New research uncovers two new tricks to curb snacking Continue reading
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The Easy Way to Eat Less Candy
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Tag Archives: Less
The Type of Food Packaging That Helps You Eat Less
Try this trick to make sure you don’t overdo it with the candy jar Continue reading
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THIS Appetizer Makes You Eat Less During Dinner
Start your meal on the right foot, and you’ll cut back on calories without even thinking about it Continue reading
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Get This: THIS Plate Helps You Eat Less at Buffets
Check out the list of links that should be on your radar today:
There’s finally an antidote to buffet bloat: Choosing a smaller dish and doing a lap before filling up your plate can help you eat less, finds a new study. [HealthDay]
Rumor has it that Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt might do a movie version of Guys and Dolls together. We’d so watch that. [Vulture]
Vitamin E may help heal ex-smokers’ hearts, according to recent research. [TIME]
Is your guy sleep-deprived? It could affect his fertility. [Medical Daily]
If you want to win people over, the sound of your voice may matter more than what you say. It’s not fair, but you might as well use the info to your advantage. [WSJ]
Homemade meals aren’t automatically healthier: A new study finds that the vast majority of recipes from celebrity chefs fall short of healthy eating recommendations. [NBC]
Side butt is now trendy. Any clothing that prevents people from wearing panties is not something we want to wear—or see other people wear. [The Cut]
B.S. alert: Wikipedia has moved all of the women from its “American novelists” page to a new “American women novelists” page—while men got to stay put. [Salon]
In the ongoing debate about whether chocolate contributes to acne, a new study finds that the sweet stuff might trigger breakouts. So that means it would probably be a bad idea to drown your sorrows in a Hershey bar… [Huffington Post]
photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock
The Simple Way to Eat Less
Would that cheeseburger be nearly as tempting if you knew you’d have to log 33 minutes on the treadmill to burn off all of the calories it contains? Didn’t think so. So it’s not exactly shocking that, when menus list how much exercise you’d have to do to work off each food, people order lower-calorie options, according to a recent study.
For the experiment, researchers from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth randomly assigned a group of people aged 18-30 to one of three groups: one that ordered off of a menu without calorie counts, one that ordered off of a menu with calorie counts, and one that ordered off of a menu that listed how many minutes of brisk walking would be necessary to burn the food calories. Other than the calorie/exercise labels, the menus were exactly the same.
Listing calories on the menu didn’t lead people to order lighter options—but listing the minutes of brisk walking necessary did.
The next time you go to a restaurant, you probably won’t see the exercise equivalents for each dish—but you can still use a similar motivational strategy to curb junk food urges. The next time you hear a donut or a slice of pizza calling your name, consult this handy guide—and see if you even want it afterward:
7 Ways to Spend Less on Meds
No one wants to spend more money on medications. In fact, people under 65 are twice as likely as older Americans to skip their meds, according to a new Centers for Disease Control study. Why? To save money. You know this is a bad idea, but here’s what you may not know: If you fill your prescription at the wrong pharmacy, you could pay up to 447 percent more, according to a new study featured in the May 2013 issue of Consumer Reports.
To investigate drug costs across the country, secret shoppers called more than 200 U.S. pharmacies to price check 30-day supplies of five common genetic prescriptions: the diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone), the antidepressant Lexapro (escitalopram), the cholesterol regulator Lipitor (atorvastatin), the blood thinner Plavix (clopidogrel), and the asthma drug Singulair (montelukast). Researchers then tallied the cost of all five drugs at each store and compared the bills.
Overall, Costco was the least expensive—and you don’t even need to be a member to fill your Rx there. Online retailers such as Healthwarehouse.com and Familymeds.com had reasonable prices, too. But according to the secret shoppers, CVS was the most expensive; the prescriptions cost a total of $ 749 more than they did at Costco. Prices at Rite Aid and Target weren’t much cheaper than at CVS. And while independent pharmacy and grocery store pharmacy prices varied widely, stores outside urban areas tended to charge less.
No matter where you shop, a little research can help you get the best price per pill. Ask your pharmacist these questions so you won’t pay a penny more than you have to:
“Is there a generic version that’s cheaper?”
When you invest in a designer bag, you probably want the real deal—not a knock-off. But unlike with accessories, most generic drugs are just as effective as their name-brand counterparts. Ask your doctor to prescribe the generic version of the drug you need, or if you don’t realize you’ve been given a name-brand Rx until you get to the drugstore, you can always ask the pharmacist for a comparable generic version. Most pharmacists will contact your doctor directly to confirm this change.
“Can you match the price I found at another pharmacy?”
