Ten things about weight loss: Part 2

Here are the next couple of gems from the programme (see yesterday's post):

2. Use smaller plates

Michael is about five pounds overweight (lucky man!!). He aims to lose this over the next few months and more importantly, to keep it off. He is looking for a 'diet' that works, or some principles by which he can improve his diet in general. The first tip he discovers is that we should eat off smaller plates. He cites the example of an experiment whereby a group of cinema-goers were each given a tub of popcorn. One group were given a large tub and the other group a small tub. The group that were given the small tub generally did not eat all of the popcorn. The group who were given the large tub also left some of theirs - but of course they had much more to start with - so they ate a great deal more. The moral of this tale is that if more food is available - we will eat it - even if we are not hungry!! A simple solution for meals then, is to use a smaller plate. Michael suggests that if we simply reduce our plate size from 12 inches down to 10 inches, we will typically consume 22% less food.

I wonder how much less food I eat because I switched from 12 inch plates down to 7 inch side plates!! I was so determined to get this rule right, right from the beginning, that even before I started the pre-op diet I went out and bought myself four really nice, quite expensive side pates. I thought I would get plates that were distinctive and 'special' - so I don't feel like I am getting a second class meal - but dining like a king off my 'special' plates!! I don't know how the psychology works, but it does!!

There's a saying about work - that work fills the time and space made available for it. In other words, if we work for twelve hours a day, you can bet we will find enough work to do - just as if we worked eight hours a day. I think it's pretty much the same with food - your stomach generally accommodates whatever it is filled with - regardless of whether it actually needs it. This is one of the bad habits that us bandits have to wean ourselves off. But I do find it hard sometimes, just forcing myself to stop and think about whether I am actually hungry, or whether it's just the old 'head hunger' in action!

3. Count your calories

It sounds fairly obvious but the next lesson is to count calories. The downside of not doing this was shown very clearly in the programme when Michael was asked to guess the calorie content of six different foods. The food items were:

A large bowl of fruit salad
Some chocolate
A medium size pork pie
A chicken dinner with potatoes and cabbage
A muffin
A sandwich (it was not clear what kind of filling was used)

He struggled to guess their respective calorie contents and then discovered that they were, in fact, all exactly the same - at 300 calories!!

There are three important lessons here:
a) Even when we think we know how many calories something contains, we are often wrong. The only sure way to be accurate is to use a reliable calorie counting book and weigh food (or rely on what it says on packaging in the case of prepared foods).
b) The volume of food is no guide to its calorie content. Who would have thought that a decent sized chicken dinner would have the same calories as a measly pork pie?!
c) Apparently healthy foods still contain calories (sometimes a lot) - and if you eat large portions of them (like the large bowl of fruit salad) you will be ratcheting up your daily calorie count - just as if you were 'naughty' and ate a muffin!

Michael suggests that we therefore put a great deal more thought into what we eat. It's relatively easy to exchange high calorie foods for comparable voumes of low calorie foods - thus keeping us feeling full but for many less calories. I know about this because a few years ago I went on a low fat (of my own design). I lost four stones. Obviously, I put it all back on again (!), but in terms of the diet itself it was 'successful'. I say this because I was never hungry. Why? Because I made quite large meals but packed them out with low calorie 'bulking' foods. For instance, I would make myself a veggie stir fry and add loads of chunks of marrow and mushrooms - which are both very low in calories. So I was eating quite large portions which were filling me up, but with only a fraction of the calorie content of a much richer, high fat meal.

Michael suggested some examples of where calories could be 'saved' in a relatively easy way: Having a piece of toast for breakfast instead of a pastry; a chicken dinner without any sauces or dressings; a thin based veggie pizza instead of a thick based pepperoni; and sugar-free versions of drinks instead of sugar-laden drinks (like smoothies).