To Eat Less, Use Smaller Dishes

A few months ago, I decided to take the advice I'd read and to start using smaller dishes for my meals and even my snacks. While I can't report that I immediately lost a gazillion pounds, I have been losing weight steadily without any crash dieting.

I think the smaller dishes work for two reasons:
[1] With smaller dishes, you do eat less.
[2] You are teaching your subconscious mind new habits.

Let me explain each point. In using smaller dishes, you will find it easy to put less food on them. That's a no-brainer. I found that when I first started using smaller plates and bowls, it worked best if I gave myself permission to go back for seconds. But what I said to myself was that I could go back for seconds if I was still hungry after I had waited a while. I usually didn't put the serving dishes on the table, either. If they were in the kitchen, it was easier not to nibble out of them.

I didn't define how long "a while" was but I noticed that if I sat for even five minutes after finishing my food, I often lost the desire for more. This surprised me a little, as I didn't think the messages that I'd had enough food would go from my digestive system to my brain that quickly. Maybe they didn't. Maybe there was something about sitting at the table after finishing that just triggered the idea I was done. Try it and see what you notice!

This ties in with the part about the subconscious mind. We all have many habits that we do on auto-pilot, like breathing, to take an extreme example. Many of our eating habits fall into this automatic category. By using the smaller dishes, over time you will retrain yourself in terms of how much food feels like enough. Be aware that the subconscious is slow to develop these new habits, so keep at it for several weeks and see if it doesn't become customary.

Some Tips

When you use a smaller plate or bowl, be sure to take time to admire the food on the plate before you start eating. If the dish is quite full, let yourself feel a sense of abundance and plenitude before you take your first bite.

When you eat at someone else's home or a restaurant, you won't be choosing your dishes, but you can still choose your attitude. Notice the plate size and compare it to what you are doing at home. YOu could even picture the smaller plate at home superimposed on the other dish!

Will you feel deprivation using smaller dishes? It's not likely, if you do give yourself that permission to get more if you really want it. This just puts an "interrupt message" into the habit of eating automatically. Have you ever noticed when eating something particularly delicious that you greatly enjoy the first bite, continue to enjoy the next few, and then move into a less conscious way of eating? Try smaller dishes and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

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