10 Ways To Think Yourself Slim

From comfort and boredom eating to genuine hunger pangs – our brains are responsible for our food habits, good and bad, so training it to make us want to make healthier choices is the key to staying a healthy weight for life.

The link is so clear, scientists have even found that using lasers to control certain parts of the brain could be the key to controlling hunger.

The trial on mice used the light beam to disrupt the cells that send hunger messages. By activating and reactivating the relevant neurons they were able to induce and suppress hunger pangs.

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But unfortunately these lasers are not going to be coming to a store near you anytime soon so you can forget beaming yourself slim.

That said, there are a number of other ways you can trick your brain into thinking it’s full – and most of them involve simple changes in your kitchen.

Speaking at an American Psychological convention, Dr Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, warned: “Our homes are filled with hidden eating traps.

“Most of us have too much chaos going on in our lives to consciously focus on every bite we eat, and then ask ourselves if we’re full.

“The secret is to change your environment so it works for you rather than against you. These simple strategies are far more likely to succeed than willpower alone. It’s easier to change your environment than to change your mind.”

From the colour of your plate to the organisation of your fridge, try these simple everyday tricks to outsmart your stomach and keep your calorie count in check.

As Wansink neatly puts it: “The lesson is, don’t rely on your stomach to tell you when it’s full. It can lie.”

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1. Use a small plate
Rumour has it Victoria Beckham has been doing this trick for years, but now Dr Wansink backs up the theory that eating your food from a smaller plate can trick your brain into eating less. One study found that children given a 16-ounce cereal bowl were more likely to have a second helping than those given a bowl half the size.

2. Change your plate colour
Another experiment conducted by Wansink found that the higher the contrast between the colour of the plate and the colour of the food, the less participants served themselves. For instance, those eating pasta with tomato sauce served themselves and ate less than those who were given red plates while those who ate pasta with white sauce ate less from red plates.

3. Eat at the table
It was found that when we eat in front of the television we fail to spot the signs that we are full because we are not focusing on the food we’re putting into our mouths. By having dinner at the table and focusing on our meals we are more likely to question whether or not we have had enough.

4. Hide your junk food
Wansink believes that we eat what we see first so by simply moving your healthy food to eye-level in the fridge and keeping your junk food snacks, such as biscuits and crisps, well hidden, you will eat a healthier diet.

5. Don’t super-size your portions
Compounding the theory that our eyes are bigger than our bellies, Wansink’s research found that we’ll continue to eat food that’s put in front of us long after our stomachs are full. One test in which 60 people were given bowls of soup, half of which secretly refilled themselves, found that those with the “bottomless bowls” ate 73 per cent more.

6. Swap tumblers for tall glasses
One of Wansink’s experiments at Cornell University found that people pour 37 per cent less liquid into tall, thin glasses than short, wide tumblers. So next time you’re mixing a cocktail or whipping up a smoothie, opt for a tall glass.

7. Don’t eat from the pack
"Never eat directly from a package," Wansink says. "Always portion food out into a dish so you must face exactly how much you'll eat." Wansink says we consume 20 to 30 per cent more when eating straight from a box or bag. And the bigger the package, the more we consume. If you buy in bulk, repackage snacks into individual containers or zip-top bags.”

8. Stop when you’re full
If you feel full before you’ve cleaned your plate, leave something. And if you regularly get full before you’ve finished your portion, it could be time to revisit your portion sizes. When questioned by Wansink, Parisians said they stopped eating when they were full, while those from Chicago said when their plate was clean. You do the maths.

9. Slow Down
It takes a few minutes for your stomach to relay signals of fullness to your brain so eating too fast means you will have eaten more than the required number of calories before you realise you’re satisfied. It can take a while to fall into the habit of eating slower so try to remind yourself at the beginning of each meal.

10. Don’t serve everything at the table
Wansink suggests you only place bowls of salad and vegetables at the table so you will keep grazing on the healthiest food. Plate up the rest of the food in the kitchen so you won’t be tempted to keep picking.

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