10 kitchen tips to keep you slim

10 quick ways to make your kitchen diet-friendly

With its fridge and cupboards full of tempting treats, sometimes the kitchen can seem like a dangerous place to be when you’re trying to lose weight. However, with a few subtle kitchen changes you can equip yourself for better diet success. Here are our top 10 kitchen tips to help you stay slim.

Keep healthy foods visible...

A study by researchers at Cornell University found that we are three times more likely to eat the first item we see in the kitchen than the fifth, meaning that keeping healthy food visible could aid your dieting goals. Try to make healthy food options more accessible by ensuring they are as appealing and convenient as possible, as well as making them visible and easy to find. Leave out a colourful fruit bowl, prepare a salad in advance, and put some chopped veggies at the front of your fridge, for example.

... And move ‘bad’ foods out of sight

Just as putting healthy foods in a prominent position can help your diet, it follows that the opposite is also true. While it may be best to avoid buying junk food completely, if you must stock up on the odd treat make sure they are hidden away at the back of cupboards to help prevent cravings. By making these foods a little more difficult to get to (store them behind piles of tins, in high cupboards or in locked drawers – whatever helps), you will also prevent mindless snacking and give yourself some thinking time to decide whether you really want to give in to temptation.

Get some fridge-spiration

To help stay motivated in the face of your cravings, try transforming your fridge from a source of temptation into an inspirational reminder of your progress so far. Consider sticking your favourite photograph of yourself on your fridge for a positive reminder of why you should resist those cravings next time you’re tempted to hit the fridge. Alternatively, stick on a motivational quote or a handwritten note to yourself listing five good reasons not to binge.

Opt for small, blue serving dishes

While many of us think we are eating standard portion sizes, this is in fact not always the case. To help reduce your temptation to overeat, try swapping your plates, bowls, glasses and cutlery for smaller ones, which will help control your serving sizes as well as how quickly you eat. Also, while you are making the switch, think about opting for a blue color scheme for your crockery, as blue is thought to act as an appetite suppressant.

Set aside an eating area

Whether you eat your meals in the kitchen or a separate dining room, it is important to set aside an area with a table where you can sit down and eat. Furthermore, it is important to ensure you actually sit there. Make it a rule never to eat out of packets or standing up and you will find that this drastically reduces your tendency to overeat. The process of putting food on a plate and sitting down to eat it not only reduces the tendency to mindlessly pick at food, it also increases your awareness of what – and how much – you are eating, and may make you think twice about doing it.

Spice up your kitchen

Your cupboards and fridge may be packed with healthy items, but how’s your spice rack looking? You might not class it as a kitchen essential, but if you’re looking to cut calories in your meals it can help to keep a well-stocked herb and spice rack. Not only does adding herbs and seasonings to your meals add flavoring to your food without extra calories, but spices such as cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper and ginger can actually help to promote weight loss.

Keep your kitchen tidy

If you’re lacking motivation to cook, it may be that your kitchen’s to blame. Cluttered worktops and messy cupboards hardly act as an incentive to start whipping up a gourmet delight so, if you have to clear a path to the oven or forge through piles of half-opened packets of food to get to what you want, it may be time to give your kitchen a makeover. Treat your kitchen as a place for food preparation – rather than a rubbish dump, mailroom or storage space – and you may be more inspired to reach for the wooden spoon rather than a takeaway menu the next time hunger strikes.

Impose a TV ban

If you’re one of the large number of people who prefers to eat their meals in front of a TV or computer screen, then you could be sabotaging your diet without even realizing it. According to research findings published in the British Journal of Nutrition, eating when distracted can cause you to ignore signals from your body that you’ve had enough, leading you to eat more than you normally would. To help cut your calorie intake, make sure you keep distracting items such as the television out of your eating area, and try to keep the two activities separate.

Set kitchen “closing hours”

To help cut the amount of food you are consuming, it is helpful to make the kitchen out-of-bounds once you have finished your evening meal. Move anything you may need during those hours out of the kitchen (and no, this doesn’t include chocolate!), then turn off the light and close the door as a reminder to yourself that the kitchen is now closed. While you will still need to rely on your own willpower to stick to these rules, this should help reduce mindless snacking and trips to the kitchen next time you’re feeling bored.

Kill your cravings with vanilla

If you struggle to resist sugar cravings following your evening meal, it may be worth investing in a vanilla-scented air freshener or candle for your kitchen. A study at St George’s hospital, south London, found that using vanilla-scented patches on the back of participants’ hands significantly reduced their appetite for sweet foods and drinks.  It is thought that this is due to the smell of vanilla, which is believed to help suppress sweet cravings.
https://www.realbuzz.com/articles/10-kitchen-tips-to-keep-you-slim/ 

 

10 Foods all Women Should Eat.

10 essential foods for female health

While there are some foods we should all be eating more of, men and women also have their own set of dietary requirements as well as their own unique health concerns. Here are ten foods that women should eat.

Female-friendly food 1: Tomatoes

Another vibrant carotenoid beneficial for women's health is lycopene, a pigment found in tomatoes. Studies have suggested that lycopene may be effective in preventing breast cancer. Furthermore, there has been considerable evidence to suggest that the powerful antioxidant can help reduce risk of heart disease — the leading cause of death in women in the US, Australia, England and Wales.

