Are bigger packages better or not?
Bigger is better (or so I’ve heard), right?
Wrong! There’s an obvious problem with a big package, bigger packets of food make us eat more. Sorry – did you think I was writing about something else?
An increasing body of evidence is proving that our environmental factors affect our mindset and the way we overeat – making you eat and drink greater quantities than just through physiological or emotional hunger alone.
Weight-loss hypnotherapists have been aware of this happening for quite some time.
Simple things like how tall and slim your glasses are, how big the packet of food is that you’re holding, and how small your spoon and plates are, all affect the amount of compulsive eating you do.
Smaller plate, smaller belly
Would you believe that if we take the average size of today’s dinner plates and compare them to the size of dinner plates from the 1950s, we would be looking at a size increase of around 45%. And to top that off, would you believe that over the last 60 years we’re looking at a similar percentage increase in the rate of obesity. Coincidence?
The reason behind all of this confusion is that we often use the size of the package to gauge what we think a ‘normal’ amount to eat is. The food industry is using this phenomenon to trick you into eating more of their product by increasing the size of their packaging. I know – I’ve worked in the industry, it’s and I’m sorry.
Creating a new ‘normal’
It’s the job of a skilled weight-loss hypnotherapist to address this issue by helping you to become much more aware of the many triggers surrounding you and then help you adjust the amount of food you eat by creating a new ‘normal’ for you.
One common suggestion used by many hypnotherapists is to have their clients use smaller plates, packets, jars, glasses and boxes and some clients instantly see up to a 20% decrease in food eaten.
So if you want the odds to be in your favour, I’d suggest that size DOES matter, and what you do with it also counts.
Here’s a healthy Takeaway
A brief selection of some simple mind tricks to help you get the FAT OFF.
- Downsize all of your bowls, plates and dishes – even cutlery will help. You eat with your eyes first, so when you serve on smaller plates your mind often adjusts its ‘normal’ eating portions.
- Serve salads and healthy meals on larger plates and the ‘cheat’ meals on smaller plates.
- Drink water from a wider glass, you will drink more than you realise you’re drinking, and drink any calorific drinks from a tall slim glass. As an average people drink 25-30% more from a wider glass than a taller slim glass.
- Put down the family sized packs of food, jars, boxes and tins. The bigger the package the more likely it is that you’ll eat more in one serving.
Happy, healthy eating,
Richard Scott
Clinical Hypnotherapist & Mindset Coach
