10 Ways to curb your appetite – naturally

Sometimes I have an appetite that is out of control. Sometimes I want to eat when I am not hungry, when I have already eaten, when I am bored or distracted. You do not need to satisfy every craving you have. I am trying to develop more discipline with the way I eat. Over the last two years I have been very gentle with myself. I have tried to listen to my body. I always feed it and I try not to skip meals.

I also try not to overeat.

Lately – I have been at a weight I am very comfortable with but I have previously been overweight and it always make me feel lousy. I am not trying to be self-righteous. I used to be very scared about my weight – I felt that it was not something I could control. I was mean to myself. Now I try to be kind to myself.

These are KIND ways you can curb your appetite, naturally, without having to resort to those yucky pills or shakes or sprays. Number 8 and number 3 are perhaps, a little cruel, but for the most part – these natural ways of curbing your appetite are cruelty-free.

1. Drink a glass of water to curb your appetite

I love drinking water. In fact, I think I may have died of thirst in a past life because I absolutely AT ALL TIMES have at least 500mLs to 1 lire of water near me. That’s about 2 – 4 glasses. I can drink a huge glass of water without taking a breath. Many people ask me why I have such nice skin. I say it’s because I drink a lot of water but this isn’t true. I have nice skin because it’s my awesomeness seeping out. Really.

2. Hot tea to curb your appetite

I don’t like tea with milk and neither does my mother or The Boyf. Nice, hot tea (even with milk) can be a great way to curb your appetite naturally. I have previously written a post on the best teas for weight loss. Tea is a way to fill you up.

3. Trying on jeans might curb your appetite

This works, every time. If you have finished your lunch and you want to eat something else (perhaps a big, cheesy bun) then go and try on jeans instead of eating the bun. Choose a clothes shop with poor lighting, young sales assistants and dance music to really frustrate you. It will take your mind off food.

4. Strong breath mints may curb your appetite

Don’t buy sweet ones, don’t buy chewy ones. By bitter, strong, vile-tasting mints that will put you off food altogether. In Australia we have these things called Fishermen’s Friends. They are the most goddamned awful mints you could ever eat. I have just found out you can buy them in more than 100 countries. There you go.

5. Miso soup can curb your appetite

One of my most popular posts is how to lose weight with miso soup. I love miso soup and a cup of it contains only about 30-40 calories and is very satisfying. You can make your own or buy pre-bought from Asian supermarkets.

6. Distract yourself & curb your appetite

This is an esoteric principle: Delayed Gratification. It is essential to living a good life. If we can just distract ourselves from an activity for 5, 10 or 15 minutes, the urge often passes. Delay, delay, delay and if you still need to eat – indulge your desire, but only when you have delayed first. Build up your inner strength. Even if you go on to eat – delaying for a few minutes will do you good.

7. Call your mother to curb your appetite

Chatting with mum for a few minutes will take my mind off my problems. Occasionally I might call someone else but my mother is the only person who listens to me ramble on about myself completely selfishly. Thanks mother. A quick call to mum will take my mind off most of my problems.

8. Look at photos of obesity-related disorders

Remember the old trick of putting a fat photo of yourself on your fridge to stop you overeating? I find that looking at shots of people with obesity related problems can have the same effect. For the same reason, I choose not to watch cooking shows when I am hungry. I got very annoyed at Weight Watchers because their website seemed to show millions of photos of FOOD instead of healthy bodies so I had to stop going there because it made me hungry. That’s OK – Weight Watchers wants you to stay fat. Also, I wrote a post titled 6 problems with the Weight Watchers program and 6 solutions. Read it.

9. Red lipstick might curb your appetite

Pamela Anderson used to do this one. Put on a fresh coat of red lipstick (buy yourself an expensive one!) and try not to smudge it all morning. It’s a trick that works – plus you will look sexy too.

10. Walk around in your underwear to curb your appetite

Don’t try this one at the office. If you are at home, however, get your gear off and let your wobbly bits run free. There are studies that show that eating naked in front of a mirror can make you eat less. I am a nudist by nature. I simply LOVE getting my gear off. I don’t know why – it’s not a sexual thing, more a liberation thing. I have always been like this, even as a kid. As a twenty-something, you only had to say the words, “Skinny di—“ and I’d be dashing sans bikini into the ocean. I look forward to being one of those wrinkly old ladies who still gets naked. IDC – the naked me is the real me.