Trying to lose those pesky kilos you gained during the lockdown? Well, the eat less, exercise more mantra is something you hear ALL the time. And the words, “weight loss” can have you imagining all sorts of things from you eating sad salads to you sweating on an elliptical. But, let’s get this straight, the first rule about weight loss is to not talk about weight loss. 

By changing up a few things here and there, you can trick your body into being healthy without living at the gym, dieting, or feeling like you’re making major lifestyle changes.

Whether you succeed at losing weight or not often has much less to do with the latest diet fad and much more to do with all the small decisions you make each day when it comes to food and drinks.

Try a few of these science-backed tricks that’ll help you maintain a healthy weight all year long :

1. Let there be light darkness

A Cornell study found that people who had food under a soft, dim light consumed fewer calories than those who ate in a brightly lit room. Participants in the study who ate under mood lighting enjoyed their meals more and ate about 18% less food than those who munched in a well-lit room.

This means that the amount of light in your dining hall affects how much you eat. So, switch off the harsh fluorescent lights and light up those romantic candles for dinnertime (even if it’s dinner for one!)

2. Step away from the screen

Yes, we all love dinner and a movie. Or finding that perfect Netflix series to watch while having your meals. A study by the University of Birmingham found that distracted eaters consume about 10% more food. 

So, our tip? avoid screen time during meals. Turn off your television, or close your laptop or phone so you don’t eat mindlessly. This will help you avoid overeating when you’re not paying attention.

Concentrate on your food and its flavors instead and you’ll also enjoy your meal more, too!

(You can also let ACTIVeat take care of your meals for you!)

3. Wear those elastic pants

We all have those pants with fitted waistbands at the very back of our closet, that are too uncomfortable to wear but too nice to throw away. You have to get them out now!

So, ditch those comfy pajamas during meal times and wear those fitted pants that can remind you when you’ve had enough to eat.

4. Grab a wink and a drink

You tend to feel hungrier when you’re sleep-deprived and exhausted. A study by Mayo clinic shows that less than 6.5 hours of sleep every night can cause an excess of about 500 kcals a day. Another study by the University of Tubingen showed that sleeping less can increase levels of appetite hormones like ghrelin, so you eat more when you sleepless.

And the longer you stay up, the more calories you consume. That means that just a few simple tweaks to your p.m. routine can mean serious weight loss success. So, get in a good shut-eye every night so you are more rested and well, less hungry.

Become a hydro homie! Drink plenty of water while you’re at it too. Not only will your skin thank you for it, but you’ll also feel less hungry and be satisfied with smaller portions of food. So, before you feel like munching, start with one glass of water.

According to a study published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, people who drank three extra cups of water per day ate an average of 205 fewer calories than people who drank the standard 4.2 cups of water per day. The hydro homies also consumed less sugar, fat, sodium, and cholesterol.

5. Shoot your food

You might not want to obsessively count your calories and write them down. But you can definitely take pictures of what you eat on your phone. Seeing is believing, so sometimes if you see what you’ve eaten in a day, it can help you put your eating habits in perspective.

Nutritionist Joan Salge Blake, the author of Nutrition & You, says that snapping pictures of food and looking back at them can make people stop and think before indulging.

Conclusion

With these sneaky tricks at your disposal, you can trick yourself to make healthier choices without putting in much of an effort at all!

The best way could also be to subscribe to the ACTIVeat meal plan (we may be biased here!), put your health in the hands of our team, so we plan your macros and calories while you plan on wearing that swimsuit on the beach, just in case we are ever allowed to leave our houses again.