How to Eat Less Food

Dieters often look for ways to curb cravings and eat less so they can lose weight more easily. Wouldn't it be nice if there were a simple way to cut out calories? Amazingly, there are!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Only eat delicious foods. Consider it: when you have your grandmother's basked apple pie, you savor it slowly versus the liver and onions you scarf down to get finished with faster. Many diets advocate eating your favorite foods in small quantities; if you follow the next steps with your favorite foods, losing weight and controlling appetite should be simpler.

2. Eat slower. Take the time to chew, taste the food, and consider when you're full. It's possible to go to a buffet and east three plates in 15 minutes. However, no one feels very good after such an experience! Promise yourself that you'll take a set amount of time to finish the plate you have, then take a 5 minute break, then reconsider if you want seconds. Follow your stomach, not your mouth.

3. Drink water. Make sure to drink plenty while eating. Water is best since it fills you up with no calories. As it takes up room in the stomach, it limits the amount of food that will fit. Besides, water leads to glowing skin, happier bowels, and plenty more positive effects.

4. Eat with company. This seems counterintuitive to what many diets say. However, it works well for people who live with family or friends. Eat only when someone else is around. Mindless snacking alone leads to plenty of weight gain, but having another pair of eyes makes a person reconsider whether they want that second (or fifth) Twinkie. Again, this will probably not work for a person who lives alone as they would be eating far less than needed.

5. Eat one thing at a time. Look at your plate. Begin eating your salad, then your meat, then your bread, then - if you're still hungry - your dessert. Eating one food item at a time (hopefully in some order of nutritional value) will help you feel fuller before hitting the calorie-filled sweets. If you're eating some snack item, go for one at a time: don't take a handful of chips, but eat them slowly.

6. Use smaller dishes. Smaller dishes trick the mind into thinking it's getting more food. Try fitting everything into the center (not the outer rim) of a "salad plate" (which used to be the everyday dinner plate!) instead of gorging with something larger.