Tricks to Lose Weight in Winter!

 

Losing weight is a simple equation: if you burn more calories than you eat, the weight will come off.

The summertime offers plenty of opportunities for people to lose weight. Generally, people get more exercise in the summer because they spend more time outside and are more active. People tend to make excuses for why they can't lose weight during the wintertime. But there are steps you can take to make sure you continue to drop pounds during the winter months.          

• Sniff a banana, apple, or peppermint: You might feel silly, but it works. When Dr Alan R. Hirsch of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago tried this with 3,000 volunteers, he found that the more frequently people sniffed, the less hungry they were and the more weight they lost, an average of 30 lb each. One theory is that sniffing the food tricks the brain into thinking you're actually eating it.

• Stay active around the house. While it may be cold outside, there are things you can do inside your house, such as sit-ups and push-ups, that will contribute to weight loss.
• Take up a new hobby or participate regularly in an activity that you enjoy. Play basketball, tennis or racquetball, or join a dance class. You will lose weight and have fun at the same time. If you see results from participating in activities you enjoy, it's likely you will stay motivated.
• Turn off the TV: Dining while viewing can make you take in 40 percent more calories than usual, reports a new study. And texting, driving, or any other distracting activity during a meal can also result in your eating too much. Instead, make each meal something you put on a plate and sit down to, even if you're eating solo.
• Step on the scale daily: If your regular weight increases several days in a row, it's a red flag letting you know you need to cut back a little or beef up your workouts slightly.

                

• Sculpt 3 times a week:  Doing 5 minutes each of push-ups, lunges, and squats (in 30-second intervals) will help build and maintain muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be, so you'll torch more calories as you go about your day.
• Next time your mind gets stuck on a certain food, call a friend and redirect your brain by asking how her day's going. Research shows that cravings only last about 5 minutes, so by the time you hang up, the urge to devour junk will have subsided.                                      
• Hang a mirror opposite your seat at the table: One study found that eating in front of mirrors slashed the amount people ate by nearly one-third. Seems having to look yourself in the eye reflects back some of your own inner standards and goals, and reminds you of why you’re trying to lose weight in the first place.
• Surround yourself with blue: There’s a good reason you won’t see many fast-food restaurants decorated in blue: Believe it or not, the color blue functions as an appetite suppressant. So serve up dinner on blue plates, dress in blue while you eat, and cover your table with a blue tablecloth. Conversely, avoid red, yellow, and orange in your dining areas. Studies find they encourage
• Shoot your food: Rather than writing down every morsel, take a picture of it, and file the photos on your phone or computer by date. A visual account of your consumption may help you curb your intake. “Snapping photos and then looking back at them can make people stop and think before indulging,” nutritionist Joan Salge Blake says. It needn’t be a big production: your cell phone will do. Think about it: there you are at the salad bar, making a plate of vegetables. Don’t pat yourself on the back quite yet, though. A simple snapshot of your heaping dish may “show your extra helping of cheese or deep-fried croutons"
• Tie yourself up: You could try fitness guru Valerie Orsoni’s “Le Petit Secret”: “A number of French women wear a ribbon around their waist and underneath their clothes when they go out for dinner. It keeps them conscious of the tummy...particularly if the ribbon starts to feel tighter as the evening goes on!”

 Beware of the holidays. Holidays provide a great excuse to eat poorly. If you choose to do this, make sure you get back to the gym or back on your exercise plan immediately after