We tend to make home design choices based on how things will look, but these choices can affect our behavior, too. And if you’re trying to lose weight, your kitchen may be sabotaging your efforts.
Here are some tips from Brian Wansink, eating behavior expert and author of Slim by Design: Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday Life, on how to design your kitchen to help you lose weight.
Redesign
Paint your kitchen anything but white. White and bright spaces tend to stimulate eating.
Make it less comfortable. The more you hang out in your kitchen, the more you’ll eat, Wansink says. Take out the TV, comfy chairs or anything else that encourages lounging.
Declutter. Wansink’s research found that people with cluttered kitchens ate 44 percent more snack food than those with neat, organized kitchens.
Downsize
Use smaller plates and bowls. Most of us don’t measure our food, so we use plate size as a reference – and we tend to fill them up. Use a smaller plate and it will look like you have more food.
Switch to smaller utensils and glasses. You’ll serve yourself less and take smaller bites. Also, stick to small glasses for high-calorie drinks such as juice.
Rearrange
Keep food out of sight. With the exception of fruits and veggies, no food should be left out where you can see it.
Hide tempting foods. Wansink found that we are three times more likely to eat the first food we see in the cupboard. So make sure healthy foods are front and center in the pantry or fridge.
Another great article from my monthly e-newsletter
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