Ways to Eat Less and Enjoy It More, Naturally

Turn down the music.

Listening to loud music reduces the amount of sweetness and saltiness you taste. This can make you choose to prepare or order more sugary, saltier dishes, which is bad for weight loss. Also bad is if you increase the amount you eat so you can get the same satisfaction as you would if you could taste it well. Soft, pleasant music can help you taste your food better and enjoy it more while eating less.

Dim the lights.

Bright lights, such as those often found in fast food restaurants, can make you eat faster without even realizing it. In contrast, dimmer lighting can help you relax and slow down. You do not need to eat every meal by candlelight, but glaring lights, especially if the walls are white, can cause you to wolf your food a little more.

Use a smaller plate.

The research is clear: use a larger plate, and you will eat more. Eat from a smaller plate, and you will eat less. Try using the smaller plates from a full set of dishes, or buy yourself a few fun children’s plates to eat from. To apply this at a restaurant, ask for smaller portions, since the less you are served, the less you are likely to eat.

Be color-conscious.

Research shows that people eat more when their food is a similar color to the plate, and they eat less when their food contrasts. You may not be able to match each component of your meal to the proper color, but you can be aware of the trend. You can also use it to help yourself eat more of a particularly healthy food, such as serving yourself cauliflower on a white plate.

Check the mirror.

This one may feel a little cruel, but you’ll do anything for weight loss, right? Eat while you can see yourself in a mirror, and you will probably eat less. You do not need to eat dinner in your bathroom or cover your walls with mirrors. You can put a small mirror in your dining room. Since the trick apparently only works for unhealthy foods (people in one study ate less chocolate cake but no less fruit salad while watching the mirror), you can probably just skip the dining room mirror and eat only healthy foods at home. When at a restaurant, face the mirror if you can.

Nothing can take the place of healthy eating, but you can take steps to make your efforts go further. Do your best to maintain a healthy eating environment at home so you can shed the most pounds without so much effort.