having a fat-free body is not a sprint but a long distance race: slowly and good handwriting.

The emotions they can boycott your progress, as we explained in another post:

• Emotions are the main obstacle to losing weight

9. The importance of the spiritual

Although some people do not give it the importance it deserves, the meditation, feeling good about yourself, self-esteem and the mens healthy in healthy bodythey are crucial factors to lose excess kilos. An activity that combines the spiritual and the physical and that has magnificent results is the yoga. We explain more about yoga in the following text:

• "The 6 psychological benefits of yoga"

10. Be aware of what you eat and find out

Knowing the ingredients of the food you eat is key when it comes to losing weight. For one simple reason: Information is power. When we go out to eat, we do not have that information and it is likely that we eat poorly and stuff ourselves with saturated fats and sugars. If you buy your own food and you look at it nutritional contribution of each food, you will gradually become aware of what feels good to your body.