When it comes to weight loss or maintenance, of course, what you eat is crucial, and some research suggests when you eat is important, too. But a new study in Scientific Reports suggests another big component of your eating habits can help: chewing food more slowly.

To determine the potential effects of slow chewing, researchers asked 11 healthy, normal-weight men to go through three trials: drinking liquid food normally every 30 seconds, drinking liquid food but keeping it in their mouths for 30 seconds before swallowing, and chewing food for 30 seconds before swallowing.

All three approaches resulted in the same level of fullness, but it was the slow chewing that turned out to be unique, because it increased what’s called diet-induced thermogenesis, or DIT. This refers to how much heat is generated in the body after eating and how it affects your metabolic rate. A low level of DIT tends to promote weight gain, while a high level has the opposite effect.

Even though it might seem like a minor action, increased chewing among participants elevated their DIT and the researchers noted that the difference per meal or snack might be small, but the cumulative effect done every time you eat could be substantial.

Related: The #1 Best Juice to Drink Every Day, Says Science

Although the study has limitations based on its small sample size, it’s not the first to make the connection between slow eating and weight loss or maintenance. For example, a clinical trial published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that increasing the number of chews before swallowing reduced meal sizes in part because people ate for longer, and that led to eating less.

Another study in Frontiers in Psychology suggests there may be a mental component as well. In that research, participants who paid more attention to chewing showed a change in their brain’s reward circuits, which led to less impulsive eating behaviors.

Another benefit to slow eating is becoming more mindful about what you’re eating, and simply enjoying the taste more, says New York-based dietitian Vanessa Rissetto, R.D., co-founder of Culina Health. She says it can feel overwhelming to try to eat every single bite with mindful attention, but like a meditation exercise, start with a modest attempt.

For example, try being mindful of your next three bites of food. As you work the strategy into your eating more often, you’re more likely to get to that other big question around food, which can help you improve your eating habits in order to achieve your weight loss goals.

“Are you eating because you’re actually hungry, or it because you’re bored, stressed, or tired?” says Rissetto. “Are you feeding into that habit loop where a sugary item makes you feel good, so you just grab one because you’re on autopilot? Understanding why you’re eating makes a big difference.”

With that much awareness, it can lead to healthier eating habits without feeling deprived along the way, she adds.

For more, check out The Best Dinner Combinations for Faster Weight Loss.

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“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”

That’s the last line of a favorite quote of mine. When I was younger, I framed it and hung it on my bedroom wall to remind me that attitude matters. You’ll never gain control of life—your health, your diet, your whatever—if you dwell on “what happens to you.” And that’s why I believe one of the best mind tricks that can help you lose weight is to have a positive attitude.

Let me explain why and how a positive attitude can make a drastic difference in your weight loss journey.

In my new audiobook, Lose Weight Like Crazy Even If You Have a Crazy Life, I share a lot of stories of my own struggles with doubt and negative thinking, and also how I changed my pessimistic attitude.

When I was growing up, anytime something went wrong, my dad would say “I’m cursed. It’s the Calabrese curse.” So for a long time, I believed it, too, that we Calabreses were destined for bad luck. Lesson: Be careful of the people around you. If you’re constantly around people with a negative attitude, chances are you’re going to develop one, too.

Once I was in college on my own, surrounded by like-minded people having fun and embracing life’s ups and downs, I started to realize that the manner in which I reacted to situations mattered. I could choose to see the bad or I could choose to see the good. I could get pissed off or down on myself, or I could learn from my challenges and look at life through a more positive lens. Before I knew it, I didn’t feel like life was happening to me. Instead, I felt in control. And I realized that attitude is the secret to making good things happen.

See, whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right! If you approach weight loss, for example, with a positive attitude, asking yourself, what can I learn? How can it work for me? chances are you will experience a better understanding of yourself and your nutrition, and you’ll get great results.

