The Easy Way to Trick Yourself Into Eating Less
Making food harder to get to often results in big calories savings. Research shows even the smallest tweaks to your environment can make a difference.
If there's one thing food researchers have taught us, it's that making food harder to get to—sitting farther away from the all-you-can-eat buffet, for example—often results in big calorie savings.
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Swiss researchers have found more evidence that even small obstacles can lead you to eat less. Women were given a chance to help themselves to chocolate; when the candy was unwrapped, the women polished off 5.3 pieces on average, but when it was wrapped, they averaged 3.6 pieces. "Just the extra effort of having to remove a wrapper may have prevented the women from eating more," notes Kelly Pritchett, PhD, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Make munching more of a hassle—store your favorite chips or cookies on a high shelf, or snack on nuts that you have to shell. (Bonus: The empty shells will serve as a visual reminder of how much you've eaten.)
