For years, the only quick and easy way to get rid of fat was liposuction, making it the most popular plastic surgery in the country.
But following this week's announcement that lipo is essentially a waste (MDs discovered that the fat almost always returns within a year), we went looking for other options. (OK, we also wanted to suss out alternative lb-dropping techniques since the idea of getting flab sucked out during elective surgery just does not sound appealing.)
Related: 8 Foods That Keep You Slim All Season
Luckily, weight-loss researchers have apparently been working overtime because there are lots of new ways to get slim. And best of all, none of them involves depriving yourself, drinking gag-inducing shakes, or making the gym your second home. Start clicking for the genius moves.
1. Chug water before each meal. Subjects in a Virginia Tech study who drank two glasses of H20 before eating consumed fewer calories and lost more weight compared to those who skipped the hydrating step. "We think the water helped them better manage their hunger and contributed to feeling full," explained Brenda Davy, PhD, RD, Associate Professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise at the university. And on top of making you feel full, drinking agua could very well keep you from consuming high-calorie beverages during meals since you will have already quenched your thirst.Related: Lose Weight While Watching TV
2. Eat nuts We love a weight loss tip that calls for noshing on fatty delicious food. In a small-scale study, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a hospital in Boston affiliated with Harvard Medical School, found that when subjects ate walnuts at breakfast, they felt more satiated than those who didn't snack on nuts. In fact, the walnuts were so filling that hours later, at lunch time the people in the study reported still feeling full. That's partly because nuts don't have carbs, which tend to cause surges in blood sugar. Without going into the whole scientific explanation, when blood sugar levels spike, it sends a message to our bodies that we should start storing fat. This leads to packing on pounds and, in some extreme cases, the onset of diabetes.
3. Ditch see-through food containers. Outta sight, outta your mouth. That's the conclusion Cornell University scientists drew after observing that subjects ate 70 percent more candy when the sweets were stored in a clear jar versus an opaque one. So keep tempting snacks and anything high-calorie in a nontransparent container (at home and on your desk at work) or tucked away where you won't see them, like at the back of the fridge or in cabinets behind, say, a stack of canned lima beans.
4. Snack on seaweed. This sushi restaurant staple, which is sold in most high-end grocery stores and specialty food stores, was found to reduce the amount of fat absorbed by your body. Researchers say the pudge-blocking quality is thanks to a certain kind of fiber in the seaweed. Just keep in mind that it's often served loaded up with salt, which can make you retain water and look puffy. Avoid getting bloated by buying totally naked seaweed (look for it in the frozen foods aisle) or asking your server to make sure your dish has no salt added.
Related: Fast Food That Won't Make You Fat
5. Go to the gym before work. Research out of a McMaster University study claims the brainpower we use up during a crazy day at work makes us lose the will to do anything else, like yep, exercise. So people who put off working out till the end of the day are much less likely to end up doing it. Plus, hitting the Elliptical (or the pavement or the 6 a.m. Pilates class) wakes you up and may even keep you more invigorated throughout the rest of your day.
6. Turn down the heat. It's still chilly enough at night that you might be turning up your thermostat before getting into bed. Well, experts say you might want to reconsider that. Researcher learned that when people are exposed to slightly chilly conditions (think: in the 60s), a process called non-shivering thermogenesis kicks in. And that causes your body to burn calories — around 100 to 200 a day!
7. Spice up your food with pepper. Adding a teaspoon of cayenne red pepper to what you eat throughout the day can increase how many calories you burn and squash hunger pangs, specifically for fatty, sugary, and salty foods, according to a brand-new study from Purdue University as reported on Time.com. Keep the spice on hand (we love using it to add flavor to anything from chicken and rice to soup) and when you go out for Thai or Mexican, order something with the little hot pepper icon next to it on the menu. That's often a sign cayenne red pepper is an ingredient.
Read more at Cosmopolitan.com!
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- The Latest Weight Loss News You Need To Know
- The Lazy Girl's Way to Lose Weight
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