A Simple Way to Cut Your Calorie Intake

You’ve seen many, many Web posts claiming to deliver the secret of losing weight fast and keeping it off. And the vast majority are based either on urban legends or wishful thinking. Or outright hokum. But here’s a method approved by no less an authority than Cambridge University…

Wedgwod Peter Rabbit Baby Set - © wedgwood.comClassic Wedgwood Baby China Set: One way of reducing the size of your eating utensils…

A new report by Cambridge researchers, based on a study of over 6,000 subjects, gives strong indications that one simple change in your eating habits can profoundly change your dietary picture for the better.

Okay! So what is it?

The Cambridge crew says that using smaller dinner plates and smaller forks and spoons can result in a savings of 16 to 29 per cent in your regular caloric intake. That significance, but not so much that you’ll take weight off too quickly and just put it back on again in a few months – like you usually do when you go off any of those diet ‘systems’ they advertise on television.

The basis of this theory is that using smaller eating utensils will trick your mind and body into thinking you’re full sooner. It sounds like a win-win situation.

“At the moment, it is all too easy – and often better value for money – for us to eat or drink too much,” Cambridge’s Dr. Ian Shemilt says. “The evidence is compelling now that actions that reduce the size, availability and appeal of large servings can make a difference to the amounts people eat and drink, and we hope that our findings will provide fresh impetus for discussions on how this can be achieved in a range of public sector and commercial settings.

I’m going to try it, in combination with my new daily walking regimen, which has lost me 10 pounds in three months by itself. My partner and I are fostering a puppy destined to be a service dog until she’s 18 months old and ready for formal training. She needs at least 5 mi. / 8 km of brisk walking daily to run off her excess energy and build her strength and stamina. I’m going to keep a close eye on my progress and measure how much of a difference smaller eating utensils really makes!

Stay tuned…

~ Maggie J.

1 Comment

  1. That is one of the suggestions we got at the Weight Management Clinic at the Ottawa Hospital. I have been doing it since I started the program and it does make a difference.

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