There's Actually A Really Easy Way To Lose Some Of That Holiday Weight

Afraid to step on the scale? Don't feel too bad about it.

After all, if you didn't spend Thanksgiving weekend stuffing your face, you need to learn to live a little.

But instead of rigidly counting calories over the next few weeks in anticipation of seeing old friends and relatives over Christmas or squeezing into a teeny, tiny dress on December 31, consider counting how many bites you take every day.

A small new study conducted out of Brigham Young University asked some overweight men and women between the ages of 18 and 65 to count how many bites they took every day, including sips of all liquids except water.

After coming up with average bite counts for participants, the researchers then asked half the group members to reduce their bite counts by 20 percent and asked the other half to reduce theirs by 30 percent.

The bite reducers lost an average of 3.5 pounds over a month, and there was no difference between the 20 percent and 30 percent groups.

Doesn't sound too bad, right? But as lead researcher Josh West told The New York Times,

Fewer bites won't help you lose weight if every one of those bites is dessert.

True story.

Of course, bite-counting isn't the only way to lose weight if you don't feel like counting calories.

Research suggests getting more sleep, drinking more water and eating smaller meals more frequently all help with weight loss.

Why not try counting your bites and doing those three things over the next few weeks? If you ask me, that's a recipe for success.

Citations: Counting Your Bites for Weight Loss (The New York Times), Pilot Test of A Bites-Focused Weight Loss Intervention (MedCrave)