Easy, Painless Weightloss Tip & Your Perception

Obesity is a major national problem and most people would like to lose weight.  To lose weight people need to reduce the amount of food they eat, but dieting is hard and feels restrictive.  What if you could eat less without feeling like you reduced your portion of food?  The easy way to do this is to eat from a small sized plate or bowl.  Belgian researchers offered 88 college students one of three sized bowls of candy to snack on while they watched television for 22-minutes.  The small bowl had 7 ounces of candy, the medium sized bowl had 7 ounces (7 ounces is not a typo) of candy and the large sized bowl had 21 ounces of candy.  The students on average ate 300 calories more when they had the medium and large sized bowls (Appetite 58: 814, 2012).

Maybe you should serve yourself dinner on a salad sized plate or repackage snacks into small containers.  When dining out, ask your server to package half your plate in a take home container before your meal is served to you.  These easy tips will have you eating less food without even realizing you are "dieting."

Another way to look at this study is to see how our perception affects our behavior.  If someone can consume 300 less calories just by using a smaller sized bowl, the mind's perception of portion can help you with more than just dieting.  Maybe we should consider that how we look at things may not always be the way they are.  Sometimes having another viewpoint from a spouse, child, friend or coach can help you see new possibilities and move you to a new place.  It is worth a try to keep your mind open to new perceptions.  After all, if you can lose weight without intending to diet, the perception thing is a good idea.

Stay healthy & well,
Lisa