Always looking for new ways to curb your appetite and shed those stubborn pounds? Now that bikini season’s among us (or at least among those of us that don’t live on the East Coast, where it’s been raining for about 10 days now), finding a way to cut calories and look good on the beach is on everyone’s mind. Enter Sensa: tiny edible granules that, when sprinkled on food, are supposed to enhance the smell and taste of your meal and send olfactory messages your brain that make you fuller faster. What’s more, they release hormones that are supposed to suppress your appetite so that you’re not a member of the “clean plate club” at every meal.

A recent article in the New York Times quotes Dr. Alan Hirsch, the maker of Sensa, who says that you become full when your brain senses that you’ve smelled and tasted something. Basically, you’re tricking your body into thinking it’s satisfied before you get the chance to overeat. So I can sniff that glazed donut, maybe take a few bites, and feel no need to eat the rest? No more burrito binges?  No more digging into my pasta face first?

Where do I buy these magical crystals?! Read More »

A few years ago researchers and doctors discovered that people who did not sleep enough were more likely to gain weight. That seemed obvious enough to me; not sleeping would make someone too tired to workout and more likely to sit around and eat. And, since those people were awake longer, they had more time to stuff their faces. The research findings were a lot more scientific, though.

It turned out that people who slept fewer than 8 hours a night had increased levels of Grehlin – a hormone that increases appetite – and a decrease in their levels of Leptin – a hormone that makes us feel full. So, people who slept less ate more, which, naturally, caused them to gain weight.

Doctors started urging people to get more sleep. They recommended creating a relaxing setting at bedtime (candles, nature sounds, sex?), avoiding caffeine and exercise in the evenings and keeping a notepad near the bed to jot down notes in order to clear the mind. They begged Americans to slow down a little and focus on their health instead of the million other things that plague us on a daily basis. And for the love of God, stop with the all-nighters.

And what happened? It backfired. Well, sorta. Read More »