Here are some practical ways to flip your attitude switch:

• Start your day with an attitude check. Check it before going into a challenging situation. If you go out to dinner with friends and you forget to save a yellow serving (part of my portion control plan in the book) for your glass of wine, well, you have 2 ways to look at it: This plan sucks; I’m not doing this, OR you can think ah, this is what Autumn means about planning ahead and being prepared. I’ll have water tonight and a cocktail next time we go out. It will still be fun to be with friends. Choosing the right attitude will keep you on the path to success. (Related: This Simple Morning Workout Melts Fat All Day Long, Say Experts.)
• Act like a child. Success doesn’t always happen on the first try, and that’s OK. Take a baby who is just learning how to walk, for example. If the baby falls taking those first wobbly steps, she doesn’t think, “Well, I’m done; this walking stuff isn’t for me.” She gets up and tries again and again. We can all learn a lesson from the child inside us who didn’t know the meaning of defeat, wasn’t weighed down by society’s opinions and all the self-doubt. Keep getting back up.
• Don’t reach for perfection. Perfection is an unrealistic goal. It’s super hard to achieve and more often than not will leave you feeling unworthy if you don’t nail it. So, don’t even go there. I say, “shoot for progress, not perfection.” Some people quit due to slow progress, never grasping the fact that slow progress IS PROGRESS! Celebrate the small wins with these 25 Genius Ways to Reward Yourself for Weight Loss.
• Practice consistency. The secret to success in almost anything is consistency. Practice it. In anything you do, practice it every day. Nobody gets to the Olympic Games, the NFL, or the NBA without practicing consistently to improve. The same goes for improving your health and fitness or building a bulletproof positive attitude. These 15 Underrated Weight Loss Tips That Actually Work
• Have a reason. In my book, I call step number one for big weight loss “identifying your ‘why.'” What’s your reason for wanting to lose weight and get fit? It has to be meaningful to you in order to push you forward on those hard days when you feel like packing it in. You’ll need to lean into your deeper “why” to stay on track. To find it, ask yourself:
  • What will happen when I lose the weight?
  • How will I feel when I lose the weight I want to lose?
  • What would happen if I didn’t lose this weight?
  • How will I feel if I don’t lose this weight?
• Go deep. Then ask yourself, “What’s holding me back from getting what I want?”
• Have a plan. The most practical tool for changing attitudes and behaviors is having a well-defined plan. If you have a clear map to follow it’s almost impossible to get lost. This is the essential idea behind my Portion Fix Plan. In the book, you’ll learn how to determine the exact portion of vegetables, fruits, proteins, carbohydrates, healthy fats, seeds, salad dressings, and nut butters to eat for your specific calorie bracket to reach your weight loss goals. And my color-coded container system makes preparing meals according to that plan incredibly easy.

All of these tips will help you change your attitude about yourself and about food, seeing food as the fuel that it’s intended to be.

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If you’ve been following Hollywood news, you know the season of celebrity bikini bodies is upon us in a big way. Granted, some stars are just perpetually fit—but as Will Smith recently reminded us, some celebs are just like the rest of us. One celebrity trainer has talked exclusively with Eat This, Not That! to reveal the one must-do she challenges her clients to try when they come to her to slim down for the season.

Latoya Julce is a certified personal trainer and instructor at New York City’s 305 Fitness. Julce has trained some big names and taught stars like Hannah Bronfman, Amanda Seyfried, and Mary Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen in her classes. Julce also happens to be a registered nurse, which gives her an even more specialized perspective on health and nutrition, while she adds that both arms of her career help her relate well to the busiest among us—as an operating room nurse and a trainer, Julce rarely sits down.

Read on to discover the exact tips that Julce tells her clients to try to tone up. And for more insight into how your favorite stars stay fit, check out Rita Ora Shares the Workout She Does to Get Six-Pack Abs.

