posted
02/1/12
If you’re like most guys, you wouldn’t mind losing 5 to 10 pounds. And if you’re like some guys, you wouldn’t mind pulling a Jonah Hill and going all the way from Fat Joe to Slim Shady. Either way, the key to weight loss is calorie reduction. So here are six simple ways to cut massive calories from your diet, including one that can chop 50,000, the equivalent of 14 pounds, in a year. The best part is, you can still eat (most) of your favorite foods. Follow these tips closely and you’ll be sittin’ skinny soon.
1. Use Smaller Plates and Bowls
I call it “Regression to Progression.” Regress back to the way you ate as a child, when everything was served to you in tiny portions. Which means, first of all, never eat directly out of a food container, like a carton of ice cream or a bag of chips. You’ll end up finishing the whole thing. Instead, put that scoop of Ben & Jerry’s in a bowl. And secondly, make it a small bowl. Why? Because people eat whatever’s in front of them. If you fill up a large plate with food, you’ll eat too much and feel stuffed. But if you fill up a small plate, you’ll eat just enough and feel energized.
Not only do they add flavor, the right spices will raise your metabolism by 20 percent—a huge, calorie-shredding amount—for up to three hours. They’ll also reduce your appetite.
2. In Fact, Use Smaller Blue Plates and Bowls
The color blue is a natural appetite suppressant. (Think about it: not many foods are blue. Other than, OK, blueberries.) So go get a whole bunch of small blue plates and bowls at your local superstore and start serving yourself on these. Their blueness will naturally calm you down and make you feel less hungry. If you want to be an overachiever, go ahead and use blue utensils as well.
3. Pound the Spices
Do yourself a favor: add spices like cayenne pepper, jalapeño peppers, hot mustard and ginger to your meals. (Yes, even your precious Eggs Benedict.) Not only do they add flavor, those spices will raise your metabolism by 20 percent—a huge, calorie-shredding amount—for up to three hours. They’ll also reduce your appetite. And gingerol, the active ingredient in ginger, increases the amount of fat released from your fat stores to be burned as fuel. So start building up your spice rack today.
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