How to think yourself thin

You can learn a lot by watching a 3-year-old eat. She carefully inspects her food, smelling and touching it, before cramming it into her mouth. She pushes away her plate as soon as she’s full. And she doesn’t dive face first into a bag of Oreos because she feels lonely.

In fact, 3-year-old are masters at “intuitive eating.” New research shows that the practice of mindfully listening to your body’s natural hunger cues—instead of dieting or emotionally eating—can help you lose weight and get healthier. Women who eat intuitively have lower BMIs than non intuitive eaters; they also report higher levels of appreciation for their own bodies. Other studies show that mindful eating can reduce binge eating and lower cholesterol levels and cardiovascular-disease risk.