7 Weird Things That Promote Weight Loss And get this: One of ‘em is chocolate!

If you want to shed pounds, you know the best way to do it: healthy eating and exercise. That being said, we’ve learned about some pretty interesting—and, well, seriously strange—weight-loss tricks via research over the past year. Check them out…

Whiffs of Peppermint

Smelling peppermint on the regular may help lower hunger levels and calorie intake, per a study we reported on in December.

Your Dishware—If It’s the Right Color

A study published last month found that using red plates could help you eat less. (Home goods stores probably have some awesome after-Christmas sales right now!)

Cold Hard Cash

 

Paying with bills instead of a credit card may help you pick out healthier foods, according to research reported on in the fall.

Chocolate

Now this is the kind of food news we're really sweet on: A new study found that eating chocolate is associated with lower levels of abdominal fat. This held true even when researchers considered other factors that could have influenced study participants’ fat levels and location, such as how often they worked out and how healthy their diets were overall.
Researchers writing in the journal Nutrition studied 1,458 adolescents up to age 17. Participants reported what they ate during two nonconsecutive days, and afterward, their weight, height, BMI, waist circumference, and skin fat levels were measured. The conclusion: Higher chocolate consumption was linked to lower levels of belly bulge.
Counterintuitive, right? The study results are actually similar to those of a 2012 study that found adults who indulge in chocolate two times a week have lower BMIs, on average, than chocolate abstainers. Researchers in the new study didn't speculate as to why chocolate eaters had slimmer waists—and caution that you can't make any conclusions based on these findings alone—but authors of the 2012 research theorized that the magic ingredient could be antioxidants. Dark chocolate in particular has lots of these inflammation-fighting chemicals, and antioxidants may play a role in metabolic functioning.
Still, you obviously can't go crazy with the sweet stuff and maintain a healthy weight. The key is moderation—and choosing the right type of treat.

The Temp in Your Bedroom

If only you could work off the calories from that froyo you had earlier while passed out on the couch. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it may not be that far off: Turning down the thermostat while you sleep could help rev up your metabolism, according to a new study conducted by the National Institute of Health Clinical Center. For the study, 31 healthy people slept in either a 75-degree room or a 66-degree room. Researchers found that the colder sleepers burned more than 7 percent more calories than the warm sleepers—likely because their bodies were working to raise their core body temperature to a stable 98.6 degrees, says study author Francesco Saverio Celi, MD, MHSc, of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease.
If you lowered the thermostat to 66 degrees at bedtime, you could burn an extra 100 calories over the course of 24 sleeping hours, according to study results. That might not sound like much, but it adds up—in theory at least.
See, researchers don’t yet know whether your body compensates for these calories in another way—like by making you hungrier or less amped to work out when you’re awake, says Celi. Still, if you’re trying to lose a few pounds, it can’t hurt to turn down the temperature before you crawl under the covers. Just make sure you don’t pile on the blankets or wear your warmest pajamas at the same time: You can’t expect to see results unless you tough it out in the cold, says Celi.

Low-Cal #FoodPorn

 

Sticking pics of low-cal grub on your fridge—and having a look before you snack—may help you eat less while dieting, suggests results from a study we told you about last month.

The State of Your Desk

Spend time in a tidy workspace versus a messy one, and you’ll be more likely to choose a healthy snack, says a study we reported on last summer. One point for organization!
Thanks for Reading............