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| With these simple, small changes you can slim down easier |
WANT to slim down the easy way? The secret is to make small changes to your eating habits
Plate appeal
Simply changing the colour of your plate could help you to cut the number of calories that you eat by up to 18 per cent, according to a recent study at Cornell University.
They gave 60 people a red or white plate and asked them to help themselves to a pasta buffet, serving a red tomato sauce or white alfredo sauce made with butter and Parmesan cheese. Those who chose food that matched their plate ate more because it helped to disguise portion size.
“This is good news for those who tend to eat lots of white starches like pasta, rice and potatoes – a big source of calories,” explains Brian Wansink, director of the university’s Food and Brand Lab and author of Slim By Design: Mindless Eating For Everyday Life.
“It means that using dark plates could be a smart strategy in helping you if you’re looking to lose weight.” White plates may make your food look colourful, but think calories.
Beware of “healthy” food
Whether it is food marketed as being healthy, such as cereal, granola, smoothies or snack bars, or the more obvious “health” foods such as fruit, many of us overeat them because we underestimate the calories they contain.
Take a bowl of granola, which can contain 12.5g of sugar per 100g, equating to approximately 400 to 500 calories per bowl with milk. This is about a third of the recommended daily calorie intake for most women. Added to this is the fact that it is high in sugar. Similar to fruit juices, eating smoothies and some fruits such as bananas and pineapples can hardwire our system to eat more.
“Usually when we eat sugar, our body releases the hormone insulin, which tells the brain we’ve had enough to eat,” explains dietician Dimple Thakkar of the British Dietetic Association. “High insulin levels dampen the appetite, but fructose which is contained in fruit and lots of other sugars don’t trigger this response, so the brain doesn’t get the message that you are full.”
The solution? Make your own cereals with oats, coconut, nuts and seeds and stick to slow-energy release fruits like apples, plums and berries.
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| If it's summer, opt for outdoor seating |
Out of sight, out of mind
If you have crisps or nuts within reach on your desk, coffee table or in a bar or pub, few people can resist snacking. So it should come as no surprise that the same holds true of food left out in the kitchen.
A study of 230 homes in Syracuse, New York showed that women who left crisps out weighed 3.6kg more than their neighbours who put their food away. While women who left cereal out on their counters weighed on average 9.5kg more.
“The more difficult it is to reach food, the less likely you are to snack,” explains Astrid Schroeder, a mindfulness eating awareness coach (opening-minds.co.uk). “Put tempting food items in a tub, and then on a drawer or a high shelf out of the way, and healthier foods within easy reach.”
Add a further obstacle by using food clips on bags of nuts, crisps, biscuits and sweets. Having to unfasten bags may give you time to think whether you really want to eat them, before you start tucking in by the handful.
Sip from a champagne flute
Everyone knows that alcohol is calorific and that choosing light and clear-coloured drinks such as gin, vodka and white wine is better because they contain fewer calories. But changing the type of glass and how you pour your glass could also help you dramatically cut your calories from alcohol.
Research conducted in bars in the US showed that bartenders poured 32 per cent more alcohol when using short tumblers compared to tall glasses, because the latter looked fuller quicker. Even after being told, the bartenders continued to repeat this mistake just two minutes later.
“Don’t think that being aware of these pitfalls will make you avoid them,” says Brian Wanstick of Cornell University. “In the chaos of daily life, our automatic behaviours mindlessly fall back into the same mistakes we’ve always made, and you have to take steps to avoid the traps.”
Try switching to champagne flutes and tall glasses, and also pour your drink while looking down on it, so your glass looks fuller.
Hinder your helpings
Do you always find that you overeat at the dinner table? Rule out the need to rely on willpower by changing the way that you serve your food.
In the same research into family eating habits conducted in homes in Syracuse, New York over a period of eight months, families who walked to the kitchen for second helpings ate on average 19 per cent fewer calories than those whose food was set out in serving dishes on the table.
“If food is in easy reach we are more likely to mindlessly serve ourselves more,” says Schroeder. “Help to prevent this by only leaving green vegetables or salad on the table and the rest of the more calorific items in the kitchen.”
Other helpful changes to the way you eat dinner can include using smaller plates and dishes to help you stick to a more healthy portion size.
Dine with a view
Next time you go out to eat, don’t just think about what to eat but where you sit. Recent research conducted in restaurants looked at the way furniture was set up – the distance of tables from windows, TVs and the bar, dark or candlelit areas etc.
It found that those who sit near a TV were more likely to eat calorie-laden food and those who sat furthest from the door were 73 per cent more likely to order desserts.
“The darker it is, the less conspicuous or guilty you might feel, and the harder it is to see how much you’re eating,” explains Wansick. “On the flipside, by sitting next to a window and seeing the sunlight, people or trees outside can contribute to making you more conscious about how you look and what you order.”
So, if it’s summer, opt for outdoor seating and during the winter, avoid restaurants with low lighting. It’s simple, but effective.
Chew on it
Studies reported in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics last year showed that when people were asked to chew each mouthful for longer, they cut their intake by up to 88 calories per meal.
This is because it allows time for the brain to register that you are full before overeating.
But a further study by the University of Birmingham also reveals that this mindful eating approach also has an impact on snacking, with the study showing that those who chewed more thoroughly ate half as many snacks in the afternoon than normal.
“You could use chopsticks to help you start to eat more slowly to begin,” recommends
Schroeder. “But also try to limit distractions, put your smartphone away, don’t watch TV and put your cutlery down between each mouthful.”
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