Scientists Reveal 2 Principles That Let You Lose Weight Without Even Trying

Written by Tanya Arora  • 

It’s normal to expect to put in a lot of effort to lose weight. Especially when there’s a lot to lose! Yet we all can’t help but fantasize of a day when we won’t have to work hard (or even at all) to shed the extra kilos. More so now that summer has kicked in in full swing and it’s become harder to convince yourself to sweat it out. Fortunately, the time has come when you can lose some weight without really trying to do so!

Don’t rub your eyes in disbelief, it’s really true. And in this article, we will share with you 2 immensely simple, scientifically-proven ways to decrease your overall weight without as much as moving a muscle!

1. Change The Size Of Your Plate

Image: Pinterest

Ever heard of gastrophysics? It’s a combination of the two words ‘gastronomical’ and ‘physics.’ Gastrophysics is a science that focuses on studying how your environment can influence your eating patterns and habits (1). This science firmly believes that everything about your dining table cutlery – right from its weight to its size, colour as well as shape can have an impact on the quantity of food you’ll end up eating during each meal.

As it turns out, this science is heavily used by dieticians to help their patients. And the reason behind it is not hard to understand as, after all, how much you eat is how much weight you will eventually gain.

So, if you’re planning to lose weight, experts from the field of gastrophysics recommend that the first thing you do is discard all your large plates and replace them with ones that are smaller in size. In fact, a recent study stated that if you put the same quantity of food on a smaller plate (instead did of on a larger one), the overall quantity of food will seem more despite it being the same (2).

Image: Pinterest

The logic is simple. When you put a small amount of food on a large plate, your brain will end up thinking it’s not getting enough food. Switch plates and put the same portion on a small plate, and your brain will be tricked into thinking it’s enough! This is a very safe way to prevent yourself from overeating and, thereby, gaining weight.

Moreover, eating normal-sized portions on smaller plates will also lead you to feel fuller faster, which means your hunger will be satisfied without overindulging in food! To illustrate this further, let’s take the help of an example. Say you were eating in a 12-inch diameter plate previously, but you decided to go for one that is 10 inches in diameter. This simple switch will lead to a reduction of 22% in your overall calorie intake! This phenomenon of size perception is known as the Delboeuf Illusion (3).

2. Ensure Your Plate Is Of The Right Colour

Image: Shutterstock

Okay, the size of the plate plays a major role in the quantity of food you eat. But does the colour of the plate have any role to play? Of course, it does! The shade of your plate can also be instrumental in losing weight (4).

Scientists say that your plate’s hue should be in stark contrast to the foods you commonly eat as it can help control the portion sizes you consume. So, for example, if you have mac and cheese on a regular basis, you shouldn’t eat it on a white plate. You should eat it on a red plate instead. The same goes for pasta in a tomato sauce – it shouldn’t be served on a red plate but on a white or yellow one.

Why should this be done? It’s because when the colour of the food and your plate appear to be the same, the portion sizes seem small, which can make you overeat. Furthermore, studies show that when the colour of your plate contrasts with the colour of your food, your portion size decreases by 30% (5).

Image: Shutterstock

You can also change your dinner table’s tablecloth to achieve the same effect. That said, your plates should ideally be blue in colour as this shade is known to curb appetite since almost no dish has a blue tinge to it.

Another thing you can do to suppress your appetite and aid in weight loss is to drink about a glass or 2 of water before each of the meals you have in a day (6). This way your stomach will feel fuller before you even dig in, which means you’ll automatically end up controlling the total amount of food you eat in one sitting.

Aren’t these tips super easy? Often reviewing your habits and changing them can dramatically help in achieving your weight loss goals. So, make sure you get small, blue plates today!

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