5 little known tips that will help you shed the pounds

18 January 2018

Trying to shift weight can be tricky and arduous - and it really doesn't help that the Internet is littered with weight loss myths masquerading as fact. However, it turns out that there are some rather strange - or, at least, not entirely obvious - methods you can actually utilise successfully to shed that fat. Here are just a few facts that could have you gasping: "Well, I definitely didn't know that!"

Avoid foods with numbered ingredients

Have you ever looked at an ingredients list and saw an assortment of numbers, the meanings of which completely escape you? Well, those numbers aren't a brilliant sign; indeed, they usually indicate that the food has a lot of fat and preservatives.

That's according to the Los Angeles-based bariatric surgeon Dr Carson Liu. In words quoted by Live Science, he explains: "If you're trying to lose weight, it's very, very difficult to do so with processed foods, because they have so many carbs, sugars and hidden ingredients."

Don't limit your lunch to just a salad

You might be tempted to try lowering your calorie intake by tucking into only a salad at lunchtime. However, the San Francisco-based dietician Manuel Villacorta advises against this, instead recommending: "Have the salad, but have a sandwich with it, or a bowl of bean soup."

Though salad veggies are low-calorie, they also lack carbohydrates and so fail to reduce levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone. Therefore, carb-rich foods like fruits, pasta and grains shouldn't be completely overlooked.

Make sure you are getting enough sleep

If you aren't getting at least five hours of sleep nightly, you are 73% likely to become obese. However, if your tally of sleep hours is between five and six, those chances would be just 27%.

Apparently, the previously-mentioned ghrelin is the culprit. Villacorta explains that getting sufficient slumber is crucial "because ghrelin increases when you sleep less. If you're lacking sleep because you're going to the gym instead, I'd rather you go less to the gym. Sleep your seven hours."

Keep yourself in a blue environment

Feeling blue? That can actually be good - as, according to Reader's Digest, this colour suppresses appetite. Research has revealed that when in a blue room, people consume 33% less food. Apparently, it's the bluish light that makes the food look less succulent.

Sniff an apple, banana or peppermint

This is backed by research conducted by Dr Alan R Hirsch of the Chicago-based Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation. In a study with 3,000 volunteers, he found that hunger pangs were less common when people sniffed one of the above forms of food more frequently.

Each of the sniffing participants also lost more weight - about 30 pounds on average. It isn't obvious why, but it has been theorised that sniffing brings the same kind of satisfaction as eating the food. When you do eat food, however, you can stick to healthier habits taught at the weight loss boot camps for which our staff at Prestige Boot Camp are responsible.