trip people up, Diekman says.
Be in the moment, taking in the sight, scent and taste of your food.
Keeping a food journal can help you become more aware of what you’re actually eating, she adds.
Timing
When to eat a bigger meal or to stop eating continues to be a topic of debate.
A study published recently in the journal Cell Metabolism looked at whether it mattered for weight loss if people ate a large breakfast, medium-sized lunch and small dinner, or the inverse. It didn’t. However, the big breakfast eaters did stay fuller throughout the day.
“Hunger is one of the main reasons that people fail to comply to a weight-loss or calorie-restricted diet,” study author Alexandra Johnstone, from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, said at the time. “So, if we have diet strategies that can help control hunger, then it would be beneficial in the real world.”
The AARP suggests picking an earlier evening time to quit eating for the day, to prevent eating less healthy food at night when you’re tired.
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Sleep, plateaus and medications
Sleep can affect hunger and satiety hormones, Diekman adds. Not getting enough sleep can make it harder to lose weight. At least five to six hours minimum a night are necessary.
Sometimes, a person who has been consistently losing weight will reach a “plateau,” where the weight stops coming off.
Reasons can include losing water weight at first, according to the Mayo Clinic. Muscle loss may also result in slowing metabolism.
Solutions can include increasing exercise and/or decreasing calories.
Some medications may also prevent weight loss, so talk to your doctor if you think that’s happening to you, the AARP suggests.
“Bottom line: diets don’t work. It is about finding the foods you like, in the right portions, distributed throughout the day, to keep you full and to enjoy what you’re eating,” Diekman concludes.