With diet traps lurking around every dinner table and pantry shelf, it's easy to overeat. Here's how to navigate the danger zones without gaining a pound.
Sidestep These Diet Traps:
You work out regularly, and you watch what you eat, so why do you have to lie down to button your skinny jeans?
Things around you, from the candles on your dining room table to those super cute dessert plates, are setting you up to overindulge. "But if you understand the external forces that make you buy and eat more, you can avoid the pitfalls," says Brian Wansink, PhD, a FITNESS advisory board member and the author of Mindless
Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think.
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Diet Trap: Eating Slowly
Mom's been telling you for years to stop shoveling in your food, and you know that this bad habit makes you consume more calories. But eating too slowly can also backfire. Research shows that the longer a meal lasts, the likelier we are to reach for a third glass of wine or dinner roll. "Just sitting at the table means a greater chance of nibbling on something, even if you're not hungry," says Sasha Loring, a psychotherapist and mindfulness teacher at Duke Integrative Medicine.
Sidestep It: A meal should last 45 minutes, just long enough for you to enjoy it, but not so much that you'll overeat.
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Diet Trap: Low Fat Labels
When a food (even chips or cookies) is labeled low-fat, we think it's healthy and tend to go overboard, research shows.
Sidestep It: Look at the serving and portion size. Bonus in smaller packages provide a stopping point, so you can decide whether you want to keep eating. If you think you've downed an entire serving, you're more likely to feel satisfied.
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Diet Trap: Meals in Front of the TV
Time to Fess Up... How many times this week did you dine under the influence of TV?
Kids in a University of Toronto study who ate in front of the tube consumed, on average, 228 more calories than those who didn't. "If you're distracted during a meal, you'll enjoy your food less and lose track of how much you're eating," says Bonnie Taub-Dix, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.
Sidestep It: Can't give up a night watching your favorite shows like The Bachelorette or So You Think You Can Dance?... (my personal favs) Then DVR them and consider it your after dinner treat.
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Diet Trap: Too Many Choices
Research suggests that a plate holding a variety of foods heightens our senses and turns on our taste buds. "Take away the choice and our senses get numbed, making a tray of the same type of muffin look less appealing," says Wansink.
Sidestep It: To help you say no to the bagels and doughnuts at your next meeting, bring a snack of your own, or pick a spot at the table where you'll have to leave your chair to take one. You'll be more likely to think twice about it, since you'd attract attention to yourself getting up.
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Diet Trap: Color
Ever wondered why lots of fast food joints use red in their stores and logos? It's because red is a stimulating color and it just may increase your appetite.
Sidestep It: In your kitchen, go for blue, which experts believe suppresses hunger. "Blue is a soothing, calming color that can subconsciously help you slow down and enjoy your meal," says Taub-Dix. Not ready for robin's-egg walls? Use blue place mats, or arrange a bouquet of hydrangeas as a centerpiece.
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Diet Trap: Family Style Dinners
A serving bowl of fluffy mashed potatoes on the table is just begging you to take a second (or third) helping. Instead, put a full portion on your plate at the beginning of the meal and leave the rest on the kitchen counter... you're more likely to eat less this way.
Sidestep It: Make it harder to pig out. Put the leftovers in the freezer immediately after you serve a meal. Since it takes more effort to defrost a food, you are less likely to dip into it all week.
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Diet Trap: Mouthwatering Aromas
Can't gather the willpower to keep walking past the bakery once you get a whiff of chocolate chip cookies? Studies show that simply smelling a food can increase appetite and stimulate salivation, which will make you eat more if you do indulge.
Sidestep It: Distract yourself so you won't follow your nose. Take out your cell phone and check voice mail or send a few texts when you walk by that yummy smelling cafe.
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Diet Trap: Wining While Dining
Keep the bottle on the table while you eat and you're more likely to refill your glass (100 calories or more a pour).
Sidestep It: Leave the bottle on the counter or in the refrigerator during dinner, and use tall glasses. People in one study poured 28 percent more into short, wide glasses than they did into tall, narrow ones, even though both glasses held the same amount.
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Diet Trap: Group Outings
Hitting your favorite restaurant with friends? The celebratory atmosphere means you're more likely to let your dietary guard down. Typically, when you eat with another person, you consume 35 percent more than you would alone, and the amount you eat increases as much as 10 percent with each additional person at the table.
Sidestep It: Sit next to the smartest eater, sharing with her or reaching for the same foods she does.
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Diet Trap: Cute Dessert Plates
Those plates you got as a housewarming gift could be upping your sweets intake. In one study, people were asked to rate brownies served on dessert plates, paper plates, and napkins. Although they were all from the same batch, those on real plates were rated "excellent" compared with "nothing special" for those on napkins.
Why? Our taste buds are led by our imagination. We figure that the dessert on the pretty plate is more likely to be delicious and if we expect a food to taste good, it will. And of course, the tastier it is, the more we eat.
Sidestep It: Put your fine china away and use your tableware that is not as nice.
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Diet Trap: Buying in Bulk
It may be better for your budget, but loading up at a Sams can sabotage your diet if you're not careful. In one study, people who were given large packages of spaghetti, sauce, and meat typically prepared 23 percent more (around 150 extra calories) than those given medium-size ones. "Big packages make you think that your portions can be bigger too," says Wansink.
Sidestep It: When you're unpacking your groceries, separate the contents of giant value packs into several smaller containers.
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Diet Trap: In-Your-Face Goodies
If candy is in a clear container rather than an opaque one, we'll eat 22 percent more, research shows. "When we see something delicious, the pancreas secretes insulin, which lowers our blood sugar and makes us feel hungry," says Wansink.
Sidestep It: Keep treats under cover. Hide your favorite snacks at the bottom of the fridge or in a drawer. If it's not right there in front of you, You are less likely to reach for it.
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Diet Trap: Mood Lighting
You may be tempted to dim the overhead lights before you sit down to dine with your sweetie, but studies show that it may spur your appetite. "Soft lighting calms you down, making you more comfortable and uninhibited," says Wansink.
The result? You reach for that monster size serving of fettuccine Alfredo and pile on extra Parmesan. But too bright lights are also bad news. They stimulate your senses and can cause you to eat faster and feel rushed.
Sidestep It: Ditch the candlelit meals and the bright fluorescent lights, and find a happy medium.
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Diet Trap: Icy Temperatures
Restaurants and theaters often keep thermostats low. That's not good for your waistline, because your body needs to eat more to stay warm. In hot temps, you'll drink more liquids and eat less.
Sidestep It: Set your thermostat between 68 and 75 degrees and bring a jacket when you go out to eat or to the movies.
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Diet Trap: Easy Access
Are you more likely to indulge in a slice of chocolate cake if 1) you have to bake it from scratch or 2) if it's sitting on your kitchen counter? It's a no brainer. We're lazy when it comes to snacks.
Sidestep It: Avoid buying treats at the grocery store. This way, if your sweet tooth hits, you have to get out of the house and go get some, which is sometimes more trouble than it's worth and you'll pass up on eating sweets.
Now Get To Side Stepin'!
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