Originally published at Survival Fit. on June 24, 2018.
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Arguably, we are in a contemporary ‘food porn’ era. Everyday, we encounter countless images of food through various media by ourselves and through others. In fact, food is so popular that it is the second most searched category on the internet after ‘porn’.
This popularity of food that parallels sex has ironically helped the diet industry. But unfortunately, it is a well-known fact that the most photogenic food and what our brain thinks is ‘tasty’ for us is actually not that great for our health.
Exercises help, but you can’t do it alone with only exercises.
This is my personal speculation after years of research on the physical body and fitness. In other words, it’s not my lack of exercise that made me gain weight, but the fact that I just ate a lot. It took me a lot of time to accept this truth as a person whose only hobbies are to read and exercise.
Harvard Medical School once published an article indicating various exercises and daily routines that burn certain amounts of calories per day. For example, an average 57 kg (125 pounds) person will burn 180 calories from 30 minutes of swimming, while a 70 kg (155 pounds) person will burn 223 calories. If you know how hard a 30 minute swimming session is, you might as well choose not to eat a 250 calories chocolate bar.
That’s right. The most effective way to lose weight is to eat less. But it is hard to execute with our will-power alone. It is ill-advised to fight against your natural human instincts to maintain a certain weight. Thankfully, though, we have various researches (especially from behavioral psychology) available to draw valuable advices from.
It is easier to get rid of a snack out of sight than to fight against not eating it being left on the table. Rather than using a large plate and telling yourself to eat less, it is easier to use a smaller plate from the beginning. In other words, it is easier to alter your ‘environments’ to lose weight than it is to use your weak ‘will-power’. People generally eat 92 percent of the food that is placed in front of them. Big containers and packages encourage us to bigger portions and bigger meals.
Let’s look at two prevalent researches.
1
How mini-size packaging affects meal portions
The research shows the control group who had 4 cookies in a smaller packaging ate nearly half of what the other group ate who were given one giant cookie — despite the fact that both groups had the same total amount of food given to them. The people who were given small cookie packages opened the first two and stopped eating shortly afterwards. This mini-size packaging helped curb cravings by nearly 70 percent. This is the ultimate way to solve what we call ‘mindless eating’.
2
How snacks affect your perception of satisfaction
The research divided 104 adults into two groups and provided one group with average-sized chocolates and chips, and the other group with ¼ of what they had wanted. Fifteen minutes after consumption, they checked for their satisfaction level. Upon review, the satisfaction level were the same. Though they had differing amounts of food, their perception of satisfaction were equal.
For weight loss, these researches have two very important implications for everyday life. First, using smaller containers and plates. Second, keeping food in small portions when storing them.
1
Using smaller plates and containers
Use smaller plates, bowls, and narrower cups. If we see more food in front of us, we are prone to eating more. If we had been previously exposed to a smaller portioned meals, we would eat less, and our level of satisfaction will not be much different.
2
Storing food in smaller portions
As more people increasingly live alone, not only are big-markets selling individualized-portioned foods, smaller-stores also portion out individualized meals. Of course, smaller-portioned meals can be more expensive by their weight. However, if you take into consideration the amount of time and effort you need to spend to lose weight, the difference is almost negligible. In case you bought food in bulks to save money, get rid of that big packaging and store them in smaller portions.
How nice would it be if we could eat however much we wanted and lose weight by simply walking outside for an hour. If that was possible, most of the fitness industry would already be obsolete. Our will-power is arguably ever so weak. Weight-loss companies target that very notion. If weight-watching is a lifetime commitment, it must be sustainable. The key is not in relying on our weak ‘will-power’ but in altering our ‘environments’.
References
- Romm, C. (2015). What ‘Food Porn’ Does to the Brain. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/04/what-food-porn-does-to-the-brain/390849/
- Cornell Food & Brand Lab. (2013). Just a bite: Considerably smaller snack portions satisfy delayed hunger and craving. Retrieved from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-considerably-smaller-snack-portions-hunger.html
- Wansink, B. (2014). Slim By Design: Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday Life. William Morrow.
- Wansink, B., Payne, C., & Shimizu, M. (2011). The 100-Calorie Semi-Solution: Sub-Packaging Most Reduces Intake Among The Heaviest. The Obesity Society. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1038/oby.2010.306
- Cornell Food & Brand Lab. (2013). Just a bite: Considerably smaller snack portions satisfy delayed hunger and craving. Retrieved from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-considerably-smaller-snack-portions-hunger.html
- Koert van Ittersum. (2013). ‘If you want to stay slim, use a smaller plate’. University of Groningen. Retrieved from https://www.rug.nl/news/2013/12/131223koert-van-ittersum?lang=en
[하루 2번 풀보팅 이벤트#91-1] 당첨 축하드립니다! ^^
다음부터는 kr태그 포함한 링크로 참여부탁드립니다~
아이고 제가 실수했네요. 명심할게요 :)
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STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!
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@miri.choi님 보팅 감사합니다. 곰돌이가 두배로 돌려드리고 가요~ 영차~
[곰돌이 명성도 55기념 이벤트] 너의 보팅을 두배로 돌려줄께~ / 스팀잇에 빛을 비춰줘~ lightsteem alpha
맞아요. 저도 어제 2끼 분의 저녁을 준비했는데, 냄비를 식탁위에 얹고 국자로 덜어먹으면서 티비를 보다 보니깐 없어졌더라고요 -_-;;;;; 저 자신을 알고 정량만 준비해야겠어요.
저도 그게 참 쉽지가 않더라고요. 식욕이란게 참 무서워요 ;)
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미리님 안녕하세요.
스팀잇에서 처음 뵙습니다. 사이트도 좀 살펴보았습니다만, 저희 북이오와 같이 할 수 있는 일이 좀 있지 않을까 하는 생각이 들어 연락드립니다. 괜찮으시면 텔레그램 @minsu 추가 하시거나 카카오톡 [email protected] 으로 검색하셔서 연락 한번 주십시요. 기회가 되면 한번 뵙고 싶습니다. 고맙습니다. 강민수 드림.
네, 곧 연락 드리겠습니다. 감사해요 :)