In this article, we’ll talk about how “commercial” portion sizes affect diet and calorie intake. We will also observe how the choice of plates affects the number of calories eaten. And of course, we will answer the main question “how to eat less”.
How many times have you heard the advice “eat less!”? Of course, one way to do this is to increase your intake of low-calorie foods, such as fruits and vegetables, while reducing your intake of high-calorie foods, such as refined sugar, starch, and butter. So be sure to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables. You may be doing the same at home. But what happens when you’re eating on the go, visiting, or enjoying your favorite popcorn at the cinema?
How many fewer calories do you think you would consume just by changing the plate you use for meals?
We found that replacing a deep “lunch” plate with a “salad” plate resulted in a halving of the calories in the meal!
We tested this theory by dicing bread and placing it on three different plates. Here’s what happened:
| Diameter cm | Volume, ml | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Plate for bread, butter | ||
| 17 | 100 | 150 |
| Salad plate (flat) | ||
| 20 | 200 | 225 |
| Deep (lunch) plate | ||
| 25 | 300 | 450 |
The less space on your plate, the fewer calories you consume!
Plate Filling Tips
Create a “healthy” plate. Half of your plate should be occupied by fruits and vegetables. The other half should be divided equally between plant protein and whole grains. This will help reduce your intake from 900 calories to just 450 calories!
Use your plate strategically. Think about how much food you would like to eat and how full you would like your plate to be. In order to have a balanced diet and not be hungry at the same time, we suggest swapping the salad and dinner plates. Place the salad on a large plate and the soup or main course on a smaller one. This will help you consume more vegetables and only 350-400 calories from two plates.
Use salad plates when visiting buffets. This will help you eat less food.
Take a “bread” plate and eat only one serving of cookies, chips, or other foods high in fat or sugar.
Next time, order food from a restaurant, but bring and eat it at home. Putting it on ordinary homemade plates, you will see the difference between a homemade portion and a restaurant one. This is especially true of America, where restaurant portions are simply huge. From the age of three, Americans get used to huge restaurant portions. Therefore, they are in first place among all countries in terms of the number of obese people.
Use small “sauce” bowls for low-fat ice cream or yogurt. These plates will hold hardly half of the serving, but they will look full. You can even impose with a slide 😉
If you are buying new plates, choose the set that has the smallest “dinner” plate. Over time, you will feel the difference.
Portions of fast food
Let’s take a look at how we perceive food when it’s in its packaging, and how it is on the plate. You will be surprised!
Did you really order “small fries”? In fact, it fills the entire plate!
How about a big popcorn for a good movie? It’s enough for 6 people!
Here we have a pretzel from the mall – it fills the whole plate!
Just look at this giant sandwich! Enough for two plates. And he doesn’t look particularly healthy or balanced. It would be better to divide it into four portions!
As a reminder, we offer an example of a healthy and balanced plate.
Be healthy!