What’s the best exercise move to do when you want to torch fat and tone? “A weighted squat is always a great move,” Julce says. “It will burn the most calories for you, and a lot of things—abs, legs, glutes—have to work to do a squat properly. Besides, sitting down and standing up is something you do every day, so why not do an exercise that’s really functional in your life, as well?”

Not only is a squat awesome for your shape, but a top physician has also explained why it’s a powerful move for your brain health, too.

In the age of the intermittent fasting craze, Julce says that the truly healthy way to eat with discipline is to actually eat more often. “Snacks are super important for me,” Julce says. “I tell all my clients: If you don’t have your meals, that’s fine, but your snacks will be key. Never wait until you’re starving—that’s when you go crazy and make bad choices. You always want to have a snack, and make sure your sugars are at a decent level.”

RELATED: One Major Side Effect from Intermittent Fasting

“My job is not a desk job, and sometimes I don’t really know when I’m going to eat my lunch,” Julce says. Her go-to? Half an apple with peanut butter or almond butter. “I grab a spoon, and it’s easy to manage,” she says. Plus with the hit of protein, fat, and fiber, this snack will stabilize your levels and help you feel fuller to keep you from crashing before your next break.

RELATED: The #1 Peanut Butter To Eat, According To a Dietitian

Julce says a protein bar is also an easy grab on the go to help you avoid feeling hungry—but you need to go for a good one. Her favorite is a KIND bar, which “is on the low end of the sugar scale,” she says, while she’ll occasionally get ONE protein bars, which have just one gram of sugar. (Also peek at what happens to your body when you eat a protein bar.)

Julce says the single most important tip anyone can start right now is to really slow down your pace of eating. “We’re always in a rush and eating so fast, but your stomach is only a certain size. If you overeat, that’s how the calories add up. Talk, have a sip of water, take your time, enjoy your meal. Then you’ll notice as soon as you feel full.”

RELATED: The #1 Unhealthiest Diet You Should Never Try, According To a Dietitian

Julce’s clients’ comments on social media suggest she’s known for preaching, and practicing, health as a lifestyle. “I know it’s a cliché, everyone says it on Instagram—but preparation and consistency are the key, honestly.” She says taking the time for meal prep, shopping for healthy snacks, and planning out your day are worth the effort. “Weight loss and eating good really takes time, but if you just hone in to being consistent and prepared, it will really pay off.”

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Here’s a fundamental law of exercise: If you want to burn more calories for the sake of losing weight, you have to constantly challenge your muscles to work harder. After all, if you’re used to doing the same amount of work each and every time you hit the gym—whether it’s the same amount of weight you’re lifting or the same amount of reps you’re doing—you’re simply not going to burn those extra calories. In fact, your body becomes more efficient doing the same thing over time, and you may find that you end up actually burning less calories.

If you’d like to challenge yourself to do just a little bit for the sake of weight loss, you can try this one exercise trick that takes remarkably little time and will turbocharge your workout: Perform a plyometric exercise for 10 seconds before you work your way up to a heavier load.

Why? Well, performing plyometrics, which are powerful, explosive movements, help ramp up your central nervous system. They also allow your body to “wake up” so it has more power to move more weights. The goal here isn’t to fatigue your body, but rather to get it to be explosive. If you’d like to give it a go, what follow are four terrific examples of plyometrics that I personally love to do before transitioning to heavier weights. (Note: Do the jumps before your lower body exercises, and the pushups and slams before your upper body movements.) In every case, you should perform 2-3 sets before going into your main routine. And for more great healthy living advice, check out these Simple Ways to Get Fitter That Aren’t Exercise, Say Experts.

Start by placing your legs about hip-width apart. Keeping your core tight, throw your arms and hips back at the same time. Swing your arms forward and jump up as high as you can. Land soft into a half squat before jumping again. And for more great workout advice, consider trying This 20-Minute Walking Workout to Get Fit and Burn Fat.

