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If you're eating as you are reading this, chances are you need this more than anyone else.
Yesterday we brought you this excerpt from Fitho.com founders Dhruv Gupta and Prachi Gupta's book, Losing it.
Today we bring you the second part of the extract with kind permission from Macmillan India. Read on!
How to control snacking in-between meals
Many people eat three healthy meals with the right portions and balanced nutrition but they still don't lose weight. Instead, they actually gain weight, and it makes them wonder why.
Turns out, the problem is their habit of snacking between meals.
You know that eating three meals is a healthy eating pattern that is convenient and gives your body a chance to burn fat.
When you snack in between those meals, you slow down the fat-burning process.
But the biggest trouble with in-between snacking is that when you crave a snack, it is hard to find fruit or salad easily.
Also, since the craving is driven more by your brain's greed more than your body's need to eat, junk food hits the spot, instantly satisfying hunger pangs.
Gradually, these small food breaks stop having the same satiating effect.
After some time the portion size increases, giving way to more food cravings and developing a constant need to eat something.
Most of the times this snacking is psychological, as in we condition ourselves to feeling hungry even after having proper meals.
Here are some ways to keep the hunger pangs in control:
Not having meals on time is a big factor in making you feel hungry at odd times.
Your body likes to follow a pattern of feeding.
But if you feed it at random times, your body/brain will push you to eat more than a usual meal.
Time your meals and eat food with high fibre and protein to keep you feeling fuller.
People who don't have a balanced and satisfying breakfast often binge on junk food at odd times.
The lack of satisfaction from the previous meal makes the brain desire more calories.
Have a good, nutritious breakfast to avoid this.
Next time you feel hungry at an odd time, wait for 15-20 minutes.
Let the feeling pass.
Often, a 'fake hunger craving' will die down after a few minutes.
Often, the lack of water in the body sends the message of hunger to the brain, making you want to eat more.
Drink a tall glass of water, wait for some time and see if you are still feeling hungry or not.
Sometimes people look at food as a substitute for boredom or loneliness.
Perhaps instead of turning to food you can look at activities or hobbies to get you involved and keep you busy.
Following this will definitely help you control your in-between-meals snacking, and you can lose weight more easily.
Control post-dinner snacking
Snacking on a little something after dinner is something that we've all done.
The problem with snacking post dinner is that it has a strong correlation with weight gain, and makes it tougher for you to lose weight.
Eating after dinner adds extra calories to your body at a time when it is not required.
Late-night munching is an acquired habit that one may get psychologically addicted to: it can become a cycle of bingeing on high-calorie food like ice cream, chips, chocolate and other junk food post dinner.
At Fitho, we find that over 50 per cent of the people who sign up for weight loss indulge in such snacking.
They find it hard to stop until they know how to!
Besides making you gain weight, late-night munching hampers your sleep and makes you feel drowsy during the day.
Research suggests that late-night cravings can have effects on your heart health and may make you look older than you are.
Some tips that can help you manage the habit are given below.
More than your body needing it, your brain is used to late-night snacking.
Post dinner, it starts sending signals to you, making you crave a snack.
A simple way to avoid this is to drink some water instead, or have a cup of herbal tea.
Staying hungry through the day, skipping meals or just not eating enough can also make you crave food late at night.
Your body is used to a daily requirement of calories.
And if it does not get its daily dose, it makes you eat whatever comes your way.
So, try to ensure that you eat your three meals daily.
If you are trying to lose weight as well as to avoid late-night snacking, you could also just try diverting your mind and taking your dog for a walk.
Not only will it help you avoid the extra calories, it will also help you burn some while you are at it!
Eat high-fibre food at dinner and it will keep you fuller for longer.
A late-night munching habit will not disappear overnight, but if you regulate your routine and control your urges you will be able to break this habit within 2-3 weeks.
So, get started now.
How to control food portions
Food portions have increased tremendously over the years.
Whether it is larger meals or just larger portions, it is showing on our bodies, and is the state of urban India's health.
India is projected to be the world capital of lifestyle disorders like heart disease, diabetes and obesity in the next few years.
Lack of portion control is probably the biggest hurdle for most people in achieving long-term weight loss.
To help you control portions, here are some tips that can come in handy:
Use smaller plates and bowls
When you eat in a smaller plate, it looks fuller with lesser food.
As a result, you pile up less food on it and eat less.
Only serve on your plate 75 per cent of your current meal
Eat that much and wait 10-15 minutes before you serve yourself more. Humans are physiologically and socially compulsive eaters, and if we see more food, we will eat more food and vice versa.
Avoid eating straight from the package
Package sizes for all foods are growing -- from chips to ice cream, to anything else that we eat.
When you eat straight from the packet, it's hard to keep track of how much you're really eating.
So, serve yourself in a cup or bowl, and then eat.
Read the nutrition label
Read how many servings come in a pack and what constitutes a single serving.
For example, the nutrition label on a packet of chips normally shows about 110 calories, which isn't that much.
But each regular packet of chips is about five servings.
So, one packet of chips is 550-600 calories, which is a significant portion of your daily calorie intake.
Resist buying supersized meals or packs
The larger the serving (or packaging), the more you will be tempted to eat.
When eating out, visualise a deck of cards for your portion of meat, fish or poultry (about three ounces); 4 stacked dice for cubes of cheese (about one ounce).
Load up on all the vegetables that you can get!
Remember that controlling your portion size is the key to controlling your weight.
Excerpted with permission of Macmillan India from the book Losing it by Dhruv Gupta and Prachi Gupta Rs 250
Photograph: Rishi Bandopadhay/Creative Commons
Image used here for representational purposes only