Making Healthy Changes, Improves Outcomes.

Small plates and not eating in front of the TV may hold key to the battle of the bulge                   

 By: Daily Mailer

Want to lose 2lb a month? Simply eat from a smaller plate, researchers say.

Small changes around the home – such as where we eat our meals and the size of plate we use – make a big difference, a study found.

Researcher Brian Wansink said one study looked at moviegoers eating popcorn from either extra large or large containers.

hey ate 45 per cent more popcorn from the larger containers, and even when given stale popcorn ate 34 per cent more.

Another study found that children given a 16-ounce cereal bowl were more likely to have a second helping than those given a bowl half the size.

Dr Wansink told an American Psychological Association convention that in one study, people lost up to 2lb a month simply by making changes such as using salad plates rather than dinner plates, keeping unhealthy foods out of sight and not eating in front of the television.

'Our homes are filled with hidden eating traps.

'Most of us have too much chaos going on in our lives to consciously focus on every bite we eat, and then ask ourselves if we're full.

'The secret is to change your environment so it works for you rather than against you.

'These simple strategies are far more likely to succeed than willpower alone.

'It's easier to change your environment than to change your mind.

'People don't think that something as simple as the size of a bowl would influence how much an informed person eats.'

Dr Wansink, of America's Cornell University, said that people had the mistaken belief that their stomach would let them know when it was full.

But in one experiment, diners giving a 'bottomless bowl' which automatically refilled with soup, ate 73 per cent more than those given normal bowls - and didn't even realize it.

Dr Wansink said: 'The lesson is, don't rely on your stomach to tell you when you're full. It can lie.

Increased television viewing is directly correlated to a higher BMI, or body mass index.

Why is that? Well, studies like this one from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore have proven that most people wrongly estimate how many calories they're consuming when they watch TV and eat at the same time.

So if watching TV makes it difficult to know how much you're really eating, you're more likely to overeat if you chow down in front of the TV screen than if you eat quietly at your table. That means more fat and calories, and more of a chance that you'll be overweight or obese—all because of Glee. Who knew?

Solution Suggestion: Count calories and make snack packs that are  portion controlled.  …plan ahead

Resource: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2023614/Small-plates-eating-TV-hold-key-battle-bulge.html