Health Magazine – 100 Best (??) Diet Tricks Ever

My husband recently purchased a subscription to Health Magazine. He thought I’d love it but mainly they just clutter my coffee table. I don’t always agree with what these magazines publish and thought I would talk about the November issue with it’s 100 Best Diet Tips Ever.

Although there were some things that I did agree with and found interesting, there were some items I’m not so excited about. I won’t go through them all … you can get more info from your local supermarket. Just pick a long line and read while you wait 🙂

Some of the tips made me really laugh. Like #1 – eat breakfast. Who hasn’t heard this one before? Other obvious tips are bring your own sack lunch instead of dining out, cutting back on bread and pasta, get 6-8 hours of sleep, grocery shop on a full stomach and put the soda down and step aside. It’s disappointing to see these on the list, but then again, they had to get to 100 tips to entice the impulse buyers.

A few I loved

#34 Fill a pitcher with water and cucumbers. It’s pretty – and feel like a treat. This one is true for me. I love cucumber water and I do feel like it’s a treat because I don’t do it every day. We have a local restaurant here in Chandler who serves this water and I love it. It feels like a treat and yet it’s so healthy.

#36 Vinegar before meals may increase fullness. It goes on to say to have a salad with vinegar before lunch or diner. A good tip indeed.

#39  Fast forward through commercials. You know the ones … Domino’s Pizza, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Chili’s. Why trigger hunger!

#40 Wear tight clothing to help you from overeating … If you are going to dine out, it does help your temptation for appetizers, fries and dessert.

#48 Brush your teeth after dinner. True. It helps you from extra nibbling after.

#64 Many people have a ‘healthy’ food, like almond butter, that they overeat – at which point it stops being healthy. Know yours, and keep it out of the house. Great advice we need to keep in mind when wandering the grocery store aisles.

#74 Finish eating 3 hours before bed. I’ve been “preaching” this one for years. If you eat before bed, you slow down your metabolic rate and the food you eat stores fat instead of burning it up as energy.

Then there are a few I just don’t agree with.

#12: After a sweet treat, eat half a turkey to keep you from wanting more. Although I can see how this may work, remember that that extra turkey still has calories and it usually does not turn off that craving for more sweets. This little “trick” may not always work.

#31: Add a zero to your weight and use that to figure out how many calories you should have if you’re moderately active. If you weigh 140 calories, aim to eat 1,4000 calories.  Although this may help you lose weight, it is not always healthy. Let’s say you weigh 100 lbs, using this method would mean you should eat 1,000 calories which is not enough for any healthy adult. It may help with faster weight loss, but it is not sustainable nor healthy.

#61 Weigh yourself every day. I just think once a week is good to keep on track. Don’t become so obsessed with the number on the scale. Weighing every day can trigger anxiety and frustration. Our weight fluctuates by a few pounds and can even vary throughout the day so once a week is a good amount to make sure you keep on track. If your clothes are snug in between you know you need to do a check.

And a few that might be good ideas but you just can’t realistically do them. 

#20 If you’re not hungry enough to eat an apple, you’re not hungry. Although the statement may be true, you sometimes just don’t want an apple. Or celery. You want a handful of nuts or a few crackers with cheese. It’s all about satisfaction and making healthy choices.

#55 Take a 15-minute walk after each meal to burn a quick 100 calories. Although walking is a great way to burn calories, if you work or have a house full of kids, this one is next to impossible to do.

#65 Eat vegetables first so you fill up on them and end up eating fewer calories. Just remember our bodies need healthy fats and protein as well so make sure you get in the right foods to have a balanced diet.

These are just a few that I wanted to comment on. There are a number of good ones if you sort through the not-so-goodw. At the end of the day, you need to take health magazines with a grain of salt. Don’t believe every single thing you read and have some common sense. Know your healthy choices and practice them daily.