Female-friendly food 2: Butternut squash

Butternut squash — like many other yellow/orange fruit and vegetables — is packed with carotenoids such as alpha-carotene and beta-carotene and thefore ranks highly in the list of foods that women should eat. While carotenes should be included in everybody's diet for optimum health, they may prove essential to women's health as a high-carotenoid diet has been linked to lowered risks of both breast and ovarian cancer.

Female-friendly food 3: Flax Seeds

Flax seeds are a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids and have been linked to reduced risk of breast cancer and heart disease. The seeds' anti-inflammatory properties are also good for preventing arthritis, while their digestive benefits can help irritable bowel syndrome; two painful conditions which are more prevalent in women than men.

Female-friendly food 4: Salmon

Salmon has a multitude of positive health benefits for women. Not only is it rich in iron — which is integral to the diets of premenopausal women — but it is packed with omega-3 fatty acids, known for their mood-enhancing effects. Studies have suggested that omega-3 can help beat depression (something that affects twice as many women as men) and prevent mood swings, while salmon can also boost babies' intelligence when eaten during pregnancy.

Female-friendly food 5: Cranberries

Various studies have suggested strong links between consuming cranberries and reduced risks of breast cancer and heart disease. However, the most notorious benefit of cranberries is their ability to prevent and cure urinary tract infections such as cystitis, which is eight times more likely to occur in women than men. One study suggests that drinking two glasses of cranberry juice a day can prevent the symptoms of common UTIs in women, making cranberries a food that women should consume.

Female-friendly food 6: Spinach

Spinach is rich in many different vitamins and minerals, but one thing that makes it great for women is its high content of magnesium. Research has shown that magnesium may be beneficial in reducing many of the physical symptoms of PMS which plague women, including reduction of swelling, breast tenderness, bloating and weight gain.

Female-friendly food 7: Figs

Figs are a great health food, containing many vital minerals and vitamins as well as contributing to your daily portions of fruit and veg. Two minerals found in figs that are particularly beneficial to women's health are iron, which is often deficient in menstruating women, and calcium, which is important for post-menopausal women, who are more prone to osteoporosis.

Female-friendly food 8: Milk

Milk is a great source of calcium, which is extremely beneficial to women's health, particularly when combined with vitamin D (found in some varieties of milk and many fortified milk products). Consumption of the combined nutrients is not only good for warding off osteoporosis, but a study has suggested that a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D could ease, or even prevent, symptoms of PMS.

Female-friendly food 9: Oats

Oats are literally packed with health-boosting nutrients, many of which have great impacts on female health. Oats are not only great for heart health, digestion and blood pressure levels (with hypertension affecting many women over 50), but they contain vitamin B6, which can help prevent PMS and mood swings, and folic acid, which is important for women to consume before and during pregnancy to prevent birth defects in babies.

Female-friendly food 10: Walnuts

While all nuts are great for our health, walnuts have many great individual benefits for women. A study has recently found that walnuts, which are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and phytosterols, may help to reduce women's risk of developing breast cancer, while their high omega-3 content may also help bone health, arthritis pain and depression. Walnuts also contain many nutrients essential for female health, such as calcium, magnesium and folic acid.
http://www.realbuzz.com/articles/10-foods-all-women-should-eat/#pagination-top
 

Top Ten Weight Loss Tips

Weight Loss Resources members share the secrets of their success in our Top Ten Tips list. The list represents important ideas that come up time after time when members tell us about their weight loss success.

1. Don't cut out all the food you enjoy. I like the occasional takeaway, but now I save up calories to have one or earn it. If I restricted myself to just fruit and veg I'd give up very quickly. I also found that I could still eat my favourite foods if I 'tweak' them a bit: low fat cheese, low fat spread instead of butter, light mozzarella etc. Also the best thing I did was get olive oil spray! Sara
2. Write everything down. Even (or especially) on bad/splurge days. It’s only if you write things down that you know what you are doing. I’m not saying don’t have the Peking Duck. I am saying, at least know what having the Peking Duck means. Rachael
3. I find sticking a wedding invitation or holiday photograph of destinations I want to visit in a prominent place in the kitchen. This is a bit more subtle than a fat photograph of yourself and reminds you when you are tempted. Laura
4. Use scales in the kitchen - it's amazing how easy it is to deceive oneself! Mary
5. I think it is a good idea to buy some new clothes when you are down a size or two. That way, you are reminded of what you have achieved and not to go back to old sizes. Chuck out the old stuff or give it away. Steve
6. Life is too short so build in treats! Ok my weight loss is nice and slow but I don’t feel like I am on a diet or that I am depriving myself of anything (including chocolate and cheese. Lol!!!) Daniela
7. Be honest with yourself. Ok, if you go over the required cals, but keep a record, it's the average calorie intake that matters. Colin
8. It is not rocket science, but I am convinced that exercising is the key to success with sustained weight loss. I try to vary my routine, including the cross trainer and walking regularly, and cycling and swimming occasionally. Rob
9. Always measure alcohol consumed at home carefully, as it is easy to fool yourself. Maureen
10. Don’t ever give up! You are going to get bad days/weeks; it happens! Just get straight back on it and limit the damage. Joanna
11. Bonus Tip - my only tip really is to join up for the WLR 24 hour free trial and see for yourself. Everyone seems to adapt the site to their needs and if it works for me (never had much willpower and exercise was a bad word) then it has to be worth a try for everyone trying to lose either a few or a lot of kilos. Sarahhttps://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/weight_loss/weight_loss_tips.htm