Want to eat less? This trick may help.

So many of us struggle with eating too much. And being surrounded by oversized portion sizes makes it more difficult to manage how much we eat and practice portion control. Not only do we consider these large portions to be normal (I write about this “portion distortion” phenomenon in my book Finally Full, Finally Slim but research shows that people eat more when they are served more food.

So, how can we eat less? This trick may help.

In this recent study, nearly 200 participants were offered brownies as a snack while watching a video. To test if people eat more when served a larger-size unit (a bigger brownie) or a greater number of food items (more brownies), the plates of brownies offered to the participants varied. Each plate contained either 1, 2, 4, or 8 brownies in either ¼ oz, ½ oz, or 1 oz portions. The plates contained the same amount of food– 2 oz worth of brownies. However, the number and size of the brownies varied.

Guess what? The study participants ate more when offered fewer large brownies as opposed to several smaller-sized ones. Only 20% of the participants ate 8 smaller-sized (1/4 oz each) brownies. However, 60% of the participants ate 2 larger-sized (1 oz each) brownies.

Here’s the takeaway message: If you want to eat less, choose smaller-sized items. This can mean cutting your meat, potatoes, or cake portions into smaller sizes. And of course, eat more slowly, eat mindfully, and enjoy your dining companion.

 

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