nvkhkhr
Prime VIP
Millions of us go on a diet every year. Fast forward 12 months of totting up calories and forgoing of our favourite foods, and the majority of us will have piled the weight back on again. Deprivation diets are doomed to fail and, interestingly, an increasing amount of research shows that it's actually environmental triggers rather than physical hunger that determines how much we eat. So make your surroundings work for you with our steps for munching success...
1. Identify the triggers
Problem: You mindlessly munch on food
Solution: Most of us forget about the little bits of food we pick at through the day, whether it's a handful of Haribo (sweets) after lunch or a chocolate bar on the commute home from work. This means we can eat hundreds of extra calories without even noticing! But fear not, growing evidence suggests that simply putting pen to paper and recording your snacking patterns can help to double weight loss results.
Try keeping a food diary for a week, rating your hunger on a scale of 10 before eating, as well as jotting down every morsel and your emotions as you do so. This will help you pinpoint specific triggers that may be causing cravings or overeating. "You'll surprise yourself when you look at your diary," promises Samantha Prior, nutritionist at Totally Nourish . "When you write down everything you have consumed, including drinks and extra calories that you forgot about, you start to see why you are finding weight management difficult. You may even find that you don't want to eat a chocolate or decide to swap coffee for herbal tea, as you want your food diary to look positive."
2. Eat with your eyes
Problem: Visual cues control how you eat
Solution: We tend to choose our food according to visual cues such as colour, texture and variety, instead of eating based on hunger or satiation. Renowned US behavioural eating expert Dr James Painter, who carried out a study comparing the consumption of shelled and non-shelled pistachio nuts, discovered that participants ate 50 per cent more when the nuts were shelled compared with when the shells were left on. This shows just how much food presentation can affect eating habits. The colour and texture of foods also play a large role in food choices. Think about it. If you were faced with two bowls of sweets, one of which was filled with a variety of choice and colours, and the other bowl was filled with a single kind, which would you eat from? "Bright food is naturally more appealing to the eye," explains Samantha. "Liven up food by adding lots of colourful fruit and vegetables. It will make it look more appetising and will be packed full of nutrients, too."
3. Don't get distracted
Problem: You're preoccupied when eating
Solution: There's nothing better than a gossip with the girls over dinner but, according to Dr Painter, eating with friends is a fat trap waiting to happen. Being distracted by other influences such as talking while eating or having dinner in front of the TV or computer can actually impair digestion. "When you don't take time over eating it can affect your production of digestive juices, meaning you don't break down food properly," explains Samantha. "When you next eat, take time to look at your food and smell the dish, to help stimulate the digestive juices. Put your knife and fork down between each bite and chew your food properly. Quite often people perceive how full they are based on time, so by eating slowly you may find you are much fuller than when you speed through your meal."
4. Downsize dishes
Problem: You overeat at mealtimes
Solution: The average dinner plate in the 1950s was nine inches wide; and now our plates measure approximately 13 inches, so it's no wonder our waistlines are rapidly growing as a result. A bigger plate usually equals larger portions, so downsizing your dishes can help you lose weight as you'll naturally eat less. "If you think of your stomach as being the size of your two fists put together, you have an idea of appropriate portion size," says Samantha. "By sticking to correct serving sizes you are less likely to upset your body's natural metabolism, which is the ideal way to keep fuller for longer."
5. Say no to bulk buying
Problem: You can't resist money-saving food offers
Solution: From buy-one-get-one-free stickers to special half-price offers, supermarkets are marketing masterminds and know how to push the right cash-spending buttons. A study carried out in 2008 revealed that, on average, more than 60 per cent of supermarket promotions are run on sugary and fatty foods rather than fresh fruit and veg - a trend that has taken its toll on our waistlines.
"Refined foods such as chocolate, crisps, cakes and pizza upset the body's biochemical behaviour, making them become addictive," says Samantha. Try and shop in local grocery stores or a local farmer's market for fresh organic produce. If your only option is the supermarket, sidestep the convenience aisles and opt for fresh food instead.
