We eat according to internal cues. We eat when we are hungry and stop when we are full. Both of these statements are false! Our bodies are very poor at letting us know how many calories we are eating. External cues in the environment are powerful influencers of what and how much we eat. Study after study shows that many of our eating habits are automatic and influenced by: the size of the plate we use; whether we use a short wide or a tall skinny glass; the size of the package that our food comes in. All of these studies are summarized in a very readable book by Brian Wansink called Mindless Eating. It’s an old book, published in 2006, but human nature and the psychology of eating have not changed since 2006. He is a little easier on the food companies than I would be, but I highly recommend reading it. Here is a list of external cues, validated by research, that cause us all to eat more than we think.
- Distraction (eating while watching television, reading the newspaper or eating with friends or family)
- Size of food package (we automatically eat more from a bigger package)
- Size of plate (we eat less when we eat from a small plate than a large plate)
- Tall skinny vs short wide glass (a tall skinny glass looks like more liquid than the exact same amount in a short wide glass. We drink more from the short wide glass)
- Convenience (the more conveniently a food is available, the more we eat)
- Labels (If foods are labeled low fat, or make health claims we eat more of them)
- Portion size (we tend to eat everything we are served, regardless of portion size)
The Mindless Margin
Depending on how these external cues are manipulated we generally tend to eat twenty percent more or twenty percent less without even realizing it. Dr. Wansink calls this ”The Mindless Margin.” His research and that of others shows that we can cut our calorie intake twenty percent without triggering all the things that the body does to make us regain the fat we lose. That is somewhat controversial, but we know that modest weight loss can be permanent so lets do the math.
The average American eats about 3600 calories per day. Even eating that many calories, for most people weight stabilizes because we burn more calories to move our large bodies around. If we reduce that average daily calorie intake by twenty percent, that means that we have reduced our average daily calories by 720 calories per day. Over the course of a year we will have reduced our calorie intake by 262,800 calories. That equals a fat loss of 75 pounds!
Big changes vs small changes
Big changes to anything in our lives are much harder to sustain than small changes. Most diet and exercise plans involve big changes to our lifestyle. Those are hard to sustain by themselves and also maximally trigger our bodies to do all the things that eventually make us regain the fat we lost (see my previous post The Biology of Fat Gain and Fat Loss).
Small changes are much easier to stick with. These kinds of changes need to be individualized to our own eating and exercise patterns, but there are a few small changes that work for everyone. If you make three consistent changes that reduces your average calorie intake by only 300 calories a day you will lose 30 pounds in a year. If in addition you increase your exercise by 100 calories a day (walking one mile) you will lose an additional 10 pounds. You will not feel deprived or hungry.
Small changes everyone can make
- Switch from dinner plates to salad plates. You will automatically eat about 20% fewer calories without even knowing it.
- Do not eat food out of a box or package or while standing in front of the refrigerator. Always serve whatever you plan to eat on a salad plate or in a small bowl.
- Do not eat your food while watching television or while reading. If you must eat for a particular TV show, serve your plate before you sit down and don’t go back for seconds.
- Stay away from the snack food aisle in the grocery store. Willpower does not work. If snacks are easily available, you will eat more calories. If someone else buys snacks, store them in the back of the pantry where it takes more effort to get to them. If you do the shopping, make a list before you go to the grocery store and stick to it.
- If you drink beverages with calories (soft drinks, fruit juices) Use a tall skinny glass rather than a short fat glass. You will automatically reduce the calorie intake from the beverage by about ten to twenty percent. It is better of course to drink water or other calorie free beverages.
- Eat slowly. Food should taste great, which means you should enjoy every bite. Do not put another bite in your mouth until you have chewed and swallowed the previous bite.
- Wait at least twenty minutes after finishing one serving before you have seconds. It takes about twenty minutes for the feeling of satiety (feeling full) after a meal.
- When you are shopping, park your car as far away as you can from the store. Take at least one flight of stairs rather than take the elevator. Remember that every mile of walking burns about 100 calories. You don’t have to walk the whole mile at one time.
How often should you weigh yourself?
This is pretty much up to you. If you decide to weigh yourself daily, make sure to do it at the same time every day. The morning is best. Weigh yourself without clothes just before or after your shower. Remember that your body is 60 percent water so that your state of hydration and how much water you retain (say from eating something salty the night before) will cause your daily weight to vary as much as two or three pounds. If you weigh yourself daily you should keep a record of your average daily weight for each week. That will be a much better measure of fat loss or gain.
You could also weigh yourself once a week or even once a month. You could decide not to weigh yourself at all, but then you won’t know if the habit changes you have made are enough to produce fat loss. I recommend weighing yourself at least once a month.
Good Nutrition
If you make the small changes I have suggested (or others that are individualized for you) you will lose fat slowly without changing the foods you eat and like. If you want to eat healthier as well as lose fat then check out my next post.