Losing weight doesn’t always require a heavy-handed, every-day commitment. Making even small, easy changes to eating habits just a few days a week can lead to substantial weight loss, according to new research by Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab.
The study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, found individuals who tweaked their dietary habits slightly on just 25 days or more per month reported an average monthly weight loss of two pounds and, over time, were able to lose at least 1 percent of their initial weight.
"These results confirm that small, consistent changes in our daily eating behavior can result in gradual weight loss and in developing healthier eating habits," said Brian Wansink, a marketing professor in Cornell's Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.
SPECIAL: These 5 Things Flush 40 lbs. of Fat Out of Your Body — Read More.
Wansink and colleagues noted many people have a hard time dieting for long periods of time. Even those who lose weight on a diet tend to gain it back when they stop dieting. As an alternative to restrictive dieting, Wansink and colleagues developed a program called the National Mindless Eating Challenge, an online healthy eating and weight loss program that focused on simple changes.
The plan, based on Wansink's book "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More than We Think," involve such actions as keeping only healthy foods on kitchen counters, eating meals more slowly, and portioning out foods instead of eating them directly from a bag, box, or other package.
The goal, Wansink said, is to engage in dietary habits that are easy to adopt and “make them second nature.”
For the study, researchers tracked 504 participants who were surveyed about their eating goals and background, and then given three customized tips to follow for a month. Participants downloaded a checklist to track their adherence to the tips and received e-mail reminders to keep them on track.
After a month, researchers found more than two thirds (42 percent) had either lost weight or not gained weight (27 percent). Weight loss was highest among people who made changes consistently.
Among the most effective tips for healthy eating:
• Keep counters clear of all foods but the healthy ones (fruit, vegetables, healthy snacks).
• Don’t eat foods directly from a package — always portion food out into a dish or bowl.
• Eat something hot for breakfast within the first hour of waking up, to stave off food cravings later.
• Don’t go more than three or four hours without having something small to eat.
• Get in the habit of putting down your fork, knife, or spoon between bites of food to slow down your eating.
SPECIAL: These 5 Things Flush 40 lbs. of Fat Out of Your Body — Read More.