A new study has found that Americans are eating more and eating more often – a likely contributor to the obesity epidemic in the country.  Part of the problem, researchers say, is that we’re thinking about eating all day.  Do you suffer from constant food cravings?  Check out these 5 tips to stop them.

Eat a Protein Rich Breakfast

Starting your morning off with protein – eggs and bacon, for example – has been proven to increase satiety and reduce hunger throughout the day.  It also reduced brain signals that control food motivation and reward-driven eating behavior.  Breakfast in general is important for avoiding weight gain, but protein-heavy breakfasts seem to be the most effective for reducing appetite, according to researchers.

Eat at Regular Intervals throughout the Day

If you let yourself go too long without eating during the day, your blood sugar will plummet.  Not only will this make you feel hungrier, it will also negatively affect your self-control, according to researchers.  That means you’ll be less likely to be able to say no to those high-calorie, nutritionally-empty foods you’re usually so good at staying away from.  Try keeping a baggie of almonds or a pack of yogurt on you during the day for a healthy snack to keep you satisfied.

Picture the Sights and Smells of a Garden

According to a new study, cravings are mainly fueled by picturing a specific (usually high-cal) food in your head and imagining how it smells.  But as any multi-tasker knows, the more occupied your brain is, the more likely you are to forget something.  Same concept here – occupy the visual and olfactory parts of your brain with other sights and smells, preferably strong images and scents, like those in a garden, and your brain will have to push out the idea of food to accommodate.

Tell Yourself What You’re Eating is Indulgent

In another study, researchers gave participants the same 300 calorie shake.  However, in one group, they told the participants they were drinking an indulgent 600 cal shake, and in the other group, they told participants what they were drinking was a healthy 300 cal shake.  Guess which group felt more satisfied afterwards?  The fact is, visualizing food as an indulgent treat leaves you feeling much fuller afterwards.  So appreciate what you eat!

Surf the Web for Funny Videos

Sometimes, our strongest food cravings don’t come from hunger.  When we feel depressed or just “down”, we’re more likely to engage in emotional eating as a way of comforting ourselves.  Instead of reaching for that ice cream, pull up Youtube (or your favorite comedy website) and click on the links that’ll make you laugh and lift your mood.  Even a small lift in your mood can restore your self-control.

When it comes to health and weight management, not all calories are created equal.

Doctors and nutritionists have long known that some foods are simply better for you than others, even when their nutritional information seems to match up.

Sure, sometimes that’s an easy distinction to make.  For example, a 150 calorie serving of fruit is clearly preferable over a twinkie – also 150 calories.  But other times, the line is blurred, especially when it comes to “healthy” foods.

This week, as part of a series called “This vs. That”, let’s take a look at two popular snacks among conscientious dieters: Pretzels vs. Pistachios.

Seems easy, right?  Pistachios are higher in fat than pretzels – surely a diet buster.

Wrong!

When faced with these party snacks, reach for that bowl of pistachios.  It’ll support your weight goals and promote heart health.  Pistachios come with 30 vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients and are a terrific source of fiber, which makes them a healthy and filling snack.

Need more proof?  In a recent study, researchers put 52 overweight participants on a diet.  As part of the regimen, the participants were either assigned to a daily snack of 75 pistachios (240 calories) or a similar 220 calorie serving of pretzels.

They found that the group eating pistachios had better success with their weight goals compared to the pretzel group – even though the pistachios had a higher amount of calories from fat.  Something for snackers to keep in mind is that almost 90 percent of the fat found in pistachios is the healthy unsaturated type.

When you’re craving something sweet, fruit actually may dampen your desire for chocolate or other high-calorie treats, according to a new study.

The study finds that when glucose levels in the brain drop, our ability to regulate emotions and impulses decreases, and we are less able to ignore desires for fattening foods.

“Our prefrontal cortex is a sucker for glucose,” said study researcher Rajita Sinha, a professor at Yale University.

