Lose Weight Without Cutting Your Portion Sizes? Seriously?

When you want to lose weight, one of the first pieces of advice you’ll hear is “eat less.” But according to a new study from Penn State University, simply choosing to eat more of your favorite healthy foods may be a better approach to weight loss than reducing your portion sizes.

In the study of about 100 women, two groups — one of which had prior training on weight loss strategies like portion control — came into a lab once a week for four weeks to eat lunch. Their meals consisted of seven foods with different calorie loads, and the portion sizes they were served varied each week.

The researchers discovered that both groups ate more food when their plates contained more food, lead study author Faris Zuraikat, a graduate student in Penn State’s department of nutritional sciences, stated. This was surprising, because even though the trained group should have eaten less, they couldn’t resist the amount of food that was put in front of them. There was no significant difference in the total volume of food that both groups ate.


Related: What Is The Volumetrics Diet? Can It Help Your Weight Loss Plan

There was a silver lining, though, he says. “The women who were trained in portion sizes still ate less calories compared to the controls,” Zuraikat explains. “And they did not by eating less, but by eating more of the lower-calorie dense foods and less of the higher-calorie dense foods.”

This particular study didn’t measure whether or not the women lost weight and was likely not long enough to see a direct effect, but past clinical trials support the idea that eating more foods with a lower calorie density can lead to weight loss. People who were told to eat more foods with a lower calorie density, like water-rich vegetables, ate a greater weight of food and felt less hungry, says Rolls.

4 Things To Try To Make Losing Weight Will Feel Much Easier

Whether you have five or 50 pounds to lose doesn't matter — losing weight is hard! But it doesn't have to be. 

Make your weight-loss journey easier and more enjoyable by following these four tips. Heck, you might even lose weight faster!

Drink Up

Keeping a water bottle nearby at all times is an absolute must because drinking a ton of water (it doesn't necessarily have to be a gallon!) fills you up, so you eat less. Drink at least eight ounces first thing in the morning (with a little lemon or grapefruit is great!), drink at least eight ounces every time you sit down to a meal, and also reach for water in between meals when you start feeling hungry for a snack. 

Dehydration symptoms like headaches and low energy can trick you into thinking you're hungry when all you really need is a few huge gulps of water. If you have a hard time remembering to drink throughout the day, set reminders on your phone.


Related: Do Tea and Coffee Count Towards Your Water Intake

10 Easy Ways To Boost Your Weight Loss Plan.

Losing weight takes a lot of sweat and discipline, but even when you're not powering through a treadmill interval workout or counting calories, there are a lot of simpler ways to see those pounds drop on the scale. Employing these 10 little tricks daily will help you lose weight, no gym or diet required.

Always start a meal with a glass of water: You'll stay hydrated and feel fuller instantly, which can help you from overeating.

Make a few simple swaps at every meal: Going for a vinaigrette dressing instead of a creamy dressing at lunch can save you 80 calories, while opting for fresh fruit instead of dried can save you dozens as well.

 Related: 7 Tiny Distractions  That Can Help Ride Out A Craving

Have a piece of dark chocolate for dessert: Instead of opting for the biscuits in the break room, quiet your sugar cravings with a piece of dark chocolate. It may not feel quite as satisfying the first few times, but as you wean yourself off your sugar addiction, you'll be glad you're saving calories while having a healthy yet decadent treat.

 

5 Unusual Portion Control Tips.

It doesn’t matter what diet you follow. To lose weight, you’ve got to know when to pump the brakes on your portions. But, obviously, that's easier said than done when you're faced with a giant bowl of pasta.

Portion sizes (of pretty much everything but produce) have increased so drastically in past decades that our eyes don’t know what "just enough" actually looks like, according to a 2015 Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition analysis.

Portion Control Tips to Assist Your Portion Sizes. Part 2 of 2

Use smaller spoons

Stick with teaspoons, even when you're dishing food onto your plate. In another Cornell study, people who used three-ounce serving spoons shoveled out nearly 15 percent more food than those who scooped using smaller two-ounce spoons.

Dim the lights before dinner

A revved up eating environment--think bright lights and high-tempo music--encourages you to finish a meal faster and take in more food, according to Cornell researchers. When restaurant patrons dined in a softly lit room where jazz music was playing, they consumed less than diners who ate amid typical fast food joint ambiance--even though study participants who ate in the fine-dining environment spent more time eating.  

Don’t put platters on the table

When you leave serving dishes on the dining table while you eat, it's too easy to reach for seconds (or thirds), says Palinski. Portion out foods on your plate while you're in the kitchen, sit down, enjoy your meal, and if you're still hungry when you're done, go back for seconds of vegetables only, she suggests. 

Dine in a blue-hued room

If your kitchen or dining room could use a coat of paint, skip warm-colored hues. Red, yellow, and orange tones may make you to eat more, while blue hues tend to suppress appetite by making food look less appealing. Gala attendees who dined in a blue room at 33 percent less food than guests who enjoyed dinner in a red or yellow room, according to a study published in Contact magazine.

Set your fork down between bites

Slow down--clearing your plate is not a race. "There's no need to preload your fork for each bite," says Marisa Moore, RD, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "Taking breaks will extend the time it takes to eat your meal and possibly reduce the amount of food you eat since it takes 15 to 20 minutes for your brain to get the signal that the stomach is full."

Limit dinnertime distractions

Turn off the television and don't invite your laptop or phone to the table, suggests Dubost. When electronics and other distractions have our attention, the amount of food that we're putting into our mouths does not--it's the perfect environment for mindless eating, she says. 

Recall visual cues

If you don't have a measuring cup handy, use a visual shortcut. For example, a 3-ounce serving of meat is equivalent in size to a deck of cards; a cup yogurt should take up as much space as your fist; 2 tablespoons of peanut butter are the size of a ping pong ball; and a half-cup of cooked rice or pasta is equal to half of a baseball. 

