Feast Your Eyes on a Smaller Serving Size

You know you have to downsize your plate if you want to do the same to your waist, but it’s not just your dish-size that’s crucial to modifying high-calorie serving sizes. A study from the British Medical Journal found that drinking out of tall, skinny glasses instead of a short, wide glass can help you to reduce the amount you drink by 20-30%. That may seem insignificant at first, but it can be especially helpful when you’re drinking high-calorie beverages, especially alcoholic drinks. You may actually pour yourself more to drink in a short, wide glass because it doesn’t look like it contains as much as a tall, skinny glass. But your eyes are just playing tricks on you. Optical illusions like this may explain why you serve yourself more pasta on a flat plate than in a round bowl; the sides of the bowl make the pasta look like it’s piled high while the flat surface of the plate diminishes the true quantity. Portion control is the answer to your weight-loss needs. So start serving your food on smaller plates and bowls, and your high-calorie drinks in tall, skinny glasses. Your mind will think you’re enjoying a feast, and that’s half the battle to eating less and looking great.