You Can Think Yourself Thin

Here's a novel weight-loss strategy. Before you take one single bite, think about your last meal -- every detail.

It may sound silly, but there's science behind the idea. People in a study who thought about their last meal before snacking munched less. So before your next nibble, picture your lunch plate.

Mind over Matter
It made no difference how tempting the treat. When people were asked to remember what they had for lunch that day prior to eating a popcorn snack, they ate less of the munchy stuff -- regardless of whether it was seasoned or served plain. All of which suggests that appetite may be linked to food memory cues. (Can you afford to eat that fudge brownie? Find out here.)

Daily Strength for the Dieter
Give yourself some superhuman willpower with these tricks for resisting dietary temptations:

• Scrap the three squares . . . and eat smaller, more frequent meals. Here's why.
• Nosh on whole-grain bread with olive oil before a meal. Learn how first eating some healthy fat quells the urge to splurge.
• Take a nap. Find out how being sleep deprived can damage a diet.

Recall of recent lunch and its effect on subsequent snack intake. Higgs, S., Williamson, A. C., Attwood, A. S., Physiology & Behavior 2008 Jun 9;94(3)454-462.