Do you often regret fifteen minutes after eating because your belly is too full? Time for some simple eating management. Here are 5 ways not to overeat.
British researchers showed that people who are distracted eat up to 30 percent more than people who eat mindfully. So make sure that you don't do other things during a meal, but that you pay full attention to your food.
The first-bite rule can help you be more mindful and prevent overeating:Concentrate on the first bite you take and ask yourself whether each bite is as tasty as the first. Is the answer halfway through your plate 'no'? Then stop eating.
Read also: 'Sweets without going too far:how do you do that?'
Only after about twenty minutes can your brain give the signal that you are satiated. Because of that 'slow' reaction, you sometimes still feel hungry if your plate is empty within ten minutes. So it's a matter of wasting time and procrastination! A smart way to eat a little longer and therefore more consciously:put your cutlery down after every bite. Only after you have really swallowed everything do you pick up your knife and fork again.
You tend to eat more if you are presented with larger portions (or packs). That's what behavioral economists at Erasmus University Rotterdam say. We unconsciously link the portion size to the amount that is "decent" to eat, even if it may be too large for you. It is considered polite to empty your plate. The result:the larger the portion, the more you eat.
According to research from the University of Southern California, eating with the wrong hand can reduce your calorie intake by 30 percent. By eating with your left hand as a right-hander (and vice versa) you make it a little more difficult for yourself – and as a result you eat less quickly.
The larger the circumference of your plate or bowl, the more you scoop. The portion that is on it then appears smaller (the so-called optical illusion). This is according to research by the University of Groningen. If you replace your plates with a diameter of 30 centimeters with plates of 25 centimeters, you even lose some weight, according to the researchers. Remarkable:for forks the exact opposite applies:the bigger, the better. Subjects with a larger fork ate less on average than subjects with a small fork. With a small fork you feel less food in your mouth, which makes you eat more fanatically.
Text:Mara Ruijter
