An idle mind is the diet’s playground. Boredom often leads you to food. Sitting, mindlessly stuffing snacks in your face doesn’t really satisfy your needs. You may even end up feeling guilty later and that will depress you and you’ll eat some more to feel better. Get busy! I’m sure you’ve had those days when you simply forget to eat, or grab something quick. Make sure when that happens that you eat high quality protein. It will recharge your brain and boost your metabolism. Evenings? Take up a hobby, clean the house, even search the internet. It will keep your hands doing something besides reaching in a bag of calories.
TODAY: KEEP BUSY MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY.
Okay, let’s say you’re being good all day. You watch how much you eat, keep the calories and carbs low, drink lots of water and even… wait for it… EXERCISE! But then it gets to be evening time and you get hungry and blow it. Well, maybe it has to do with when you eat dinner. Those early-bird specials are great but… they’re EARLY. If you stay up till the late news you have a third of your day to go. Even if you eat right after work, there is a lot of time till bed. That’s why you get hungry. So shift your dinner a bit later and you’ll be less tempted. Of course, don’t get too hungry before dinner. Have a hand-full of almonds or macadamias and a big glass of water. It will take the edge off and keep you from wanting bigger portions later. So eat late but don’t over eat.
TODAY: EAT DINNER A LITTLE LATER.
You’re going to be tempted by all the grocery sales leading up to Sunday. Take this time to step back, evaluate what’s in the pantry and tackle changing the way you eat. Do you still have treats left over from Christmas? I bet if you even look closely you’ll find some candy corn and Easter eggs in the stash. It’s time to purge the high calorie stuff. I know, I know, it’s painful. But think of the pain in your knees and start replacing things in your diet that have lead you to putting on the pounds. You don’t have to give up things entirely. Just enjoy less of it. Don’t let snacks be a meal. Fill up on protein and raw veggies, then give yourself a much smaller treat that you can enjoy without guilt or remorse. With just a few changes you will be able take your diet all.. the… way!
TODAY: CLEAR YOUR PANTRY OF LEFTOVER SNACKS.
One of the ways to avoid being hungry at night is to eat more during the day. Of course you don’t over eat. You eat a balanced number of reasonable meals throughout the day. You have probably heard that eating a small amount of high protein food every three hours is a good way to curb cravings and keep your metabolism revved up. If you haven’t… you have now. If you have… do it.
TODAY: EAT LESS… MORE OFTEN.
Night-time snacking can destroy the gains… rather… losses that you make during a day of being “good”. This week I’ll share some tips to help you stay on course and skip the desert course. So here goes.
Clean your teeth. Yes good oral hygiene is essential. Bad teeth can lead to all sorts of health problems. So this tip will help you in two ways. Right after dinner brush your teeth with mint toothpaste or swish some sweet cinnamon mouthwash. It will tell your brain you are done eating for the day while satisfying a sweet craving. If you want to insure that you won’t go ahead and eat again anyway, FLOSS. You won’t be tempted to hassle with it and you’ll really impress your hygienist the next time you get your teeth cleaned. As a plus you’ll have a really nice smile when you step on the scale!
TODAY: BUY A NEW TOOTHBRUSH.
It gets tough to make it through evenings without snacking. You’re watching TV and it’s constantly tempting us with commercials for food. I think you get more aware of those when you’re dieting. But remember, we’re not really “dieting” we’re changing our eating habits. If you give in and go for high calorie low value foods in the evening you’re on a slippery slope. Go for some veggies if you really must eat something, but don’t just bring a tub of the ones you’ve cut up earlier. Measure out how many you eat. That way you’re not mindlessly putting it in your mouth.
Remember you may not actually be hungry. The brain can confuse thirst with hunger. Try a glass of water first. If you can avoid eating anything and suppress the cravings, you will have achieved a small victory. After all if you can push through and not eat anything, you’ll be going to bed soon anyway. You’re never hungry when you sleep. I know when I do that, I actually feel slimmer in the morning. Even if it’s only a little bit.
TODAY: AVOID EATING A SNACK IN THE EVENING.
I don’t chew gum. I’ve never seen the point to it. As a matter of fact I have a tendency to swallow it because it seems like the logical thing to do after chewing something for a while. But that’s changed recently. I’ve found that it actually is very satisfying in place of an evening desert. My current favorite is the Ice Cubes mango, kiwi cooler but there are plenty of flavor choices in no calorie gum so it shouldn’t get boring for a while. So far I’ve even resisted swallowing.
TODAY: TAKE A BRISK WALK (DON’T STROLL) TWO TIMES
Daily Nag, Tips & Tricks | Diet Nag | 
February 7, 2011 6:34 am | 
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