Brush, floss, or chew gum

When you're done eating, keep your chompers busy with a piece of gum, or head to the bathroom to brush and floss. "Keeping a clean mouth may be motivating enough to keep us from mindlessly grazing on food," says Heather Mangieri, founder of Nutrition CheckUp, LLC. She suggests trying this tip between meals and while cooking as well. 

Keep trigger foods out of sight and healthy eats when you can see them

"Out of sight means out of mind--and out of mouth," says Moore. "Put bags of chips or cookies in a high cabinet or in the back of the pantry, or better yet, leave these at the store, she says. Use that same logic--that anything you can see may tempt you--to your healthy-eating advantage. "Leave a bowl of fruit on the counter or table, and when you open the fridge, have snacks such as pre-cut fruits and veggies or low-fat cheese at eye level so it reminds you that that's what you should be consuming," suggests Dubost.

Don’t eat from the bag or box

Instead, place food on a plate or in a bowl so you don't plow through the entire package, suggests Moore. Or make your own 100-calorie packs. "As soon as you get home from the store, divide cereal and snacks into single-serving zippered baggies," says Taub-Dix. "That way you won't have to think about serving size later."

Hide your candy dish (or don’t have one at all)

When sweets are visible and convenient, you'll eat more of them than you would if you had to travel to get to them. When containers of chocolate candy were placed on office workers' desks, they ate 48 percent more of the treats than when the dishes were set 2 meters away, according to a study published in the journal Appetite.

Pick opaque containers over clear

When you stash food in clear containers, seeing it can lead you to eat it. In fact, women ate 71 percent more out of transparent containers than they did out of opaque dishes in a study published in the International Journal of Obesity.



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Portion Control Tips to Assist Your Portion Sizes. Part 1 of 2

How many food-related decisions do you make in a day? In a Cornell University study, most participants guessed around 15--but the true answer is more like 200. You make so many of your choices on autopilot that seemingly insignificant factors like bowl size, room lighting, and plate color can make a huge difference in the amount of food you eat. Test-drive these portion control strategies to cut calories and ease up on overindulging.

Steer clear of small packaged candies

In theory, fun-size candy bars should help you keep portions petite. But tiny treats are always sold in multiples, and it's hard stop at just one or two. Science backs that up: In a study conducted at the University of Alberta, people ate more of a food when it was placed in small packages than they did when it was offered in a regular-sized container.

Use big-box shopping trips to your advantage

Melissa Joy Dobbins, RD, founder of Sound Bites nutrition practice, calls it the "Costco Effect"--if you want to eat more of something, make sure a huge amount of it makes its way into your grocery cart or home. "The presence and volume of it will make you eat more of it," she explains. Instead of picking up a case of chocolate chips cookies, go big on spinach, eggs, and other healthy eats when you hit up big-box retailers, she suggests.

Don’t buy foods labeled “low fat”

When "low-fat" labels are placed on snack foods, they encourage people to eat up to 50 percent more and take in 84 extra calories than they would if the claim wasn't present, according to researchers at Cornell University. Consumers see "low fat" and assume the food has fewer calories, the scientists concluded. On average, study participants underestimated the calorie counts for "low-fat" M&Ms and granola by 48 percent and 50 percent, respectively. Low-fat labeling also caused them to increase their perception of an appropriate serving size by 25 percent.

Add veggies for volume

"If you miss large portions, bulk up your dish with non-starchy vegetables," suggests Erin Palinski, RD, CPT. "For example, adding large chunks of tomato to a pasta dish allows you to see a bigger serving, but you are eating less pasta and having more low-calorie high-fiber veggies." Produce can also add volume to your plate. Fill half of it with fruits, vegetables or a salad and you'll leave less space for higher-calorie protein and grains, says Joy Dubost, RD, PhD.

Choose fragrant foods

The stronger your food smells, the less of it you may need to feel satisfied. Subjects in a study published in the journal Flavour took smaller bites of a vanilla custard dessert when they simultaneously sniffed an intense cream aroma than they did when the smell was weaker. Pay attention to the scent of your centerpiece, too. When obese and overweight people whiffed green apples, bananas or after-dinner mints before a meal they ate less and lost 60 pounds, on average, over six months, according to a study from the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago.

Change your plate color

If you want to eat less of something, your food shouldn't match your plate--the monochrome colors make it look like there's less there. When participants in a Cornell study ate pasta with Alfredo sauce on a white plate or pasta with tomato sauce on a red plate, they served themselves 22 percent more than participants who contrasted their food and plate colors. 

Know your bowl or plate size

People ate 31 percent more ice cream--127 more calories' worth--when they were given large 34-ounce bowls compared to 17-ounce bowls, according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Similarly, Cornell University researchers found that the larger your plate, the smaller you'll perceive the portions of food being served on it.

Bonnie Taub-Dix, RD, author of Read It Before You Eat It, discovered that plate sizes have grown over the years. "I received a set of antique china, and first thought the dinner plates had been left out," she says. "Turns out they were there--but they were the size of today's salad plates." The takeaway: if you eat from a smaller plate or bowl, your brain believes you're eating more food.

If you need help learning what appropriate serving sizes look like, think about purchasing portion-control tableware, like Precise Portion's bowls, cups, and plates. Decorative lines divide out spaces for vegetables, meat, and grains or indicate how many ounces you're pouring into a bowl or glass. 

Sip from taller glasses

Adults pour an average of 19 percent more liquid into short, wider glasses than they do into tall tumblers, according to a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research. Our brains tend to focus more on an object's height than its width, so short glasses don't appear quite as full, the scientists suggest. 

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