If you find yourself overindulging throughout the day -- second breakfast in the morning, ravenously snacking in the afternoon, a little too much dessert at night -- help is on the way. We've combed through the latest research on ways to beat overeating around the clock.
8 a.m.Fatten up your breakfast. Participants who were given a higher-fat (61 percent) breakfast ate less at their next meal than those who ate a calorically equal, but lower-fat, breakfast, in a study in the April 2011 issue of Appetite. 1 p.m.Focus on your food. Women who did this ate less of their afternoon snack (by about 130 calories) than those who ate lunch while reading the newspaper and even those who ate without any distraction, according to an August 2011 study in Appetite. Researchers think that could be because the women paid more attention to what they were eating (both at lunch and when snacking).3 p.m.Pack a healthy snack. If you go too long between meals, you might be more prone to feast on high-calorie foods when you do eat, says a study in the October 2011 Journal of Clinical Investigation.Researchers found that participants were much more interested in the high-cal foods when their blood sugar levels were low versus normal. Satisfy afternoon hunger --and avoid less-healthy options -- by planning ahead.6 p.m.Savor an appetizer. When participants drank a savory beverage 30 minutes before a meal, they ate less of high-fat savory foods, like potato chips and ham sandwiches, during the meal than when they started with a sweet or bland drink, in a study in the January 2012 Journal of Nutrition.10 p.m.Get enough rest. Aim for seven to nine9 hours of shut-eye each night -- less than that might cause you to eat more. That's because insufficient sleep can lower levels of leptin -- a hormone that tells us when we've eaten enough -- and also increases ghrelin, a hormone that signals the body to eat, according to a 2011 study.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
