The Crazy-Simple Way to Eat Less

Smart eating isn't always about choosing vegetables over fried food and skipping dessert. Sometimes, the smallest, easiest habits can make a big difference, especially when it comes to this super-simple strategy that helps you cut calories without switching up your food.

No, it's not by skipping a meal. We've got a strategy that is much easier and less likely to make you hangry: Chew your food more thoroughly. Sounds obvious, but science shows it works.

On two different days, researchers at Iowa State University in Ames fed a pizza breakfast to volunteers, instructing them to chew each mouthful 15 times on one day and 40 times on the other. When subjects chewed 40 times instead of just 15, they had lower levels of ghrelin, the hormone that triggers your brain to tell you it's time to eat. They also had higher levels of cholecystokinin, a fullness hormone found in the gut. In real life, this translated to less hunger all the way up to lunchtime, three hours later.

While there's nothing magical about chewing your food exactly 40 times, noshing more thoroughly is a simple way to keep your appetite in check. Three ways to eat more mindfully: Put down your fork between bites, don't eat in front of the TV or at a desk, and turn on some relaxing tunes while you dine.

3 Ways to Stop Emotional Eating

"Eating can be a powerful distraction from uncomfortable or sad feelings," says Sari Shepphird, a clinical and sport psychologist and author of 100 Questions and Answers About Anorexia Nervosa. If you find yourself beelining to the vending machine when you're stressed at work or seriously caving into cravings when you've had an argument with a friend, read on for tips to stop emotional eating before it starts.

Dieters are at a particularly high risk for emotional eating: "The more you deprive yourself, the more likely you are to overeat," Shepphird says. If you place certain foods on the "do not eat" list, chances are you'll rebel and reach for the forbidden items when things get tough, especially because those same forbidden foods (desserts and carbs) provide quick comfort. "Foods high in carbs increase a neurotransmitter called dopamine, which is one of the main pleasure hormones in our brain," she says. Think: That instant mmm-ahhh feeling.