Defense against “Mindless” Eating …Change the color of your plates!
One of the biggest obstacles to managing your weight is “mindless” eating.
What I’m talking about is: You aren’t even hungry… but then you notice that bag of chips in the cabinet, or walk past a vending machine at work…
And the next thing you know, without thinking… you’re “mindless” helping yourself to a little snack.
The problem is, little “slips” like these add to your daily calorie intake… and make it harder to control your weight.
(Believe me, I struggle with those impulses, too.)
And willpower alone isn’t always enough, because your brain is receiving “eating” messages you aren’t even aware of.
There’s a nerve that connects your brain to your gut…constantly sending messages back and forth:
Your brain sees a snack, it alerts your gut, and your gut says “Feed me that bag of chips.”
Then, “mindless”…you obey.
So you have to find ways to resist or eliminate those powerful “mindless” destroying messages… by using cravings blockers, learning to choose healthy snacks, or just white-knuckling it on willpower alone.
ACTION TIP: A way to send yourself a automatically kick into action message…One that says DON’T eat. There is a way… and you won’t believe how easy it is:
Change the color of your plates!
I know, it sounds hard to believe. But researchers have discovered that colors can affect how much you eat.
Think how many fast-food logos are red and yellow. Well, that’s no accident…
But it turns out that the color blue is an appetite suppressant — and people eat less food when they use dark blue plates.2
Researchers aren’t sure why. It could be because blue has a calming effect and makes you feel like sleeping more than eating.
OR possibility since there are almost no blue foods in nature, blue doesn’t stimulate your hunger triggers the way other colors do.
Whatever the reason, blue helps turn down your appetite.
And there’s more…
It turns out when the color of food contrasts with the color of the plate, you tend to eat smaller portions… because you’re more aware of how much you put on your plate.
So when the food and plate colors are similar, you tend to put more on your plate — which means you’ll be eating larger servings of healthier foods like dark leafy veggies.
If you’re serving green vegetables and mashed potatoes on a dark blue or green plate, you’ll end up eating less of the starchy potatoes — and more of the healthy broccoli.
And it all happens “mindless” without you even thinking about!
Now, there’s no guarantee that changing plate colors will change your eating habits.
But every bad calorie avoided — and every extra helping of healthy food — puts you one step closer to achieving your weight-control goals.
So why not give it a try. You’ve got nothing to lose — except a few “Lbs-EZ”. 🙂
To your health!
Spark your summer with this tasty produce list
Fresh fruits and vegetables are the main things missing in most unhealthy diets. But if eating these items becomes a treat… you’re more likely to stick to it.
And when you do, they will start replacing calorie-dense foods in your diet, making it easier to slim down. Listed are the freshest, most in-season produce on the market right now. Enjoy! 🙂
Apricots: Delicious raw when ripe, but if you have trouble finding perfectly soft apricots, try grilling slightly under-ripe fruit to bring out the sweetness. Serve with a little plain yogurt and bittersweet chocolate for a great dessert.
Fennel: This earthy plant tastes faintly like licorice, and it’s delicious with seafood. Try tossing it in olive oil and roasting with orange zest and onions for a great side dish.
Jicama: This vegetable tastes a bit like a rm, less-sweet pear… and looks a little like a potato. It’s sturdy, so it’s great for dips like hummus, guacamole, and caramelized onion dip.
Blueberries: Delicious as a quick snack, blueberries Consider tossing them into a salad or even a stir-fry for an addictive punch of sweetness.
Garlic: Available all year round but especially fresh and pungent in the late spring. Look for tight heads of garlic with no soft spots, and the paper outside still intact. And if you see garlic with purple streaks, that’s a good thing! Try roasting your garlic in the oven until golden brown and soft to mellow out the pungent flavor.
Jicama: This vegetable tastes a bit like a rm, less-sweet pear… and looks a little like a potato. It’s sturdy, so it’s great for dips like hummus, guacamole, and caramelized onion dip.
Mushrooms: If you see fresh mushrooms, pick them up immediately – when they’re in season, the flavor is incredibly earthy and rich. And any mushroom works beautifully sautéed in a hot pan with olive oil, sea salt, and a little thyme – just make sure the pan is hot and don’t over ll it.
Parsley: More than just garnish on your plate. Parsley (especially ultra- flavorful Italian parsley deserves to be treated like a vegetable in its own right. Finely dice parsley and toss with beans, brown rice, and tomatoes for a flavorful treat, use it to make pesto, or chop it into a salad.
Strawberries: They’re so good on their own that you really don’t need to do a thing to strawberries, but if you end up with an under-ripe batch, here’s a tip: slice them thin and sprinkle with the juice of an orange and a TINY bit of almond extract to highlight the natural sweetness.
Turnips: This root, gets mistaken for a radish, are earthy and delicious when simply roasted. They’re also a delicious stand-in for potatoes. Just steam them and mash with a little butter.
Mustard Greens: Kale’s peppery cousin, mustard greens are delicious sautéed with garlic, olive oil, and raisins. They also work as wraps, cooked into soups, and thinly sliced into stir-fries.
Rhubarb: This sour stem is unusual, in that it’s mostly used in sweet dishes, and it’s a classic with strawberries. Dessert aside, its delicious pickled, roasted with onions and carrots, and shaved thin over a salad with a little goat cheese.
To your health!