Pudding for breakfast can keep you slim: Research

We all know that eating a bit less and exercising a bit more can help to lose weight. But there are many other factors at play that are only now being discovered by scientists, reports The Daily Mail.

But that’s not the only unexpected way you can shed the pounds. Here we present another surprising slimming strategies, says the study author Phyllis Zee, a professor of neurology at Northwestern University, Illinois.

EAT WRONG-HANDED

Many of us eat out of habit, particularly when we are distracted by something else, such as the TV.

But doing something to break that habit, such as eating with the ‘wrong’ hand (ie, left hand for right-handers and vice versa) can make a difference, say researchers from the University of Southern California.

CHEW ON A CHILLI

Chillies can be hot stuff for losing weight, as they rev up your body’s metabolism, making it burn more fat.

STICK TO QUIET RESTAURANTS

Restaurants, with all their clanging noises, make us want to eat sweeter and saltier foods, according to research in the journal Food Quality and Preference.

In noisy restaurants we respond by eating faster and drinking more alcohol, says research by Dr Adrian North, a psychologist at the University of Leicester.

MAKE A FIST FOR 30 SECONDS

Clenching your fists for half a minute can halt temptation when you have a food craving, reported the Journal of Consumer Research in 2011.

AN APPLE (PEEL) A DAY...

Apple peel contains ursolic acid, which increases muscle and levels of brown fat (found in the neck and between the shoulder blades). Both of these boost the rate at which our bodies burn calories.

HAVE A PUDDING AT BREAKFAST

Eating a breakfast that includes a sweet dessert may help you to lose weight, say researchers from Tel Aviv University.

The key is to indulge in the morning, when the metabolism is at its most active and we can work off the extra calories.

EAT BORING FOOD TO FEEL FULL

Nutrition scientist Barbara Rolls says variety in the form of colours makes you eat more and the greater the contrast in taste between the food on your plate, the more you will eat.

SHOP BEFORE YOU’RE HUNGRY

Scans show that hungry brains release hormones that make us crave high-fat, high-sugar foods.

CHEW A MOUTHFUL 15 TO 20 TIMES

Your mother was right to tell you to chew each mouthful.  The slow eaters also said they enjoyed their food more.

TUCK IN WITH A BIG FORK

Bigger forks can mean slimmer tummies. So says a 2011 study, which found that taking larger bites can lead to us eating less.

DON'T PUT BUTTER ON YOUR BREAD

Use olive oil instead of butter on bread and you will eat 16 per cent fewer calories and drop your bread consumption by a quarter, according to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity.

It is thought that olive oil stimulates taste receptors more powerfully than butter, making people feel fuller quicker.

GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP

A Chicago University study that cut 12 young men’s nightly sleep down to just four hours found their levels of the appetite hormone ghrelin rose by 28 per cent after only two days.

Their levels of leptin, which tells the brain that the stomach is full, fell by 18 per cent. The men began to crave high-carb foods, reported the Annals of Internal Medicine.