2642: How a Light Switch & 6 Other Common Household Items Can Help You Lose Weight by Ben Greenfield and Michael Volkin

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[00:01:12] can help you lose weight by Ben Greenfield and Michael Volkin with bengreenfieldlife.com. And I'm Dr. Neal Malik, your host and narrator. Hey there, happy middle of the week Wednesday and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily

[00:01:26] where I simply read to you from the best health and fitness blogs for free. And then on Fridays, I answer your questions. You can send one in at oldpodcast.com slash ask or just send an email

[00:01:40] with your question to health at oldpodcast.com. Now today is Wednesday and like I do every Wednesday, I like to share a little bit of inspiration with you. So with that, here we go.

[00:01:53] Quote, With every rising of the sun, think of your life as just begun. Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Alright, now that we're in the right frame of mind, let's get right to today's post and start

[00:02:05] optimizing your life. How a light switch and 6 other common household items can help you lose weight by Ben Greenfield and Michael Volkin with bengreenfieldlife.com. I used to have a game I'd

[00:02:24] give to people who would attend an early morning boot camp I taught at the park. It went like this. You pair up with a partner and a deck of cards and deal each other a full deck of cards,

[00:02:35] alternating card by card. If you're dealt any card from 2 to 10, you do that number of push-ups. If you're dealt an ace, you do 5 burpees. If you get a jack, you do 10 jumping jacks. A queen is

[00:02:50] 10 mountain climbers. A king, 10 squats. And the dreaded joker was a wild card for which your partner got to choose any exercise and have you do 10 of them. One of my friends, Michael Volkin,

[00:03:03] a sergeant in the US military, has taken a similar concept and put it on freaking steroids. He has a deck of cards called the Strength Stack 52 and it goes like this. Each card in the 52-card

[00:03:17] deck has a different body weight exercise on it. Each card is color-coded by muscle group. Blue is cardio, red is core, pink back, yellow legs, orange arms, green chest. Each card has an exercise, a silhouette of the exercise being performed, a description of how

[00:03:41] to perform the exercise and a suggested number of repetitions for each exercise. Each card has a QR code. When scanned with any number of free smartphone apps, you can see a video of the

[00:03:54] exercise being performed. A short link is also in each card so you can watch the exercise video by simply typing in a short address into the URL of any browser. Pretty cool, huh?

[00:04:06] Michael also likes to figure out unique and new ways to boost metabolism and burn fat faster. Today, he shares with us how a light switch and other household items can help you lose weight. Enjoy! How a light switch and other household items can help you lose weight.

[00:04:23] When I was 19, I could eat whatever I wanted and not worry about the intake of calories. Fast forward a couple of decades and those glory days are long over. However, losing weight isn't as

[00:04:36] difficult as it may seem. Even common household items you have in your house right now can help you burn calories and lose weight without ever hearing the dreaded word, diet. Here are a few of my favorite household items that can help you consume less calories. 1. Vanilla

[00:04:55] Aromas can influence your thought patterns. That's not an opinion, it's a scientific fact. The smell of vanilla can quell the cravings of needless calories from mindless snacking. Try lighting a vanilla-scented candle when you sense a snack craving approaching. Smelling a bottle of vanilla extract or wearing vanilla-scented lotion

[00:05:15] will also work to quell your cravings the next time you want to snack on something sweet. 2. Your Toothbrush. Peppermint toothpaste has been shown to suppress appetites. Brushing your teeth right after dinner sends a signal to your brain that you're done eating and

[00:05:31] discourages you from eating that calorie-packing bedtime snack. While you're at it, don't forget to floss. 3. Your TV Remote. The average person spends 5 hours a day in front of the television. Imagine how many calories you could burn turning off your TV for just 30 minutes

[00:05:48] and flipping 10 Strength Stack 52 bodyweight exercise cards. Flip 10 cards for a quick solo workout or play a fitness game with your family or friends in the room. This burns so many more calories than lying lifeless in front of the TV. 4. Eat off Smaller Plates. Countless studies have

[00:06:08] concluded that the larger your plates and bowls, the more food you serve yourself. Serve yourself food from a smaller plate and you will feel just as full and satisfied compared to a normal-sized

[00:06:19] plate. 5. Your Computer. Log on to social media and announce you're going to lose X amount of weight. Now, you're accountable to others and motivated by the ones who care about you. Studies have shown that while trying to lose weight, being accountable to someone other than yourself

[00:06:39] increases your chances dramatically that you will reach your weight loss goals. And 6. The Light Switch. A Cornell University study concluded the secret to eating less and feeling more satisfied about what you eat could be to simply turn down the lights. Researchers

[00:06:56] found people who ate a meal under soft lighting consumed 175 fewer calories than those who ate in a brightly lit room. The participants who dined under mood lighting ate 18% less food and also rated their food more enjoyable than those eating under bright lights. Scientists theorize that's

[00:07:16] because the bright fluorescent lights commonly found in fast-food restaurants may create a psychological need to rush through meals and eat more. So, do your belly a favor, get romantic, and light a candle at dinner. You just listened to the post titled,

[00:07:36] How a Light Switch and Six Other Common Household Items Can Help You Lose Weight, by Ben Greenfield and Michael Volkin with bengreenfieldlife.com and I'll be right back with my commentary. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. I want to go back to what today's authors mentioned

[00:07:52] about the importance of accountability and motivation. When we're trying to take care of ourselves by changing our lifestyle, it can feel like a really lonely experience. In fact, I happened to find a meta-analysis that reported that most people found the process of weight loss

[00:08:09] to be in fact a lonely experience. When individuals tried to lose weight, they often felt criticized for their choices and their new lifestyle by those closest to them. For some, this led to them giving in to social pressures and eventually, giving up on their goals altogether.

[00:08:26] But, those that had a support system, basically others that share similar goals and follow similar healthy habits, were more likely to reach their goals. So, if you find that those closest to you don't seem to support your health goals, that's okay. There are others out there that will

[00:08:44] and they are out there. Alright, that'll do it for today. I hope you have a great Wednesday. Thank you so much for listening and I'll be back here tomorrow as usual. So, I'll see you there where your optimal life awaits!