Learning how to curb your appetite is a powerful way to help you lose weight. A healthy, balanced diet will help you beat food cravings but there are also a number of psychological, emotional and common sense strategies you can use to completely change your approach to eating. These strategies can help regulate your appetite effectively and efficiently for the rest of your life.

It’s common knowledge that doing things like food shopping when you are hungry is a bad idea as you are far more likely to binge on calorie rich sugary, fatty foods. So here, in no particular order, are 22 not so obvious strategies that can all help you control your appetite rather than it controlling you. Check out next month’s issue for 21 more easy ways to fight the flab and my top 10 weight loss super foods.

1. Buy a pedometer, clip it to your belt, and powerwalk an extra 1,000 steps a day. On average, sedentary people take only 2,000 to 3,000 steps a day. Adding 1,000 steps (15 minutes) at an elevated intensity will help you maintain your current weight and stop gaining weight; adding more than that will help you lose weight.
2. Eat five or six small meals or snacks a day instead of three large meals. A 1999 South African study found that when men ate parts of their morning meal at intervals over five hours, they consumed almost 30 percent fewer calories at lunch than when they ate a single breakfast. Other studies show that even if you eat the same number of calories distributed this way, your body releases less insulin, which keeps blood sugar steady and helps control hunger.
3. Eliminate soft drinks. A 12 fl oz can of Cola contains about 144 calories. It is not an ideal food if you want to lose weight. By NOT drinking a can of Cola, once a week, you save about 7,500 calories per year. This is the equivalent of 2 pounds of weight.
4. Find an online weight-loss buddy. A University of Vermont study found that online weight-loss buddies help you keep the weight off. The researchers followed volunteers for 18 months. Those assigned to an Internet-based weight maintenance program sustained their weight loss better than those who met face-to-face in a support group.
5. Bring the colour blue into your life more often. There’s a good reason you won’t see many fast-food restaurants decorated in blue: believe it or not, the colour blue functions as an appetite suppressant. So, serve up dinner on blue plates, dress in blue while you eat, and cover your table with a blue tablecloth. Conversely, avoid red, yellow, and orange in your dining areas. Studies find they encourage eating.
6. Clean your closet of the “fat” clothes. Once you’ve reached your target weight, throw out or give away every piece of clothing that doesn’t fit. The idea of having to buy a whole new wardrobe if you gain the weight back will serve as a strong incentive to maintain your new figure.
7. Serve your dinner restaurant style (food on the plates) rather than family style (food served in bowls and on platters on the table). When your plate is empty, you’re finished; there’s no reaching for seconds.
8. Passionately kiss your partner 10 times a day. According to the 1991 Kinsey Institute New Report on Sex, a passionate kiss burns 6.4 calories per minute. Ten minutes a day of kissing equates to about 23,000 calories — or eight pounds — a year!
9. Put out a vegetable platter. A body of research out of Pennsylvania State University finds that eating water-rich foods such as courgettes, tomatoes, and cucumbers during meals reduces your overall calorie consumption. Other water-rich foods include soups and salads. You won’t get the same benefits by just drinking your water, though. Because the body processes hunger and thirst through different mechanisms, it simply doesn’t register a sense of fullness with water.
10. Use vegetables to bulk up meals. You can eat twice as much pasta salad loaded with veggies like broccoli, carrots, and tomatoes for the same calories as a pasta salad dressed with mayonnaise.
11. Avoid white foods. Large amounts of simple carbohydrates from white flour and added sugar can wreak havoc with your blood sugar and lead to weight gain. Replace white bread and rice with plenty of whole grain breads and brown rice. One Harvard study of 74,000 women found that those who ate more than two daily servings of whole grains were 49 percent less likely to be overweight than those who ate the white stuff.
12. Switch to grain coffee or herb teas. Fancy coffee drinks from trendy coffee bars often pack several hundred calories, thanks to whole milk, whipped cream, sugar, and sugary syrups.
13. Eat cereal for breakfast five days a week. Studies find that people who eat cereal for breakfast every day are significantly less likely to be obese and have diabetes than those who don’t. They also consume more fibre and calcium — and less fat — than those who eat other breakfast foods. Of course, that doesn’t mean reaching for the sugary cereals. Instead, pour out a high-fibre, low-sugar cereal like oat porridge.
14. Avoid any prepared food that lists sugar, fructose, or corn syrup among the first four ingredients on the label. You should be able to find a no sugar version of the same type of food. If you can’t, grab a piece of fruit instead! Look for sugar-free varieties of foods such as ketchup, mayonnaise, and salad dressing. Avoid artificial sweeteners also as they are often worse for you than sugar.
15. Eat slowly and calmly. Put your fork or spoon down between every bite. Intersperse your eating with stories for your dining partner of the amusing things that happened during your day. Your brain runs behind your stomach by about 20 minutes when it comes to satiety (fullness) signals. If you eat slowly enough, your brain will catch up to tell you that you are no longer in need of food.
16. Spend 10 minutes a day walking up and down stairs. The Centre for Disease Control says that’s all it takes to help you shed as much as 10 pounds a year (assuming you are eating healthily as well).
17. Take a walk before dinner. You’ll do more than burn calories — you’ll cut your appetite. In a study of 10 obese women conducted at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, 20 minutes of walking reduced appetite and increased sensations of fullness as effectively as a light meal.
18. Wash something thoroughly once a week — a floor, a couple of windows, the shower, bathroom tile, or your car. A 10 stone person who dons rubber gloves and exerts some elbow grease will burn about four calories for every minute spent cleaning. Scrub for 30 minutes and you could work off approximately 120 calories, the same number in a half-cup of vanilla frozen yogurt.
19. Substitute a handful of almonds in place of a sugary snack. A study from the City of Hope National Medical Centre found that overweight people who ate a diet containing almonds lost more weight than a control group that didn’t eat nuts.
20. Make one social outing this week an active one. Pass on the movie tickets and screen the views of a local park instead. Not only will you sit less, but you’ll be saving calories because you won’t be tempted by that bucket of popcorn. Other active date ideas: Plan a tennis match, sign up for a guided nature or city walk (check your local newspaper), go cycling on a bike path, or join a volleyball league or bowling team.
21. Watch one less hour of TV. A study of 76 undergraduate students found the more they watched television, the more often they ate and the more they ate overall. So sacrifice one programme and go for a walk instead.
22. Sniff a banana, an apple, or a peppermint when you feel hungry. You might feel silly, but it works. When Alan R. Hirsch, M.D., neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, tried this with 3,000 volunteers, he found that the more frequently people sniffed, the less hungry they were and the more weight they lost — an average of 30 pounds each. One theory is that sniffing the food tricks the brain into thinking you’re actually eating it.

