Learning how to eat is just as important as leaning what to eat, if you want to lose weight. Without drastic changes to your calorie intake, you can stop gaining weight, and even shed some pounds with a number of simple eating tips. Adding smart eating techniques to a diet that includes calorie reduction will improve your chances for success even more.
Eat More Often
Without decreasing your calories, grazing will help you lose weight. Eating a 1,200-calorie meal is worse than eating three, 400-calorie meals, for a variety of reasons. Waiting long periods between meals can lead to overeating. Your body may not be able to metabolize all 1,200 calories at once, so it will store the extra calories as fat. Eating every 12 or 18 hours causes your metabolism to slow down, burning fewer calories during the day. Eating after long fasting periods also affects the body's insulin response, which causes your body to store more calories as fat, according to the Mayo Clinic nutritionist, Katherine Zeratsky.
Put yourself on a regular eating schedule and stick to it, eating even when you are not hungry. Plan to eat breakfast, then a mid-morning snack, then lunch, with a mid-afternoon snack, then dinner. If you need dessert, have it two hours later as a treat while watching TV or surfing the Internet.
Hydrate
Most Americans do not drink enough water each day. Thirst is often mistaken for hunger, and people snack when they should be drinking. While you need the equivalent of eight glasses of water per day, most of that is already in the foods you eat. Drinking a glass of water morning, noon and night, should be enough to help you keep from snacking. Drinking water with your meal also aids in digestion, according to Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Michael Picco, M.D.
Plan Snacks
If you know you are going to snack, use controlled portions. Take that big box of snacks and put it into reasonably portioned baggies. Even if you would like another bite or two when you are through with a baggie full of crackers or pretzels, you are less likely to if you have a cue. If you are standing in front of an open box, you are more likely to grab one or two handfuls you would not if taking that extra handful required you to open another baggie.
Cook Ahead
Do not cook when you are hungry. Cook meals in advance, when you are not hungry, so you can avoid frequent tasting and large portions. Freeze or refrigerate healthy portions for later use; you will cut down on overeating.
Eat Out Socially
When you dine out, you cannot control what you are served, how much is offered and at what time you'll eat. If you are hungry when the food finally arrives, you may overeat, even if the food is high in calories and fat. If you know you will be eating when you go out, eat something before you leave the house. Learn to think of eating out as a social event, not a part of your regular daily calorie intake. If you feel that you need to be fed when you go out, you will be less likely to eat sensibly.
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