Okay, being on a weight loss diet is boring. And the sight of carrot sticks and low“fat dip may make you want to scream. But if you want to achieve weight loss, you have to do the work. No healthy person wakes up suddenly ten or fifteen pounds lighter and doesn’t know how it happened. Feel like you need some tips to help you on those days when all you can think about is sitting down with a bag of chips, diet and weight loss forgotten? Here are some fun (and sneaky) ways to keep those food cravings under control.
Give yourself a manicure whenever you feel like cheating on your diet.
If you give yourself the full treatment – base layer, two coats of color, top coat – your cravings to hop off your diet will have passed by the time those nails are dry.
Get a tan.
Applying a self tanner will make your body look sleeker (it even helps camouflage cellulite), and looking slimmer may help you make the right diet decisions. This is another great way to pass the time while waiting for cravings to pass.
Whiten your teeth.
Apply some whitening strips or gel to your teeth. You can’t cheat on your diet while you’re whitening, so by the time your pearls are sparkling the cravings will be gone. If you don’t have any whitening products available, just give your mouth a treat by brushing with a little baking soda.
Get a trim.
Your hairstylist should be able to advise you on a style that will flatter your face and make it look slimmer. Plus a new hairstyle (or even a blow-out) is always a self-esteem booster, making you want to stay on your diet and fight those cravings.
Upload a photo of yourself and use software to enhance your picture to make yourself look slimmer.
If you have gained some weight you may have forgotten how great you looked slimmer. This is a super way to keep your diet on track, and help beat cravings (don’t forget to print the photo out).
When you are out to lunch or dinner, practice taking one bite for every two bites your dining companion takes.
This is an easy way to keep from giving in to cravings and slipping off your diet, since studies have shown people eat more when they are dining out.
Find pictures of yourself at the weight you would like to be, and tape them up beside pictures of yourself at the weight you are at now.
This will remind you that you can lose the weight, and why you are dieting in the first place. When cravings strike, looking at the photos will let you remember that weight loss is not impossible, and that a diet is not forever.
Chew gum while you are cooking meals and packing your lunch, snacks, etc.
This will keep you from giving in to cravings and adding extra calories to your diet, calories that you probably won’t remember or enjoy.
Work for your snacks.
If you really want to take a break from your diet (and who doesn’t?), play a game with yourself and earn your snacks. If you want to go out for ice cream, you have to dust your whole apartment. Or wash your car (or your dog.) Trading a little activity for a little indulgence every now and then will make your dieting easier. This in turn keeps cravings from striking, since you are treating yourself now and then.
Phone Chatty Cathy.
You know those times when you are standing in front of the freezer with a spoon in your hand, diet forgotten? Now is the time to phone that friend, cousin, sister who never wants to stop talking. By the time you get off the phone your cravings will be long gone.
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