7 Tricks to Drop Pounds
Updated: Feb. 13, 2017Chew GumVolunteers who chewed gum for 15 minutes each hour between lunch and a snack consumed 60 fewer calories from
Chew Gum
Volunteers who chewed gum for 15 minutes each hour between lunch and a snack consumed 60 fewer calories from sweets than when they went gum-free.
Vegetable Juice
Here's a surprising way to supercharge any diet–and your health: Chug a glass of low-sodium vegetable juice every day. In a study of 81 overweight adults at risk for heart disease and diabetes, those who drank at least a cup of low-sodium V8 daily lost four pounds over 12 weeks, while those on the same reduced-fat diet who drank no juice lost one pound.
Drop Sugary Drinks
Calories from solid foods and liquids both add up, of course. But in a recent multicenter study, the only menu change that had a significant payoff for dieters was cutting back on sugary beverages, says lead author Benjamin Caballero, MD. Reducing intake by just one serving a day took a pound off after six months, enough to add up for people with a soda or fruit-drink habit.
Green Tea
Overweight or obese exercisers burned off three more pounds and 7 percent more belly fat when they drank green tea instead of another beverage with the same calories, according to a new multicenter study.
Mushrooms
When ground beef was swapped out for mushrooms in lasagna, sloppy joes, and chili, adults consumed 400 fewer calories per day, according to a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study. Researchers estimate that if you sub mushrooms for ground meat in one meal every week, you can lose five pounds in a year.
Simple 'Till Six
That's what author Mark Bittman named his diet plan of eating in a mostly vegan fashion during the day–no animal products and no simple carbs–and then eating a reasonable dinner. His focus on consuming plants ‘as close to their natural state as possible’ will lead to a natural reduction in calories.
