Small Steps with Smaller Plates

I’ve started eating my dinner from smaller plates. This way I can’t load so much onto my plate and over eat. Although I’m calorie counting, I am prone to making a salad without paying much attention to the calories of iceberg lettuce and cucumber. I’m a bit more careful with tomatoes, peppers and carrot ribbons though. My salads will often overflow to two thirds of my plate with a small chicken breast or steak taking up the rest. My dinner plates are quite big, so in order to stop me overfilling my plate I have started using a smaller one.

Now, I’m not saying that eating loads of salad is bad for you. Far from it. But, when sticking to 800 calories a day it’s important not to consistently break the limit – even with salad. Which is why I have started to be a little more mindful.

Getting used to using a smaller plate (if you don't already have one) will help when returning to a ‘normal’ diet following the 8-week blood sugar diet. It will help you to control your portions when you no longer have to calorie count and it will hopefully train you not to over eat (hopefully - I couldn't guarantee it though - I'm a massive over eater).

I also read somewhere once (a very long time ago) that blue is a good colour for your dinner plate as it prevents you from eating too much – by suppressing your appetite! Therefore, (can you guess the colour of my dinner plate?) the colour of my small dinner plate is blue. 

Apparently you will also eat less if your food contrasts with the colour of the plate you’re using (http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/discoveries/color-your-plates-matters). Or if you want to eat more greens, buy a green plate. Interesting stuff!

It may only be a very simple and small step but it is at least helping me go in the right direction. It’s not rocket science but it might help me to lose an extra pound. Who knows? It’s got to be worth a try though, hasn’t it?