Begin by being in a split-squat position. Jump up as high as you can and switch legs so you land with the alternating leg. Land soft with your knee tracking straight before jumping up and switching again. And for more great fitness routines to try, see these 5 Ways to Get a Perfect Butt.

To perform this exercise, position yourself with both hands on the bench. Lower yourself to where your chest touches the pad, then explode up as high as you can. Land softly with your hands on the bench, then perform another rep.

With your feet shoulder-width apart, grab a giant medicine ball. Raise it above your head, then slam the weight down on the ground, flexing your abs hard when you finish. Squat down with a straight back to pick it up again before performing another rep. And for more great exercise advice, see here for The 15-Second Exercise Trick That Will Change Your Life.

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Despite what you may have heard from any hardcore distance runners or weightlifters you happen to know, walking—when paired with a healthy diet—is an effective way to lose weight. According to a study published in the Journal of Exercise Nutrition & Biochemistry, researchers who studied the effects of walking on obese women found that it was especially effective at reducing belly fat, while also improving the body’s insulin response. Another study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, found that sedentary men and women between the ages of 40 and 65 managed to lose weight when they walked for 12 miles every week without meaningfully changing their diets.

If walking is your exercise method of choice, know that there’s one thing you can be doing after you lace up your shoes that not only makes your walks more interesting but also ensures that you’re maximizing your weight loss: You can perform walking intervals—or varying the pace of your walks by working in shorter bursts of more intense walking. 

“By varying the speed of your walk, especially adding in some faster pace interval work, you will raise your heart rate and increase your caloric expenditure, helping you lose more weight over time,” says Tom Holland, MS, CSCS, CISSN, an exercise physiologist and author of The Micro-Workout Plan: Get the Body You Want without the Gym in 15 Minutes or Less a Day. “Remember that your body is an intelligent machine that adapts to your workouts. By adding variation into your walks, you will keep your body challenged and ensure you avoid the dreaded weight-loss plateau.”

Studies have shown that high-intensity interval training (HIIT)—when not performed to the extreme, of course—is one of the most effective exercises that you can do to lose weight. One enormous meta-analysis published in the journal Sports Medicine found that HIIT “significantly reduced total, abdominal, and visceral fat mass, with no differences between the sexes.” The researchers concluded: “HIIT is a time-efficient strategy to decrease fat-mass deposits, including those of abdominal and visceral fat mass.”

Though sprinting fast, knocking out Burpees, and jumping rope are way more hardcore than walking, the same exercise principles apply to walking intervals: By varying the intensity of your exercise and pushing your heart rate more, you’ll reap greater rewards.

“It’s also been pointed out to me that intervals more resemble natural play,” Martin Gibala, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario—and one of the world’s top experts on interval training—once explained to me. “So, if you look at children in a playground, they don’t sort of jog at a moderate pace for a continuous period of time. They run and jump and they take breaks and they sprint, and then stop and take a break. So, in some ways I think intervals tend to resemble more natural activities, either from an evolutionary perspective or from a child behavior perspective.”

If you want your walk to be more interesting and productive, apply intervals to your next outing. Consider trying your hand at this great 30-minute interval walking workout below, courtesy of Tom Holland. It’s done in only a half-hour, but your body’s fat-burning apparatus will be working long after you’ve stopped. Whatever you do, make sure you’re not making any of these Major Mistakes You Shouldn’t Make While Walking, According to Experts.

Walk at an easy pace for 10 minutes to get your body loose and comfortable.

For 30 seconds, do a hard power walk—walking for as fast as you can. Immediately afterward, slow back down to an easy walk for recovery. Repeat this cycle 9 more times.

Walk at an easy pace for 10 minutes.

Follow the same routine as above, but perform your power intervals on a hill. Walk 30 seconds powerfully up the hill, and then 30 seconds back down at an easy pace. And if you’re eager for more Eat This, Not That!-approved workouts to try, don’t miss these great ones right here:

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When you want to get to the beach faster, you take a shortcut. That’s also true when your destination is losing 20 pounds before hit the sand. The promise of a shortcut is extremely appealing because we know that the path to a leaner, more muscular body is long and difficult.

