Lost & hound

A dog’s life: Mutts lessen stress — and force you to walk them. 01. GET A POOCH

A dog isn’t just a man’s best friend — having a mutt can also keep you greyhoundslim. Everyday stress floods your body with the hormone cor tisol, which triggers the storage of fat, but a University Of Missouri study proved that hanging with hounds releases the feelgood hormone oxytocin to keep belly-bloating stress at bay. Dog owners are also 34% more likely to get out and exercise. For the greatest benefit, choose the most suitable breed of dog for your preferred type of exercise (see below) — shuffling around with a wheezing pug gives off the wrong vibe.

P I C K T H E R I G H T D O G Make sure your new BFF matches your activity.

R U N N I N G Dogs bred to hunt (like Labradors and Weimaraners) or to pull sleds (huskies) will keep up with you even on marathon runs. For a smaller option, a Jack Russell has almost boundless energy.

W A T E R S P O R T S If you’re an open-water swimmer or a kayaker, a Newfoundland — with its thick, water-resistant fur — is perfect. If you have no space (they can weigh 65kg), a small, Portuguese water dog is non-allergenic.

M O U N T A I N M E N An all-rounder like an English or Irish setter can easily cope with ver tiginous hikes, although serious walkers might prefer the power of a Bernese mountain dog.

02. EAT EGGS FOR BREAKFAST

Swapping your morning toast for a three-egg omelette could be the easiest fat-loss trick you pull today. Research in the Journal Of Three American College Of Nutrition found that replacing a grain-based breakfast with eggs boosts fullness and cuts your lunch intake by more than 160 calories. In fact, the effect lasts for 36 hours, so you’ll still be eating smaller por tions tomorrow. 03. Eat grapes before you shop

■ If you often hit the supermarket with a list of vegies but come home with bags of pastries, it’s probably because your willpower is starved of glucose. Research in the Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology proved that willpower drops with your glucose levels, so eating glucose-rich grapes before you shop will sweeten your chance of avoiding the cake aisle.

04. Munch on cheese

■ Giving up cheese in a bid to slim down is a bad idea. In a study published in the Journal Of Agriculture And Food Chemistry, a group of men who ate a cheese-rich diet had higher levels of the compound butyrate, an anti-inflammatory fatty acid that boosts your fat-burning metabolism, than those who ate other dairy products or a control diet. If you’re concerned about your fat intake, stick to cottage cheese and feta, which are relatively low in fat.

05. Drizzle lemon on your lunch

■ Give your stomach some lemon aid by squeezing lemon juice into everything from stir-fries and salads to fish dishes and fruit shakes. It blunts the post-lunch insulin spike that causes your body to store fat and helps it store carbs as fuel instead of blubber, so you’ll feel citrus-fresh for your next trip to the gym.

We’re not yolk Eggs boost full for 36 hour 06. CHEW GUM

I F Y O U C A N ’ T H E L P snaffling a bag of jelly babies ever y time you pick up your copy of Men’s Fitness magazine, chuck a stick of gum into your mouth on the way to the shop. A study in the journal Appetite proved it reduces cravings for sugar y snacks. Plus, not even a lolly tastes good when you’ve got mint-mouth.

07 08

R E A D T H E L A B E L

People who understand food labelling weigh 4.5kg less than people who don’t, according to research published in Agricultural Economics. Check the ingredient order — manufacturers are legally bound to put the biggest one first . If your protein bar ’s first, second and third ingredients are varieties of sugar (sucrose, fructose and saccharin, say), it’s basically a sugar bar. Next time you walk past the office vending machine, tighten your fist into a ball. Research in the Journal Of Consumer Research revealed that people who clench a muscle for 30 seconds are better able to control their impulses, giving you more chance of ignoring that shiny Picn bar. It will also come in handy next time your finger is hovering over the Buy button for a $20 shir t you know you don’ really need.

C L E N C H Y O U R F I S T T O F I G H T H U N G E R

Work out to tracks with a tempo of 125bpm and your endurance will improve, resulting in greater energy expenditure.

Working out to cheesy pop tunes like Katy Perr y ’s “Firework” or David Guetta’s “ Titanium” can help you exercise for longer and shed more fat. Research in the Journal Of Spor t And Exercise Psycholog y confirmed that synchronising your running pace to music with a tempo of 125bpm — as those tracks have — causes a 15% improvement in endurance. Check out jog.fm for more 125bpm fat-burners.

12. Enjoy a two-course meal

■ Bulldozing straight into your main course at dinner time could turn you into a pork chop. Experts at Pennsylvania State University discovered that eating a starter of vegetable soup satisfied diners’ grumbling guts before the main course arrived and they consumed 20% fewer calories overall. In other words, double your courses and can fat for good.