While it’s smart to shop around for the best prices, you’ll want to buy all of your prescriptions from the same place so that your pharmacist can keep tabs on what you’re taking and advise against potentially dangerous drug combinations. To get the lowest price at the pharmacy of your choice, just ask: Independent drug stores will often match other pharmacies’ prices to keep your business, says Stephen W. Schondelmeyer, PhD, PharmD, a professor of pharmacy economics at the University of Minnesota. So if you don’t want to shop at Costco, you can still call them, ask what they’d charge for your meds, and use that to negotiate a better price from the mom-and-pop pharmacy you prefer.
“Do you give student discounts?”
Because secret shoppers in the study weren’t always offered the lowest price available up front, it pays to ask if you’re getting the lowest price. This question could prompt your pharmacist to disclose additional discounts: Some places offers student and senior discounts, for example.
“Is it cheaper to get a 90-day supply?”
For drugs you take every day, it’s more convenient and often cheaper to buy in bulk, (i.e., a 90-day dose instead of a 30-day one). Target’s pharmacy, for instance, offers more than 300 generic drugs that cost $ 4 for a 30-day supply, and $ 10 for a 90-day supply.
“What’s the price without my insurance?”
Just because you have health insurance doesn’t mean you should always use it. Check the retail price just in case your meds cost less than your prescription drug co-pay. For instance, generic Lexapro costs $ 7 for a 30-day dose at Costco. So if your insurance co-pay is $ 10, you’re better off paying the full price.
“Do you have a loyalty card or prescription program discounts?”
Many stores do. For instance, the CVS Health Savings pass ($ 15/year) offers card-holders a 90-day supply of more than 400 generic drugs for $ 11.99 a pop. The Walgreens Prescription Savings Club ($ 20/year) promises an annual savings up of up to $ 79.13 per 90-day supply of generic drugs. And Rite Aid’s free Rx Savings Program discounts name-brand drugs by 15 percent and offers certain generic drugs for $ 9.99 per 30-day supply, or $ 15.99 per 90-day supply.
“Do you accept any independent prescription discount cards?”
No insurance? No problem. Independent prescription discount cards are easy to find online—and they’re often free. To unlock discounts on more than 20,000 name-brand and generic drugs, print a Free Drug Card online and check the site to find a nearby pharmacy that accepts it. Then, flash your card when you pick up your prescription—you’ll save up to 75 percent.
photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock
More from WH:
Do You Really Need Antibiotics for That?
The New Danger In Your Medicine Cabinet
The Affordable Care Act Questions–Answered!
Do Less, Achieve More
If you clock in long workdays to chip away at your never-ending to-do list, you’re not alone. But the key to getting things done—without burning out—is to work fewer, more productive hours, according to a recent article in The New York Times.
“More and more of us find ourselves unable to juggle overwhelming demands and maintain a seemingly unsustainable pace,” writes Tony Schwartz, the author of Be Excellent at Anything. “Paradoxically, the best way to get more done may be to spend more time doing less.” And it turns out, “strategic renewal,” or taking smart, reinvigorating breaks—including daytime respites and vacations—from work, will make you more efficient, healthier, and happier overall. Plus, the number of hours you work isn’t a true measure of the quality of your work, or of how good an employee you are. What matters is the energy you have while you’re at work, according to Schwartz. “By managing energy more skillfully, it’s possible to get more done, in less time, most sustainably,” he writes.
To scale back your work hours and boost your productivity, Robert Pozen, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and author of the new book Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours, suggests these four strategies.
Manage your mail
Take an “OHIO”—an “only-handle-it-once” approach to your e-mails, suggests Pozen. “Discard 80 to 85 percent of them just by looking at the subject matter,” he says. “If you do that, you’ll have 15 or 20 percent that are really important, and for those, I suggest that you answer them right away.” By immediately dealing with the e-mails—and whatever issues they contain—you’ll avoid an inbox pileup and the stress of playing catch-up.
Avoid meetings
It’s no secret that meetings can be a complete time suck. Pozen suggests avoiding them when possible. If skipping out on a meeting just isn’t an option, then ask to see an agenda and any other materials in advance, he says. And if you’re running the meeting, try to keep the time to an hour or 90 minutes at the very most. (Although shorter is definitely better).
Ditch the perfectionism
Wanting to do everything perfectly is a worthy but very time-consuming goal, and sometimes it’s just completely unnecessary. Pozen recommends learning to recognize that certain projects simply don’t require perfection. By doing so, you’ll spare your precious time and energy and be able to use both later on—and on a more appropriate project.
Give yourself a break
“Most people, sometime between one o’clock and four o’clock, have a real down—their bodies get tired,” says Pozen. To fight the midday energy slump, he recommends taking a break to exercise, or carving out time for a short, 20-minute nap. (Just don’t let your boss catch you!) And conversely, if you happen to know that your most productive hours are before noon, make a to-do list every night before you head out. When you make a nightly to-do list, it means that every morning when you get to work, you can jump right in to the necessary tasks without wasting precious productivity time getting oriented and organized.
photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock
More from Women’s Health:
Stay on Top of Your To-Do List
20 Ways to Get More Done at Work
42 Tips to Do Everything Better
Want a flatter belly, thinner thighs, and toned arms? To transform your body, buy The Spartacus Workout 2-DVD program now!
