cheesecake
New member
Hey guys, I just came across this website that I wanted to share (and I'm not sure what the rules on posting links are, but you don't have to join or pay anything... it's just a good read). Anyway, the site tells you 16 ways to eat less..
[spam removed]
16 Simple Ways to Eat Less
How to get a grip on auto-pilot noshing
By Sari N. Harrar
1. Plate your main course in the kitchen
Keep your entrée, starches, and high-fat foods in the kitchen. Keeping them off the table allows you to linger over conversation without temptation. Do put plain veggies, salad, or the fruit you're having for dessert out on the table—few of us get the 5-12 produce servings a day nutritionists recommend. Wansink says this advice could cut meal-time calories by 15 percent to 20 percent.
2. Don't jump up to clear the dishes
In one study, volunteers ate 30 percent more chicken wings when the bones were whisked off the table than when the evidence was left to pile up in plain view. If you're having muffins baked in muffin papers, cookies from a box, ice cream, or any other high-cal food that creates trash, leave the debris out while you nosh so you'll be aware of how much you ate.
3. Use smaller plates and tall, skinny glasses
Buck the trend toward dinnerware fit for a giant. A normal-sized portion looks ample on a slightly smaller plate. And several studies show that everyone from kids to long-time bartenders pour less when they're using tall, skinny glasses than wide, squat ones.
4. Save wine for dessert
Alcohol often makes for uninhibited eating. If you enjoy a glass of wine or beer with your meal, have it at the end. Offset the calories by choosing fruit for dessert—how about a bowl of berries with a glass of Merlot, or a rich Chardonnay paired with slices of ripe plums or peaches, or a sparkling white wine with clementines or strawberries?
5. Stop, look, and listen while you eat
Don't talk with your mouth full. Cultivate the art of conversation and prolong your meal by putting your fork down between bites and focusing on table talk. Some couples and families make a point to share positive experiences from their day with each other at meal time. (And turn off the TV during meals!)
6. Divide the food on your plate
Sometimes, the classic restaurant-eating advice to get a to-go container right away and pack half your meal before you begin to eat seems out of place—especially if you're out for a fancy meal or dining with new friends. To avoid overeating, simply mark off what you'll eat and what you'll save for later—i.e., cut off the portion of meat you'll have now, then cut it into bite-size pieces as the meal progresses. Divide that giant mountain of rice into a little "now" pile and a bigger "take home" pile. You can do this without fanfare, with a few sweeps of your knife or fork. Once you've eaten your "now" portions, fold your napkin and put your silverware on your plate.
7. Chew gum while baking
Usually, there's no culinary reason to taste cookie dough or cake batter, so keeping your mouth busy with strong, mint-flavored gum, and your taste buds busy with an assertive flavor such as spearmint could do the trick. Bonus: Choose a sugar-free gum sweetened with xylitol—it may help fight cavity-causing bacteria.
8. Keep baby carrots nearby while cooking
Allow yourself only tiny tastes of your stove-top or oven-ready creations, then crunch on baby carrots when you feel the need to chew on something. Or, have a glass of ice water on hand.
9. Serve your kids smaller portions
Children, especially preschoolers, tend to take only what they'll eat—and helping them learn to dish out only enough food to satisfy their hunger is a life lesson worth learning (and worth your patience and guidance).
10. Teach the kids to clear their own plates
Even a 4-year-old can walk a plate into the kitchen. If you get out the trash can, they'll love dumping uneaten food in, too. Give their uneaten food to Fido if you feel bad throwing it out, just don't let yourself pick at it!
11. Don't miss meals
Skipping needed food during the day can leave you authentically hungry at night, when your resistance is lower because you're tired. If you're having trouble finding time for breakfast, settle on one or two morning meals that you can eat on the run or set up the night before. If you find yourself skipping an afternoon snack, try bringing one from home so that it becomes a no-brainer.
12. Destress by taking care of yourself
Instead of abusing the Chunky Monkey ice cream when you're agitated, soothe your mind and body with a short yoga routine or a few minutes of progressive relaxation: Breathe slowly, then focus on one area of your body at a time. As you exhale, feel tension in that area melt away. Start with your feet, end with your neck, shoulders, head, and face (relax your eyes and even your tongue—you may be surprised by how much tension you're holding in those spots!). Twenty minutes of relaxation could lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can trigger food cravings.
Or, call a friend, write a letter, read a good book, walk outside and admire the moon and stars, pet your dog, or go hug your spouse. Humans are meant to be together—reconnecting is relaxing.
13. Close the kitchen two hours before bedtime
We promise—you'll get used to it in a day or two. If your house has an office nook in the kitchen (as many new homes and condos do), use it for cookbooks only—keep your office in another part of your home to keep yourself out of the kitchen at off-hours.
14. Keep snacks out of sight
Wrap them, pack them, stick them in tough-to-reach, hard-to-see spots in the cupboard, fridge or freezer. In one famous study, office workers ate 23 percen less candy from a covered, opaque candy dish than from a see-through container.
15. Brush your teeth after dinner
This can send a powerful "eating time's over" message that your brain automatically obeys.
16. Make TV a food-free activity
Most TV shows are punctuated by junk-food and fast-food commercials featuring big, luscious, gooey, cheese-y, chocolate-y images ... the kind of "food porn" that bypasses logic and appeals directly to your ever-hungry inner Labrador Retriever: See food, want food. Small wonder, then, that in a Harvard study of kids' eating habits and TV, researchers found that kids ate an extra 167 calories for every hour of TV they watched. We bet the numbers are similar for adults. The best fix—make a no-food-in-front-of-the-TV rule.
