How To Eat Less In A Healthy Way: 3 Science Biohacks

Have you ever wondered how to eat less without feeling exhausted, hungry, or frustrated?

Better yet, have you ever wondered how to eat less without going on a diet?

“The entire diet industry is a scam,” Eric Edmeades explains in his discussion with Vishen Lakhiani.

“It isn’t about a diet, it isn’t about a set of rules. It’s about food freedom.”

So, can you learn how to eat less in a healthy way?

In this article, we’ll cover the following:

1. How can I stop feeling hungry?
2. How can I reduce my appetite?
3. What color makes you eat less?
4. How can I train myself to eat less?
5. What happens if you don’t eat for 3 days?
6. 3 science biohacks to help you eat better

Ready? Let’s dive in.

How Can I Stop Feeling Hungry?

One of the reasons we’re so chronically unwell is because we’re never fully satiated by the food we consume.

We eat and eat. Yet somehow, an hour or two later, we’re hungry again.

How is this possible? And how can we start combating our constant hunger?

Eric Edmeades suggests we’re chronically hungry because the food we consume is nutritionally empty:

The vast majority of people are malnourished to begin with. That’s to say: they eat too much of the wrong stuff and not enough of the good stuff.

The solution?

Start consuming more of the good stuff. When you consume food that’s nutritionally dense, you feel fuller for longer.

How can I reduce my appetite?

We can begin to retrain our bodies when we change what we feed them.

If you find that you’re constantly hungry, that’s a good indicator that your body isn’t receiving what it needs.

Reducing your appetite comes down to consuming what your body needs and eliminating the excess.

What color makes you eat less?

Is there really a color that can encourage you to eat less? Yes. If you’re looking to curb your appetite, opt for the color red.

Sounds bizarre, but it’s true. And believe it or not, there’s scientific evidence to back this up.

A scientific study published in Appetite found that those who ate off red plates ate less. The technical term for the behavior is avoidance motivation.

In layman’s terms: red means stop.

This is something inherent to the human species and is actually one of the reasons traffic lights and stop signs are red.

So, if you want to eat less, use red plates and cups. You’ll be subconsciously reducing your appetite thanks to avoidance motivation.

How can I train myself to eat less?

Understanding how to reduce your appetite can be done in two ways:

1. Changing what you eat
2. Changing how you eat

As Eric Edmeades explains:

Once you begin to understand why you make your food decisions the way you do, you begin to take a step toward food freedom.

Opting for nutritionally dense food over nutritionally empty food will help you feel fuller for longer.

But you can take this a step further by asking yourself why you feel motivated to consume the foods you eat.

Are there certain foods you wish you ate less of? Foods you come back to, time and again, despite knowing they’re maybe not the best for your health?

Mindfulness encourages malleability.

Becoming more mindful about your food habits can make them easier to change.

What happens if you don’t eat for 3 days?

Intermittent fasting is becoming an increasing popular biohack in today’s world.

But this form of fasting typically involves one of three methods:

1. The 16/8 protocol: in a 24-hour period, you fast for 16 hours and eat for 8.
2. The 5:2 protocol: eating normally five days out of the week, and restricting caloric intake for two days out of the week.
3. The eat-stop-eat protocol: Fasting for a full 24-hours once or twice a week.

Intermittent fasting has been proven to yield a number of physical health benefits.

But fasting for three days straight? It isn’t healthy. It’s not encouraged or condoned by members of the intermittent fasting community.

Here’s why.

Fasting for a period of three days has been associated with a number of health risks, including:

• Poor circulation
• Low blood sugar
• Fatigue
• Hair loss
• Weakened immune system

Will you lose weight? Probably. But not in the way you’d think.

You will likely lose more water weight than actual fat as your body uses its glycogen stores for fuel. You lose water and that is usually the reason for the rapid weight loss. Losing fat takes more time.

— Amy Shapiro, New York-based dietician

72-hour fasts aren’t recommended. Especially if you attempt to take on your day to day activities while you’re at it.

But if you’re curious and would like to try one of the intermittent fasting methods mentioned above, make sure to consult with your family physician first.

3 Science Biohacks To Help You Eat Better

Learning how to eat less or how to not eat are not effective weight-loss strategies. It also won’t help you become any healthier.

The true path to healthy weight loss comes down to what you eat, not how much you eat.

So, if you’re ready to start changing your food habits, here are three essential science biohacks that will help you get started:

1. Eat protein and fiber

Not only does a high protein diet help you maintain muscle mass, but protein also helps increase feelings of fullness between meals.

The same goes for fiber. Consuming healthy high fiber foods slows the emptying rate of your stomach and releases short-chain fatty acids that help you feel fuller for longer.

Here are some healthy proteins and fibers to consider adding to your diet:

• Eggs
• Almonds
• Chicken breast
• Greek yogurt
• Lean beef
• Tuna
• Quinoa
• Raspberries
• Lentils
• Chickpeas
• Oats

2. Stay hydrated

Water can do wonders for the body, and helping you feel full after a meal is just another perk of staying hydrated.

If your stomach is prone to rumbling between meals, opt for a glass of water before you fix yourself a snack.

Studies have shown 500 mL of water can send fullness signals to the brain and help curb hunger.

3. Eat mindfully

We are, without a doubt, a distracted generation.

When’s the last time you sat down to eat and did absolutely nothing else? No phone. No Netflix. Just you and your plate of food.

Eating mindfully helps us focus more on feelings of fullness. We become more in tune with our body’s natural processes.

Mindful eating helps reduce binge-eating and encourages us to enjoy our food.

So, learning how to eat less isn’t really about eating less. It’s about tuning into food habits to better understand how our bodies work.

Which of these biohacks are you more interested in trying? Let us know in the comments below.