Appetite Suppressant Strategies

Is there really a "cheater's diet"? Yes, there is, if you know how to eat to suppress the hunger as the weeks of a diet go by. By choosing foods that help to satisfy stomach rumblings and make you feel fuller on less, you are fooling your body into re-setting your hunger level and your weight "set point."

Weight loss should be a gradual process, however, because your body uses a regulating mechanism---metabolic hormones and fat-cell enzymes---that program your weight to stay at a comfortable range.

Choose Wisely: Food Suppresants

• Foods that contain fiber such as apples, oatmeal, whey protein, and umeboshi plums---a plum often pickled and used throughout Japan---are filling and tend to make us feel full without feeling deprived.

  Flax seeds and pine nuts sprinkled into yogurt, cottage cheese or salads add soluble fiber with much-needed protein and slow-digesting fats. The nice crunch that the nuts provide and the healthy benefit of suppressing appetite don't hurt, either.

Conquer Your Thirst

• Many times people confuse being hungry with needing water. Try to drink a full glass of water before and after every meal. See if this additional liquid helps to satisfy you. If that seems too much for you, start the meal with soup. Anything from a low-salt consommé to a full vegetable soup works wonders to turn down the hungrys.

Sleep 15 MInutes or More Longer

• Dr. Michelle May, author of "Am I Hungry? What to Do When Diets Don't Work," says that lack of sleep takes your body through physiological stress and makes you store fat. An extra 15 minutes of sleep may be just what your body needs to help control your appetite better.

Curb the Stress

• Many people are stress eaters. The stress response, the "fight or flight" reaction, tells the body to survive. That means that the metabolism slows and chemicals like cortisol are released. But instead of eating your way out of pain, try slow breathing techniques first.

  A hypnotist from the U.K., Paul McKenna (who has helped thousands of people lose weight), suggests that paying attention to food makes a difference. He advocates slowing down your eating. McKenna advises us to savor eating without distraction by putting down the utensils and chew each bite 20 times. This renewed attention to food helps you to discover when you are full.

Check Your Medications

• You may be taking a medication that not only affects the mental and metabolic chemicals in your body but may be contributing to weight gain and increasing your appetite. Some common drugs that may have this effect are steroids, antidepressants, diabetes medications and high blood pressure meds. An adjustment in medication may help.

Exercise

• Aerobic exercise that raises your body temperature and has you working out for 30, 45, or even 60 minutes kicks in the release of gherlin and peptide YY, two important hormones that work to suppress the appetite.

  The second plus with exercise is that after a vigorous workout your body continues to burn calories, even during cool-down and recovery. So if you can work up to a level of sustained exercise---a brisk two-hour walk or a half-hour run---it can give you up to double the calorie burn.