Prevent a Binge
Over 40 Ways to Prevent a Binge
Provided By Women's Health
When you're dieting, a growling tummy is like a wedding toast: The longer it lasts, the more dangerous it gets. But your hormones, not your gut, are really to blame for most binges. Ghrelin, which makes you hungry, and leptin, your primary appetite suppressor, are eternally battling it out. Preventing these hormones from going haywire is the key to reining in calories without always feeling ravenous. So dig in--we're giving you 50 ways to fill up and conquer the growling beast that is your stomach.
Shape up
Wedge-shaped foods like pizza make it difficult to estimate proper portions. (No wonder the apple pie always goes so fast.)
Find a new china pattern
Research shows that blue is a natural appetite suppressant, so using blue plates, napkins, or placemats may make you eat more slowly and realize when you're full.
Trade your corkscrew for a bottle opener
Participants in one study ate more food while drinking wine than while drinking beer.
Be antisocial
On average, people who eat with one other person consume about 35 percent more than when they dine alone; at a table of four, that figure rises to 75 percent more; if you're in a party of eight you'll nearly double your intake.
Ignore diet labels
One study found that after eating full-fat muffins, subjects were less hungry and ate less over the next 24 hours than after eating a fat-free version.
Re-paint your dining room beige
Red, yellow, and orange hues stimulate appetite and make you eat more.
Find berry treasure
Raspberries are one of the most fiber-filled fruits, packing 8 grams into a cupful--a whopping 32 percent of your RDA. Add some to your cereal or yogurt.
Getty Images
Hold your breath
Just smelling a fresh-baked cupcake in the break room can induce the insulin secretion that makes you think you're hungry. Sight activates the appetite snowball too, so avert your eyes.
Make a dinner date
A study found that women eat less than usual on dates (men tend to eat a lot more).
Recent Comments
xxNegativexCreep 01:59:49 PM Aug 17 2008
okay, while some of these are true..this went to far with the "get nauseated and bring your own barf bag". I suffer from eating disorders...and that's just messed up
C2DAC 09:39:32 AM Aug 03 2008
Wow, Let me see if I got this right. I need to get married to a man that I can not eat with (eat alone) in a beige dining room with the temperature on 90 degrees using new blue plates. I also have to make sure the lights are dim which I can not tell because my eyes are closed and I have to eat my low fat muffin with my left hand and hold my breath al at the same time. I guess you would lose weight because after all of this, the zoloft that your doctor prescribes for you will kill your appetite.
luckiespamx0x 08:10:03 PM Aug 01 2008
some of these ideas make sense but idk about the rollar coster and repainting my dining room and what not plus eating little meals here and there is better than eating 3 big meals anyways
Evilosamaobama 07:01:30 PM Jul 31 2008
I have one how about walking away from the table before your have to unstap your pants !
Ddupfree 12:29:32 PM Jul 31 2008
It always pisses me off to be suckered into these things by the headline....so what is the thing we're supposed to drink with every supper.. beer?
JEROLDRNP 11:16:15 AM Jul 31 2008
Now I know why America is a BORING COUNTRY, so is suburban life.this explaines the FAT population we got, a bunch of BORED people.
Jdjohns88 10:42:18 AM Jul 30 2008
Some of the points make sense. There are people who have eating disorders, and trying some of these methods might help if the person is not wanting to take pills or have some kind of gastric bypass surgery. There have been studies that show certain colors stimulate certain responses. For instance, hospital waiting rooms are painted a certain color because it elicits a calming effect. Eating bran has also been studied. Smelling food or seeing food can stimulate hunger, then you eat when your not really hungry. Nothing wrong with trying some of these things.
