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SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- WillPower Labs, Inc., a San Francisco startup dedicated to developing products that help people implement healthy habits into their everyday life, today officially introduced MealEnders — a first-of-its-kind weight management product. MealEnders are low-calorie, drug and stimulant-free "Signaling Lozenges," designed to help people avoid overeating and master portion control by clearing the desire to eat more than needed from the mouth and mind. Unlike extreme diets, meal replacements, appetite suppressants or supplements that focus solely on your stomach, MealEnders work with the body's natural hunger rhythms using a combination of behavioral psychology and sensory science.  MealEnders are a safe and sustainable way to curb your appetite — they contain no drugs, added stimulants, herbs, or other toxic ingredients.

MealEnders consist of two components: a sweet, outer reward layer and a cooling/tingling inner core. The outer layer provides a measured dose of "dessert," usually associated with the end of a meal. The inner core engages the trigeminal nerve (the nerve that senses "taste" sensations in the mouth) with long-lasting cooling/tingling sensations to cue the end of eating and clear the palate. By keeping your mouth and mind occupied for up to 20 minutes (the Overeating Zone—the period when people are full, but continue to eat), MealEnders naturally transition you away from the desire to overindulge, giving your body's natural satiety process time to catch up. MealEnders come in 25-piece pouches in four flavors: Chocolate Mint, Cinnamon, Mocha and Citrus. They can be purchased at www.mealenders.com.

"MealEnders' behavioral psychology approach is what sets it apart from other weight management products," said Tami Lyon, RD, MPH and chief nutritionist for MealEnders. "Instead of encouraging 'quick fix' dieting, deprivation, or including ingredients that trick you into thinking you're full, MealEnders catalyze behavioral change by retraining the mind to stop eating with the eyes. By engaging the consumer both mentally and physically, the signaling lozenges heighten awareness of natural satiety signals, helping us regulate portion size and master the healthy habit of mindful eating."

MealEnders work on a behavioral, sensory and psychological level to empower smarter eating.

BEHAVIORAL

• Establish an important chronological marker for meal- and snack-end
• Fill the 20-minute gap until normal satiety signals reach the brain
• Create a pause in eating patterns so healthier behaviors may be established
• Break the cycle of eating and chewing

SENSORY

• Provide a measured sweet cue for dessert replacement, followed by a palate cleansing to reduce cravings
• Engage the trigeminal nerve to cue the cessation of eating
• Engage taste receptors to transition you away from foods being consumed
• Alter anticipated taste of additional food
• Temporarily modify olfactory perception -- often a cause of overeating

PSYCHOLOGICAL

• Heighten mindfulness of natural digestive rhythms
• Create habitual cueing of meal completion
• Train the mind to recognize healthy portion sizes
• Empower a sense of control

"The idea for MealEnders came to me when I was unable to find a simple, viable solution to my own struggle with eating too much. I needed help putting the fork down but wanted a tool that would help me do it on my own; I didn't want stimulants, drugs or unsustainable 'magic bullets'," said Mark Bernstein, Willpower Labs founder and CEO. "After talking to health professionals, dietitians, culinary specialists and weight-loss experts, I realized that what I was looking for didn't exist, so I engaged one of the nation's leading food development firms, Mattson, to help me create a product that would help people like me fight the urge to overeat, which after-all is why most of us are overweight."

Each MealEnders signaling lozenge contains only two grams of sugar, 15 calories, and is low-fat, stimulant-free, gluten-free, kosher, and contains no high fructose corn syrup or MSG. MealEnders are food-based and, therefore, regulated by the FDA as a food product.

For more information, please visit www.mealenders.com.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150107/167443

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/innovative-weight-management-tool-uses-behavioral-psychology-and-sensory-science-to-curb-overeating-300017206.html

SOURCE WillPower Labs, Inc.