How to Trick Your Mind into Eating Less

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If you’re struggling with portion control, the following tips can help limit your food intake.

Brush Your Teeth After Every Meal

Brushing your teeth after every meal is a huge pain in the neck. And yet, that’s precisely the point. You’ll think twice about snacking throughout the day if you know you have to brush your teeth every single time. This tip is designed to limit you to eating only three meals a day.

Drink Water Before Each Meal

Believe it or not, often times when we feel hungry, we’re actually just thirsty. Drinking water before a meal automatically makes us feel fuller and prevents the bloated feeling we get when we overeat. Plus, drinking water before a meal helps your body digest food more easily.

Use Smaller Plates

By nature, we can’t help but want to fill empty spaces. That’s why we pile way too much food onto large plates. Using smaller plates tricks our mind into thinking there’s more food on the plate than there actually is.

Wait 20 Minutes Before Going Back for Seconds

Most of the time when we overeat, it’s because we didn’t give our body enough time to let us know that it’s full. It takes time for the body to process food and if we’re not patient, we’ll end up overstuffing ourselves. Waiting 20 minutes before grabbing seconds will help give your body the time it needs to digest what it’s been given.

Practice Mindful Eating

Mindful eating means focusing on the taste, texture, and smell of our food. It means taking the time to fully savor each bite. When we eat in front of the TV, it diverts our attention away from our food to whatever is happening on screen. It mutes the full signal that our body sends to us. A quick easy fix to this problem is to limit distractions while eating.