protein

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Eat More Protein

It's a tactic that Allison Hubbard, 39, used to help her cut out added sugars from her diet—and lose 128 pounds. No small feat considering that 73 percent of the packaged foods lining supermarket shelves contain added sugars, according to research in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "By eating meals rich in healthy protein sources, my desire and cravings for sugar went away all together," she says. "The sugary desserts I used to eat weren't even a thought on my mind."

The science: A small University of Missouri study found that increasing your protein intake actually reduces the degree to which the sight of crave-worthy foods activates the brain's reward centers.