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The diet mistake even nutritionists make By Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D
5 tips to outsmart your appetite
The study, by Brian Wansink, Cornell researcher and EatingWell advisor and Koert van Ittersum, suggest the color of your plates, table and tablecloth matters, too: Using light plates on dark tablecloths helps you eat less. Having dark plates on dark tablecloths makes us take--and eat--more.
Perhaps the most surprising of all is that even nutrition experts--people trained in food and calories--are duped.
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Before you reach for the measuring cups or spoons and food scale, try these easy-to-use tips:
1. Change your place settings. Highly contrasting your plate color with the table by getting bold place mats (think white plates on black mats) will help you take less by tricking the eye. The opposite is true for plate and food colors; you want to match those as closely as possible (think red pasta on a red plate).
2. Take the "memorize-the-common-household items" approach. Remember that a healthy 3-ounce serving of meat (or other protein) looks like a deck of cards, a medium potato should be the size of a computer mouse and a quarter cup of anything is about as big as a golf ball.
3. Try the "Rule of Thumb" method, which uses your hand as a reference. If you're a relatively small-framed woman, 1 teaspoon equals the tip of your thumb (to the middle joint); 1 tablespoon is the size of your thumb and 1 cup is about the size of your fist. Obviously this isn't a precise way of portioning--and the margin of error is greater the bigger your hand is--but it'll work in a pinch. It might be a good technique to try when you're eating out or at a friend's.
4. At home, find out how much your frequently-used bowls and utensils hold. One time only, measure out the amount of soup that your ladle holds. If it's 3/4 cup you'll know forever that two scoops equal a satisfying 1-1/2-cup serving. On the flipside, you can measure out a given portion of a particular favorite food and serve it in the dish you'll almost always use when you eat that food. Once you know that one serving of cereal reaches only halfway up your bowl, you'll know to stop there. (This is a good trick to try with beverages too: perhaps with your favorite juice or wine glass.)
5. Choose portion-controlled foods. Look for single-serving packages of your favorite packaged foods so you know exactly how much you're getting. You can do-it-yourself at home by making entrees pre-portioned with ramekins and muffin tins or portioning out and pre-packing snacks to take with you.
(EatingWell is a magazine and website devoted to healthy eating as a way of life. Online at www.eatingwell.com.)
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© 2013 Eating WEll, Inc. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
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