Beat Your Bad Mood in 30 Seconds or Less
Take the trash out: According to new research in Psychological Science, writing down your negative thoughts and tossing them in the garbage can erase your bad mood.
Simple pick-me-up or suspect science? The finding seems silly, admits lead researcher Richard Petty, Ph.D., a professor at The Ohio State University. “But sometimes it’s the silly things that work.”
In one of Petty’s experiments, 83 people were asked to write down thoughts on their body image, then either throw them away or keep them. The results: People who kept their thoughts were more likely to side in favor of their notes—so if they wrote negative notes, they rated themselves more negatively—but those who trashed their thoughts saw no change in how they rated their bodies.
What gives? Your body can control your mind, just as your mind controls your body, says Petty. For example, previous research has demonstrated that you can sit up straight to feel more confident and smile to feel happier.
So try it: Next time something is driving you crazy, just write it down and toss it out. The action “gives a greater finality to your thoughts,” Petty says. That means you’ll trick your brain into marking bad thoughts as gone, instead of suppressing them—only to let your brain find them and start feeling crummy all over again.
photo: Photodisc/Thinkstock
More from WH:
The Silly Cure for PMS
Bend Your Way to a Better Mood
Are You Depressed? Take the Test
Find easy ways to look and feel good fast in Dr. Oz’s book You Being Beautiful
5 Ways to Trick Yourself Into Eating Less
Apparently, the key to Kelly Osbourne’s recent weight loss isn’t what she eats—it’s how she eats it. An anonymous source told Now magazine that the reality star is staying thin by eating only from plates that contrast with the color of her food.
“She takes her plates everywhere. Unlike other fads, Kelly says this diet does help you lose weight and keep it off,” said the source.
While this B.Y.O. plate diet may seem too strange to be true, there is actually some pretty compelling science to explain how plate color can impact how much you eat (and in turn, weigh). A well-documented optical illusion theory called the Delboef illusion is the key, says Koert Van Ittersum, associate professor of marketing at Georgia Institute of Technology and author of numerous studies that explore how perception influences eating behavior. The Delboeuf illusion occurs when the perceived size of a circle–or in this case, serving size of food–is dependent on the size of the circle that surrounds it—in this case, a plate. As Osbourne has found, color contrast can amplify this illusion.
“Our brains play a little trick on us and try to combine both circles into one piece of information,” says Van Ittersum. The result? The same size serving can appear smaller or larger based on the size and color of the plate, affecting how much food we serve ourselves. Check it out for yourself:
Set the Table to Curb Your Consumption
Play these five mind games on your tummy to help shrink it.
Take a taller tumbler. When researchers asked 198 college students and 86 bartenders to pour a 1.5 oz shot of alcohol without measuring, they found that even experienced bartenders poured 20.5% more into short, wide glasses than tall, slender ones, according to a 2005 study published in the journal BMJ. When serving yourself a cocktail or other sugar-laden liquids such as juice or regular soda, use a taller glass to trick your brain into pouring less and you’ll painlessly slurp down fewer calories.
Downsize your dishes. In a 2003 study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 85 nutrition experts who were given large bowls at an ice cream social unknowingly served themselves 31% more ice cream than those given smaller bowls. To avoid accidentally serving yourself a super-sized portion, use small plates and bowls. The best part: your stomach won’t even know the difference. The same study found that adults who served themselves cereal in smaller bowls thought they’d consumed 28% more cereal than they actually ate.
On a small plate, match your food. Contrary to Osbourne’s bright idea to eat foods that contrast with the color of her plate, Van Ittersum recommends matching the food to the plate–but only once you’ve downsized. When researchers asked adults to serve themselves white cereal on a small white plate, they served themselves smaller portions than the adults who poured dark-colored cereal on the same plates, according to a 2011 study published in Journal of Consumer Research.
Stuck with a large plate? Make your portion pop. When participants of the 2011 study were given white plates, they served themselves more white-sauce pasta than they did when given red plates. When eating off a large plate, make sure it contrasts with the color of your food to trick yourself into serving–and eating–less.
Coordinate your tableware and tablecloth. According to Van Ittersum, using like-colored linens can camouflage the edge of the plate, reducing the optical illusion so you can see your food serving for what it is, instead of comparing it to the size of the plate.
main photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock
More from WH:
Weight Loss Tips that Don’t Suck
Delicious Dessert Recipes for Weight Loss
12 Flat-Belly Foods
Look Better Naked: Buy the book to learn how to look (and feel!) your very best.