But if there’s one hack that makes achieving the body you want through exercise easier than all others, we’ve found it: work out first thing in the morning. (And for more tips, check out these Science-Backed Mental Hacks to Lose More Weight.)

Sound awful? It may even feel terrible the first time you try it, but it works like a charm. Countless athletes and trainers agree, including Natasha Funderburk, RN, CPT, a personal trainer certified by the National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM) and an ACE Behavior Change Specialist.

“I know it sometimes [it’s hard] to get up and immediately jump into a workout, but when you exercise in the morning there are so many good things that happen,” she says.

For example, morning workouts may actually make you feel more energetic as the day goes on. A 2010 Australian study found that people who exercised in the morning and also took brief walking breaks during the day scored higher on tests of attention, visual learning, and decision making compared to sedentary people.

And in an animal study, University of Copenhagen researchers found that exercising in the morning results in an increased metabolic response, allowing rats to break down sugar and fat better. (Read more: One Major Side Effect of Working Out in the Morning, Says Study.)

Lastly, research even shows that morning exercise is associated with greater physical activity the rest of the day.

We asked Funderburk, the owner to trulysimplyhealthy.com to tell us her best tips to start working out in the morning and the benefits of doing so. Read on, and for more on healthy eating, don’t miss Simple Ways to Start Losing Weight Immediately, According to Science.

When you get your workout out of the way in the morning, you’ll find that you suddenly have much more time in your day to get everything else done. By contrast, if you put off your workout for later in the day, invariably your life will get busy, and that may make you more likely to blow it off.

“By the time I get home or get finished with everything I have going on at the end of the day, I’m so tired that the last thing I want to do is get up and move when I could be lying on the couch,” says Funderburk.

RELATED: Sign up for our newsletter to get daily recipes and food news in your inbox!

Set your alarm for 30 to 60 minutes earlier than you normally do to create “me” time for your workout, suggests Funderburk. Place your alarm clock or phone across the room so you have to get up to turn it off, forcing you to get moving. “Set out your workout clothes the night before. Fill a water bottle or get your pre-workout meal ready to go,” she says. The simpler you make it to start exercising, the better. “Exercising in the morning means getting to bed earlier, too,” she says. “Schedule it in your calendar like a work meeting; when you treat your workout like an appointment, you’re less likely to skip it.” And for better sleep, check out 9 Eating Habits That Are Hurting Your Sleep, According to Doctors.

“One extra benefit of morning exercise is that when you start your day making a healthy choice, you’re more likely to continue making healthy choices throughout the day,” says Funderburk.

That’s been backed up by research, which has shown that exercising in the morning is associated with greater physical activity the rest of the day. What’s more, other studies demonstrate that aerobic exercise, like walking, reduces cravings for high-fat fast foods and carbohydrates later in the day. Related: Avoid these Worst Habits for a Flat Belly, According to Experts.

“There’s this big misconception that you need to spend hours working out to get the best results. Not true,” says Funderburk. In fact, a long workout can sabotage your motivation. “You can get a super effective weight training session in 30 to 45 minutes if you’re using your time wisely. HIIT (high-intensity interval training) should be 15 minutes or less. Cardio, if you’re adding it on after weight training, should be approximately 20 minutes.”

Jumping into a workout before eating breakfast not only is time-efficient, but it may also speed up weight loss. “If your goal is fat loss, then try fasted cardio,” suggests Funderburk. “Working out in a fasted state forces your body to burn fat stores because it isn’t pulling from recent energy stories (the food you just ate).” A small study in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism found that people who fasted before morning exercise sessions reduced the number of calories, they ate the rest of the day and increased fat burning while they were exercising.

If you’ve tried working out in the morning and you’re still gaining weight, This Could Be Why.

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