Airports can be stressful and boring places crowded with temptation and fast food places but don’t scrap your diet because of it. The following airport tips may help:

Scope out your dining options. Progress is slow but there are a lot more than there used to be, with more healthy choices. Skip the fast food and pizza joints and look for eateries that serve fruit, soup, sushi, and sandwiches or wraps.

Eat because you’re hungry, not because you’re stressed, bored, or trying to kill time. If you’re anxious or have time to spare, take a walk. Airports usually have plenty of room for a brisk jaunt.

Come Prepared. Bring your own food to the airport, there is always going to be a wait. You don’t have to pack a picnic. A whole-wheat bagel or crackers, a piece of fruit, granola bar, juice box, or cut-up organic cheese and vegetables can save you from feeling starved.

If you find your only option at the airport is fast food, check out different menus. Some fast food places have healthier food than others. You can find soup, salads, baked potatoes, and yogurt with fruit and granola. Fast food doesn’t have to mean you’re stuck with greasy burgers, fries, and fizzy drinks. You might find “light” options on some menus, too.

Travel light. It is important to know that while travelling, you should eat light, drink plenty of water and skip alcohol and caffeine. If your flight includes a meal, request a special diet when you make your reservation. You might be able to choose a low-salt or low-fat option, or a diet or vegetarian plate. And when the beverage cart rolls your way, ask for water or juice instead of alcohol or fizzy drinks. You’ll feel better when you land.

Do you find it hard to spot the good choices on the menu? Do you worry what’s really in your food?

Don’t starve yourself in anticipation of a restaurant visit. It’s much easier to stay in control if you’ve been eating sensibly throughout the day. And before you eat try to drink a glass of water — you’ll feel fuller and less inclined to overeat.

Try to order first, so you won’t be tempted or swayed by what everyone else is having. Order soup for starters because studies show that people who order soup before a meal tend to eat less overall. And when choosing a soup, keep in mind that cream-based soups are higher in fat and calories than most other soups. Soup can serve as a great appetiser to a meal, or as a main course. Most soups are low in calories and will fill you up, so you eat less.

You Only Have to Ask

Always ask how dishes are prepared. Waiters are becoming accustomed to fielding these types of question, so don’t worry about pestering them. Are your dishes baked? Are they grilled? Are they prepared with butter or oil? Ask what’s in the sauce; ask what’s in the soup; ask what’s in the dressing. Always ask for butter, gravy, sauces and salad dressings on the side. This allows you to control how much fat you eat. When ordering pasta dishes look for tomato-based sauces rather than cream-based sauces. Tomato-based sauces are much lower in fat and calories. In addition, the tomato sauce (or marinara sauce) can count as a vegetable!

Take Your Time

Take your time over dinner and put your knife and fork down between each bite. Dining out isn’t just about the food it’s about the occasion and the conversation too so savour that.

If you eat your food too fast you just overload your digestive system. So stop eating when you are full — listen to the cues your body gives you. You don’t have to leave your plate empty. If you want to eat less, order two starters or a starter and a salad, as your meal.

Wait around 10 or 15 minutes before ordering dessert. It takes a while for you stomach to tell your brain it’s had enough. If after waiting you absolutely can’t resist ordering Death by Chocolate for dessert, make sure you split the dessert with your dinner pal. People usually order dessert out of habit, but often a few bites are enough to satisfy even the sweetest sweet tooth. A more healthy choice would be a dessert with at least some fruit such as apple pie, the best choice is a fresh fruit salad.

Water Into Wine

Drink water (still or sparkling with a slice of lemon) or fruit juice instead of alcoholic beverages. This will save a lot of calories. If you’re worried about drinking too much, stick to spritzers. Mixing some sparkling water with your white wine means you can drink twice as much without having to worry about the calories.