When the prefrontal cortex is denied the glucose it desires, other areas of the brain are activated, including the regions associated with reward, which induces the need to eat. Then, because the “control” region of our brain is weakened, we often eat badly or overeat.

According to the researchers, the effect is particularly evident in obese people.

The study was conducted by intravenously manipulating glucose levels in the body and then using brain scans to study the effects of the manipulation.

Encouragingly, the researchers found that as long as glucose levels were sustained, there was less activation in the brain when the participants were shown pictures of junk food.

“The key seems to be eating healthy foods that maintain glucose levels,” Sinha said. “The brain needs its food.”

The study was published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Government and medical intervention policies that promote health eating could cut the death rate for cardiovascular disease by half, according to new data.

British researchers found that intervention policies aimed at reducing unhealthy eating habits can have a significant effect on cardiovascular disease rates in a population.

Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the United States. It is responsible for approximately one out of every four deaths.

Poor diet is one of the major causes of cardiovascular disease, though prior research has shown that small improvements can make a positive and rapid impact.

The study in question pointed to six foods that could slash the cardiovascular disease rate, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, vegetable oils and seafood. Meanwhile, cutting out excess starch, animal fat, salt and trans fats could also decrease the risk of heart disease.

The researchers also pointed out specific population-wide programs that were effective and inexpensive in decreasing heart disease rates. These included pricing policies that subsidized healthier foods and taxed less healthy ones, improved transportation and marketing of healthier foods, strict guidelines of food marketing to children and increased support of local markets that provide healthy foods.

Whilst drug and hospital based prevention are successful for high-risk individuals with cardiovascular diseases, these methods are relatively costly and not sustainable in many countries.

The study was published in the British Medical Journal.

A new study finds that dairy products, such as milk or cheese, can help dieters not only lose belly fat, but also increase lean muscle mass.

For the study, researchers split overweight and obese women into three groups. Each consumed either low, medium or high amounts of dairy as well as higher or lower amounts of protein and carbohydrates.

The women also worked out every day for fourth months in a routine that included both cardio and weightlifting.

While each group showed nearly identical amounts of weight loss, the higher-protein, high dairy group showed the greatest losses in whole-body and abdominal fat, and the greatest gains in lean mass and strength.

“One hundred percent of the weight lost in the high protein, high dairy group was fat, and the participants gained muscle mass, which is a major change in body composition,” said Andrea Josse, study researcher.

Muscle, according to the researchers, is crucial for maintaining metabolism rates and preventing weight re-gain, which is a problem that plagues many dieters.

Losing belly fat, besides appearance concerns, is also important because fat in the stomach is believed to be especially harmful to cardiovascular and metabolic health.

“The women got fitter and stronger, which greatly reduces their risk of disease,” the researchers said.

The study was published in the Journal of Nutrition.

In order to lose weight, many people tend to skip or cut back drastically on meals. Typically, this results in a rumbling stomach and a drastic drop in blood sugar and energy.

It can also drive a person to binge on a huge dinner or unhealthy snacks.

Prior research has already proven that skipping meals is unwise, particularly skipping breakfast, but a new study suggests that there is one meal that people can cut back on without too many detrimental effects: lunch.

Cornell researchers found that people who at portion-controlled lunches did not compensate by eating more calories later in the day, leading the researchers to believe that the human body does not necessarily notice a small drop in energy intake.

“Making small reductions in energy intake may help prevent further weight gain, and one way of doing this could be to consume portion-controlled lunches a few times a week, said Carly Pacanowski, study researcher.

For the study, participants had to choose a lunch from one of six small, commercially available options, such as Chef Boyardee pasta or Campbell’s Soup at Hand, but they could eat as much as and whatever they wanted at other meals.

While eating the portion-controlled options, each participant consumed 250 fewer calories per day and lost about 1.1 pounds on average.

“Over a year, such a regimen would result in losing at least 25 pounds, said Professor David Levitsky, a co-researcher for the study.

The study was published in Science Direct.