Health
The human brain is a complex multifunctional device, and as with any other device, there will always be someone who can figure out how to hack it for profit.
In particular, scientists who are not adherents to a strict diet have identified very simple ways that you can use to fool yourself and adjust to healthy eating habits. For example, you can…
How to eat right: tips
5. Use a large fork
It may sound strange, but using a big fork makes us eat fewer meals. It is not that your hand will quickly get tired of holding a large fork, but that you will feel full when eating less than if you eat with a regular fork.
In one study, researchers conducted an interesting experiment over several days in which random visitors were served forks of different sizes.
More fork, less food
Half of the customers were given forks that were 20 percent larger than a standard fork, while the other half ate their food with a fork that was 20 percent smaller an ordinary fork.
The scientists then estimated the amount of food left on the plate by each of the guests.
As a result, representatives of the “first” group did not finish eating significantly more food than customers from the “second” group. But do big pieces placed on a big fork make us eat less?
Yes, it is true. This is because vision plays a huge role when we eat. We rely on visual cues when eating (looking at the amount of food on the plate), and our nervous system needs time to figure out if the food offered is enough to fill us up or not.
So if your feelings tell your brain that the quantity is enough, then your brain is satisfied. When you use a large fork, a “big hole” remains on the plate immediately after the start of the meal, thereby deceiving the brain into believing that enough has already been eaten.
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When using a small or standard fork size, the line between “eating too much” and “eating too much” is very thin, so you keep eating even though you've been full for a long time.
However, it is worth noting that the trick of using a large fork only works if your goal is to eat only until you feel full, if you are set to “eat until you drop”, then using a large fork in this case will only make you eat more food.
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4. Look at healthy food during your meal
This is a very simple trick to lose a few extra pounds: let healthy food always be around you, you don't have to eat it. Just let it be in your sight, especially when you intend to eat a few slices of pizza.
Why? It turns out that only healthy food on the table makes us more conscientious eaters. According to Cornell University researchers, even if you don't choose a healthy alternative at the time, it will still be easier for your brain to tune in to do the right thing in the future choice.
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As part of the study, they visited the school cafeteria, where they spent several days laying out various food options for students on the counter. One day, it was sweet food like applesauce and a fruit smoothie, the other day the food was healthier — beans and bananas.
Naturally, most students ignored the obvious attempt to make their diet healthier and simply chose what they usually eat. However, researchers found that when students were exposed to beans and bananas, their lunch became healthier, even if children simply saw them without buying them.
Conversely, sweets encouraged children to buy a more unhealthy meal. This effect was due to the fact that in this way children were reminded of the existence of healthy food, the students subconsciously felt guilty, and therefore chose healthier foods.
In other words, for the same reason, you are unlikely to fight if a priest sits at the same table with you.
3. Imagine eating high-fat foods
You may have heard of recent studies that show that dietary products are bad for you, and not only because of the chemicals that cause bacteria to grow in your stomach.
One reason might be that diet soda and other low-fat foods make you fat because you think they really aren't.
Product packaging has a greater impact on us than we think. In one experiment, researchers gave people cookies that were labeled large or medium-sized.
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Participants were then told that they could borrow as much as they wanted.
The point is that all cookies were the same size, but because people trust their brains more than their stomachs, those who ate “medium” cookies actually ate more than those who ate “medium” cookies chose “big” cookies, simply because they thought they had made a healthier choice.
It should be noted that this is not a purely psychological thing, in this case there is a so-called “bodily” effect. Our gastrointestinal tract is home to the hunger hormone ghrelin.
Ghrelin is exactly what makes us eat, because the more ghrelin in our body, the greater our appetite and the more we eat.
But here's the thing: ghrelin production doesn't depend on how much you actually ate, but how much you think you've eaten.
In another study, Yale researchers gave each participant a milkshake containing 380 calories. At the same time, half of them were told that the cocktail was very high in calories (620 calories) and high in fat. The second group of participants was told that the shake is dietetic and contains only 140 calories.
While participants drank their shakes, blood samples were taken to measure their ghrelin levels.
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The results were obvious: people who thought they were drinking a high-calorie cocktail got rid of a large amount of the hormone, those who believed they were consuming a low-calorie diet product , were even more hungry.
By fooling yourself into believing that you are eating more, you will be able to relieve your body both physiologically and psychologically from craving large amounts of food. However, there are also external factors that can help you control your appetite…
Healthy eating
2. Pay attention to the size and color of your plates
One of the most common techniques for making yourself eat less is to simply use smaller plates. And this is not only due to the fact that less food fits on a small plate, it is also because on a small plate there is more food than it actually is.
So our brain thinks we've eaten more. Moreover, even the color of the plate influences how much we eat.
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The researchers decided to test this idea during a college reunion, perhaps because there are several community events where people systematically “raid” to buffet tables.
Participants were given red and white plates and then had the opportunity to enjoy pasta with tomato sauce or Alfredo sauce, red and white, respectively. The researchers wanted to check whether it is important for a person to have food stand out on the plate.
As a result of experiments, it was found that when the color of the food contrasts with the color of the plate, a person eats 22 percent less food. Therefore, if you want, for example, to eat fewer eggplants, then you should get rid of purple plates.
Moreover, a similar correlation was also observed when studying the effect of tablecloth color on the amount of food eaten. For example, it was found that a person ate 10 percent less if the color of the food contrasted with the color of the tablecloth.
This trick works for the same reason as the trick with small plates: the so-called Delphebus optical illusion (an object, an object looks larger when surrounded by other large objects, which will contrast with it).
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Thus, the more your plate contrasts with your food, the more your brain will think you ate a lot, and the less you will end up actually eating.
But what if you only eat hamburgers and rarely use things like a plate or fork? Believe it or not, “salvation” is still possible…
How should you eat right?
1. Eat in a room with soft lighting and pleasant music
Music influences mood, and mood, in turn, influences eating habits. Restaurants are actively using this. However, if they're good at using it, wouldn't you be able to do it to your advantage? Of course you can.
The researchers decided to conduct an interesting experiment. They set up an “observation point” in the fast food restaurant, which measured the amount of food in customers' stalls.
Then, after a certain amount of time, the researchers installed the right lighting and music. After that, they looked again at how much food people were eating. The difference was significant.
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Under soft lighting and pleasant music, customers ate an average of 18 percent less food. So why is this happening?
What's more, people didn't just eat less, they also felt more satisfied with dinner after eating less. Accordingly, those who ate in bright light and loud music ate much more.
As it turned out, it's not just that a person wants to quickly escape from a place where all his senses are attacked from all sides, although this certainly plays a role. According to researchers, it is much easier for people to enjoy eating when the environment is calm, when they can take their time and, importantly, eat less.
On the other hand, light and rhythmic music stress you, so you eat a lot and fast.