Can slimming down be as easy as cleaning your desk and paying with cash? Keep reading to learn how these and other surprising habits can help you meet your weight loss goals.
1. Clean Up
Tidy up your workspace and you may be less tempted to snack on sweets for a mid-day boost. In one experiment, participants completed questionnaires either in clean, orderly office or a cluttered one. Afterward, they were given the choice between chocolate or an apple on their way out. It turned out that working in a clean room encouraged people to “do what was expected of them,” choosing the healthy apple over the sweets.
2. Look in the Mirror
Take a long, hard look in the mirror before reaching for the second helping of dessert…you may just decide to put down the pie, research shows. Chalk it up to self awareness theory—when people engage in self-focused attention, they tend to compare their behavior to their own internal standards. One of two things happens if they fall short—they either improve their behavior to meet their standards, or, more often, they withdraw from self-awareness. Eating in a room with a mirror, one study showed, keeps people focused on self-awareness, leading them to eat fewer high-fat foods.
3. Organize Your Fridge
You’re three times more likely to take the first item you see out of the fridge than anything else, Dr. Brian Wansink tells Woman‘s Day. So make it easy for yourself to choose the healthy stuff—stock the top and middle shelves with low-calorie drinks, fruits, and veggies. And make use of those crisper drawers for snacks, soda, and dessert. It’s out of sight, out of mind when it comes to tasty temptations, Dr. Wansink explains.
4. Pay with Cash
Start paying with cash instead of a credit card for meals and you may just choose healthier ones. Cornell University researchers found that students at schools with cash-only cafeterias chose healthier options than students at schools with debit-only cafeterias. They also bought 20 percent more veggies, chose less sweets, and ate 31 percent fewer calories than students paying with debit cards. And it’s not just students—other studies have shown that adults using credit cards tend to spend more on food higher in sugar, fat, salt.
5. Text Your Progress
Forget the tedious food and exercise journal—staying on track with your weight loss goals can be as easy and quick as texting. A study that followed women’s weight loss efforts for six months found that women who used daily texting as part of their plans lost nearly three pounds. Meanwhile, women who stuck with traditional methods actually gained over two pounds. Consider adopting this as part of your own slim-down plan—text updates to weight loss buddy instead of keeping track solo.