[spam removed]
16 Simple Ways to Eat Less
How to get a grip on auto-pilot noshing
By Sari N. Harrar
1. Plate your main course in the kitchen
Keep your entrée, starches, and high-fat foods in the kitchen. Keeping them off the table allows you to linger over conversation without temptation. Do put plain veggies, salad, or the fruit you're having for dessert out on the table—few of us get the 5-12 produce servings a day nutritionists recommend. Wansink says this advice could cut meal-time calories by 15 percent to 20 percent.
2. Don't jump up to clear the dishes
In one study, volunteers ate 30 percent more chicken wings when the bones were whisked off the table than when the evidence was left to pile up in plain view. If you're having muffins baked in muffin papers, cookies from a box, ice cream, or any other high-cal food that creates trash, leave the debris out while you nosh so you'll be aware of how much you ate.
3. Use smaller plates and tall, skinny glasses
Buck the trend toward dinnerware fit for a giant. A normal-sized portion looks ample on a slightly smaller plate. And several studies show that everyone from kids to long-time bartenders pour less when they're using tall, skinny glasses than wide, squat ones.
4. Save wine for dessert
Alcohol often makes for uninhibited eating. If you enjoy a glass of wine or beer with your meal, have it at the end. Offset the calories by choosing fruit for dessert—how about a bowl of berries with a glass of Merlot, or a rich Chardonnay paired with slices of ripe plums or peaches, or a sparkling white wine with clementines or strawberries?
5. Stop, look, and listen while you eat
Don't talk with your mouth full. Cultivate the art of conversation and prolong your meal by putting your fork down between bites and focusing on table talk. Some couples and families make a point to share positive experiences from their day with each other at meal time. (And turn off the TV during meals!)
6. Divide the food on your plate
Sometimes, the classic restaurant-eating advice to get a to-go container right away and pack half your meal before you begin to eat seems out of place—especially if you're out for a fancy meal or dining with new friends. To avoid overeating, simply mark off what you'll eat and what you'll save for later—i.e., cut off the portion of meat you'll have now, then cut it into bite-size pieces as the meal progresses. Divide that giant mountain of rice into a little "now" pile and a bigger "take home" pile. You can do this without fanfare, with a few sweeps of your knife or fork. Once you've eaten your "now" portions, fold your napkin and put your silverware on your plate.
7. Chew gum while baking
Usually, there's no culinary reason to taste cookie dough or cake batter, so keeping your mouth busy with strong, mint-flavored gum, and your taste buds busy with an assertive flavor such as spearmint could do the trick. Bonus: Choose a sugar-free gum sweetened with xylitol—it may help fight cavity-causing bacteria.
8. Keep baby carrots nearby while cooking
Allow yourself only tiny tastes of your stove-top or oven-ready creations, then crunch on baby carrots when you feel the need to chew on something. Or, have a glass of ice water on hand.
9. Serve your kids smaller portions
Children, especially preschoolers, tend to take only what they'll eat—and helping them learn to dish out only enough food to satisfy their hunger is a life lesson worth learning (and worth your patience and guidance).
10. Teach the kids to clear their own plates
Even a 4-year-old can walk a plate into the kitchen. If you get out the trash can, they'll love dumping uneaten food in, too. Give their uneaten food to Fido if you feel bad throwing it out, just don't let yourself pick at it!
11. Don't miss meals
Skipping needed food during the day can leave you authentically hungry at night, when your resistance is lower because you're tired. If you're having trouble finding time for breakfast, settle on one or two morning meals that you can eat on the run or set up the night before. If you find yourself skipping an afternoon snack, try bringing one from home so that it becomes a no-brainer.
12. Destress by taking care of yourself
Instead of abusing the Chunky Monkey ice cream when you're agitated, soothe your mind and body with a short yoga routine or a few minutes of progressive relaxation: Breathe slowly, then focus on one area of your body at a time. As you exhale, feel tension in that area melt away. Start with your feet, end with your neck, shoulders, head, and face (relax your eyes and even your tongue—you may be surprised by how much tension you're holding in those spots!). Twenty minutes of relaxation could lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can trigger food cravings.
Or, call a friend, write a letter, read a good book, walk outside and admire the moon and stars, pet your dog, or go hug your spouse. Humans are meant to be together—reconnecting is relaxing.
13. Close the kitchen two hours before bedtime
We promise—you'll get used to it in a day or two. If your house has an office nook in the kitchen (as many new homes and condos do), use it for cookbooks only—keep your office in another part of your home to keep yourself out of the kitchen at off-hours.
14. Keep snacks out of sight
Wrap them, pack them, stick them in tough-to-reach, hard-to-see spots in the cupboard, fridge or freezer. In one famous study, office workers ate 23 percen less candy from a covered, opaque candy dish than from a see-through container.
15. Brush your teeth after dinner
This can send a powerful "eating time's over" message that your brain automatically obeys.
16. Make TV a food-free activity
Most TV shows are punctuated by junk-food and fast-food commercials featuring big, luscious, gooey, cheese-y, chocolate-y images ... the kind of "food porn" that bypasses logic and appeals directly to your ever-hungry inner Labrador Retriever: See food, want food. Small wonder, then, that in a Harvard study of kids' eating habits and TV, researchers found that kids ate an extra 167 calories for every hour of TV they watched. We bet the numbers are similar for adults. The best fix—make a no-food-in-front-of-the-TV rule.
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