13. Choose a coloured bowl

■ Next time you graze on chips or biscuits while watching football on TV, eat them out of a red or blue bowl. A study in the journal Perceptionshowed that the brain is tricked into thinking snacks served in coloured bowls taste more intense than those from white bowls, so you’ll scoff less without even thinking about it. Final score: beach body 1, belly fat 0.

14. Eat slower

■ Chewing your food slowly might make you look like a camel but it will also help you shift the fatty hump around your middle. Research in the Journal Of Clinical Endocrinology And Metabolismshowed that men who ate ice cream slowly produced higher levels of appetite-busting peptides in the gut than those who wolfed down their food. 11. SWEAT FOR TWO MINUTES

Whether you hit the treadmill during your lunch break, commute to work on your bike or just nail a post-work sprint for the bus, find a way to knock out a two-minute all-out effor t today. A repor t in the journal Applied Physiolog y, Nutrition And Metabolism showed that just 120 seconds of high-intensity effor t increases the potential for fatty acid oxidation so your body burns more fat whatever you’re doing.

15. COOL YOUR BEANS

A D D I N G R E S I S T A N T starch — a type of fibre found in beans — to meals increases your body ’s ability to burn fat by 23%, according to a study in Nutrition & Metabolism. And if you cook the beans the night before and allow them to cool, you’ll crank up the resistant starch content for additional fat-torching gains. Just two minutes of hardcore exercise will ramp up fat burn.

Go down swinging: Reduce weight by pushing harder.

16 17

T U R N O F F Y O U R I P A D

According to the Lighting Research Centre, gadgets reduce production of melatonin — a hormone that helps you sleep — by 22%, while the University Of Chicago found that sleep loss sparks an 18% drop in leptin, a hormone that tells your brain you’re full, and a 28% increase in ghrelin, which triggers hunger. Ditch the iPad after 9pm to bag more shut-eye and dream your way to a better body. Whatever you tuck into at lunchtime, tr y to eat it alone. A study published in Physiolog y & Behaviour proved that eating with people you know wrecks your focus and causes you to consume 18% more grub. We wouldn’t suggest ignoring your g irlfriend or kids at the dinner table — but a weekday lunch is one meal you can enjoy alone without making your family hate you.

E A T L U N C H A L O N E

18. DEVOUR PORRIDGE

Muesli may look like a cold version of porridge but scientists from Sydney University found that porridge’s gloopy consistency makes it twice as filling, even when the por tions contain the same amount of calories, so you’ll find it easier to reject that mid-morning office doughnut.

State of porridgin’: Its density fills you up faster. 19. Take a morning walk

■ Yes, walking obviously burns a few calories, but it’s the timing that really matters. Scientists at Brigham Young University in the US found that 45 minutes of moderate exercise in the morning reduces the desire for food later in the day — giving you a 24-hour fat-dodging bonus.

20. Use a smaller plate

■ Shrink your plate and you’ll shrink your gut. A study published in the American Journal Of Preventive Medicine showed that people given a larger bowl served themselves 30% more food than those given a smaller bowl — even though they were no hungrier. If your dinner plate is the size of a satellite dish, swap it for a Hobbit-sized plate and you’ll eat less.

21. Snack on plums

■ Next time you’re ambushed by the munchies, reach for a plum. Research by the University Of San Diego’s School Of Exercise And Nutritional Sciences showed that plums suppress hunger better than cookies, so you feel fuller for longer. Not bad for just 30 calories and 0g of fat.

22 23

S T O C K U P O N O L I V E O I L

If you can’t ditch your passion for bellybloating buns and loaves, slosh some olive oil over your bread and you’ll eat much less. A study in the International Journal Of Obesity showed that using olive oil instead of butter causes diners to eat 23% less bread and consume 16% fewer calories overall, so your stomach will soon look more like a thin chapatti and less like a burger bun. If you enjoy running, rowing or cycling in the g ym during your lunch hour, take a break half way through the session and you’ll nuke more fat . A Japanese study found that taking a break during cardio exercise helps you metabolise more fat than simply exercising without stopping. Tr y nailing that threeminute plank you’ve been gunning for while you’re resting.

B A G A B R E A K 24. BUY A HEAVIER SPOON

I N V E S T I N G I N W E I G H T I E R , higher-quality cutlery won’t just impress your guests at dinner par ties — it’ll automatically slash your food intake. Research at Oxford University showed that heavier cutlery captures your attention when you eat and tricks your brain into thinking your food tastes better. With a happy belly you won’t be raiding the snack cupboard two hours later.

Jogging on uneven surfaces means the body’s muscles have to work harder and use more energy.

25. RUN ON GRASS/SAND

Switching your morning pavement plod to a run through a grassy park or sandy beach will help you torch more fat. A study in the Journal Of Experimental Biolog y revealed that running on soft sur faces burns 1.6 times more energ y than running on pavements because your muscles have to work extra hard on uneven terrain. There’s less chance of stumbling across a pie shop full of cream buns, too. ■