10 easy ways to trick yourself into eating better, losing weight

By Brittany Anas

The two commandments of losing weight: Thou shalt eat healthy and thou shalt exercise. But, for those who can’t always follow missives written in stone, there are also little tips and tricks to dupe yourself into eating fewer calories and creating more well-rounded meals.

1. Clean out your car. We’re talking an all-out detail job. Vacuum the floor mats and seats. Shampoo away any stains. Polish the leather. Even use an aerosol keyboard cleaner to get the dust out of the crevices of your steering wheel. We guarantee when you’re driving a shiny, clean car you’ll be less likely stop for fast food because you won’t want taco crumbs or soda spills making a mess.

(Need a detailing kit? Click here for coupons and cash back offers at Auto Parts Warehouse).

2. Use veggies even when the recipe doesn’t call for them. Sneak in shaved carrots to your burger mixture, zucchini strips to your spaghetti sauce or butternut squash puree to a soup. The subtle addition will add flavor and boost the nutritional profile of your meal.

3. Include a piece of fruit or a vegetable with every meal and snack. Add a few slices of banana to your cereal, snack on crunchy celery sticks with your lunch and make sure your dinner plate is colorful. Even if you’re having a dessert — add in some fruit. The fiber in fruits and veggies will keep you from overeating.

4. Drink six glasses of water before reaching for a sugary drink or diet soda. This will help you be more cognizant of how much water you’re drinking and it will help you drink fewer calories. You should be drinking eight glasses of water a day.

Make it easy by carrying a water bottle with you wherever you go. This “Life is Good” Nalgene bottle from REI will help you keep count of how much water you’re drinking.

5. Sniff some peppermint. The aromatic leaves may actually help you lose weight. A 2009 study from Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia found that people who sniffed peppermint every couple of hours consumed fewer calories.

6. Set an alarm – to tell you to go to bed. Getting a solid seven to eight hours of sleep a night is a well-known aid to weight loss. But, we get it: Sometimes you can’t help but get sucked into household chores, a good book or another episode of Downton Abbey. Set an alarm 20 minutes before your bed time. That way you’ll know it’s time to unwind.

7. Use blue tablecloths. The color blue is said to be an appetite suppressant. We don’t see very many blue hues in our food. Unless you count Gushers. Or blueberries. So if covering our table in the color keeps calories at bay? We’re all over it.

Looking for new tabletop decor? We love this cherry Malena Medallion Table Runner from Pottery Barn.

8. Get rid of your “fat clothes.” When you reach your goal weight, get rid of the clothes that are too big for you. Don’t keep them around for “insurance” purposes. Be confident you won’t gain the weight back.

9. Eat before your stomach growls. When we’re super hungry, we tend to overeat. It takes about 20 minutes for our stomachs to tell our brains we’re full. So, slow down and take your time while you chew.

10. Tell jokes, go to a comedy show or watch a funny movie. Laughing makes your abs contract, it increases your circulation and happy people tend to make healthier lifestyle choices. No joke.

Wreck it Ralph is a cute movie you can watch with your whole family. Click here for coupons at Amazon.

Click here for free grocery coupons from ShopAtHome.com.

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About Brittany Anas

Brittany Anas is a newspaper reporter, which she says is basically like going on a professional scavenger hunt every day. She became hooked on fashion in the early 1990s when her mom sewed her a pair of MC Hammer pants and matching headband. Brittany lives in Denver, Colorado and loves spending time with her southern gentleman of a boyfriend and their pot-belly pig-gremlin mix that the rescue organization described as a “Boston Terrier.” She fancies polka dots, Detroit Pistons basketball and brunch. Brittany blogs at LoisLaneLifestyle.blogspot.com and Twitters from @BrittanyAnas. Find her on Pinterest or ping her on Google+.