5 Stupid Weight Loss Ideas….That WORK

Here’s a list of five weight loss strategies that sound pretty stupid on the surface, but don’t be too quick to rush to judgment. I was skeptical too…until I tried them. Now I use all 5 of these strategies fairly regularly. Hope you find them helpful too!

1. Finishers

Think after dinner mint. When have you been trained to eat these? AT THE END OF THE MEAL. Therefore, it’s not a huge challenge to train yourself to use some other food you like as a finisher for your meals. If it works for you, a mint is an excellent choice, but we know of people who use vegetables (because it’s different than the sweet dessert they just ate), a few mini chocolate covered pretzels, or a whole wheat piece of bread with cinnamon on it.

[box type=”note”]The options are endless, but be sure it’s not a food that you tend to overeat so you can eat a small portion and know you are “finished” with that meal.[/box]

2. Fiber Finisher

Same concept as finishers, but you specifically choose a high fiber source as your finisher. High fiber crackers, bread or vegetables are all possibilities, but the most effective high fiber source we know of is a serving of Metamucil mixed in water.

It sends just the right message to your body and metabolism to get that food processed and any excess out of your system rather than store it as fat. Plus, taken with a full glass of water even the biggest of eaters won’t want more food after drinking Metamucil (not that I would know anything about this personally or anything).  :-)

3. Brush Your Teeth

Same concept as a finisher but you brush your teeth as the signal that your meal is over rather than eating a predefined food. The simple act of cleaning your teeth, and replacing the smells and tastes of your meal with minty fresh toothpaste almost always get the job done.

[box type=”important”]WARNING: Can’t use this strategy more than once or twice per day or you will wear the enamel off your teeth![/box]

4. Freeze it

Got to give the wife credit for this one. Mrs. EET likes to freeze everything, from turkey to bread to Mr. EET’s favorite blonde brownies. The key is that she would freeze the food in our typical portions. I used to hate the idea of thawing my treats before being eating them, until I came to realize that I was taking a serving, leaving the rest frozen and not even thinking about eating more after I was done.

On those times I do want more, it means I have to wait for the next portion to thaw and either I don’t have the time or the patience. In some cases the food does lose a little of it’s flavor, but more often than not it still tastes great (some blonde brownies I ate last week come to mind ) :-), and it makes fun foods like sweets all the more enjoyable knowing there’s almost no way I’m gonna overeat my normal, plenty generous portions. Never thought I’d see the day, but now I find myself throwing any leftover desert in the freezer.

5. The “One Per Day” Rule

Most people already know this one, they just don’t realize it.

You’ve been part of the following conversation right? “Mom can I open up the box of Donuts?” “Okay but only take ONE”. Turns out this is an excellent weight loss strategy, and with practice, it’s easier to follow than you think.

Simply allow yourself one serving of any particular food each day. Notice I didn’t say anything about how many different foods you can eat, I simply said to limit yourself to one serving of each food. What’s a serving you ask? It’s definitely NOT what’s defined on the nutrition label or by the geniuses at “portion control central” who believe a “cassette tape” size piece of bread is a legit serving. Whatever. See how your life changes when you practice using the following definition of a “serving”.

A serving is your normal reasonable portion that satisfies you and eliminates the risk of feeling deprived or binging.

For example, this strategy is a winner at events like Super Bowl parties. So many different types of food. If you apply the one per day rule, you can eat one serving of each and every food on the table as long as you don’t eat more than one serving of any particular food. This is the same basic strategy you can use with the foods around your house.

You definitely won’t go hungry with this one, but it will stop you from pigging out on your “kryptonite” foods that can really harm your weight loss efforts if you have no plan to control them.

Let me again add that the one per day rule takes PRACTICE to be effective. Be patient, and over time you’ll train yourself use it effectively to lose weight while eating all sorts of foods!

You might one to give one or more of these five stupid ideas a try if you are serious about losing weight. And, if you have any other stupid weight loss ideas send ‘em my way (post in comments or email me), because you never know when the next “stupid” idea will help you lose five more pounds, or keep the weight you’ve lost off with less sacrifice and deprivation.