Super simple diet trick THAT ISN'T SPAM!

SnuggleSmacks
SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
in Motivation and Support
So, I was reading Greatist.com and came across this article:

http://greatist.com/health/cut-calories-switching-smaller-plates

It's basically about using smaller plates to cut portion sizes while still feeling satisfied. I had read an actual study recently which drew the same conclusions. And here's a video on "portion distortion" which demonstrates the theory:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lfdvjlm1V7k

So, I started eating my meals on salad plates, and it does seem to work, even when I'm aware of the illusion. My hot ham and cheese pita and sweet potato fries seemed enormous on the salad plate, after seeming disappointingly small on the baking sheet, and I'm actually having trouble finishing it.

I have small rice bowls from China which I've started using for ice cream, and an actual serving does not seem to swim in a giant vacant sea of loneliness. Now I'm considering buying a new set of dishes with this in mind (I've needed a new set for a long time, as I have a hodgepodge of 3 different sets.)

Have you guys tried this? Does it seem to work for you?
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Replies

  • CindyMarcuzAdams
    CindyMarcuzAdams Posts: 4,007 Member
    I totally agred with this. I use a small plate too. My food doesn't look so lonely on my plate.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    My Chinese rice bowls are in the dishwasher, so I used a very fancy porcelain tea cup for my ice cream.


    Even better. Plus it felt all special.

    I'm definitely buying new, smaller dishes.
  • LB30
    LB30 Posts: 109 Member
    I have been doing this for a number of years. It does work. When I use larger plates, I find I fill them on 'auto pilot', not because I'm hungry for all that I've put on there. By using the smaller plate, I eat a smaller portion automatically (even though I've also weighed and measured it. ha) and if I'm truly still hungry, I can have seconds as needed. Rarely do I ever need the 'seconds'.
  • AshleyLeelette
    AshleyLeelette Posts: 46 Member
    I do this all the time! I was always that girl that needed to fill my plate! That was my portion.... So the smaller plates makes portion control seem non-existent for the most part!
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    I'm trying to find the study I read. It was actually about how across all cultures, age groups and genders, we have a tendency to finish the food on our plates, even if we're already full. It was less about the small plate thing than it was about cleaning your plate, whatever the size...but obviously that ties in.

    I used to work for Replacements Ltd. (the larges redistributer of discontinued china, silver, crystal, etc.) and I have a small collection of interesting dishes from those days. I think I'll start collecting again with this in mind.

    Eating ice cream from a fancy porcelain cup was quite a pleasure!
  • bergpa
    bergpa Posts: 148 Member
    We switched from bigger square plates to smaller round plates and smaller bowls. It really has made a difference for my husband and for me.
  • sweetmelissa222
    sweetmelissa222 Posts: 290 Member
    My boyfriend laughed the first time he saw me do this, but it really does work. I use mugs when I eat cereal, which keeps it closer to one serving than a bowl ever could and a salad plate makes me feel like my dinner is a heaping serving instead of a cup of whatever it is I'm eating.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    I found that the fancy 6 oz. teacups make a 1/2 cup serving of ice cream look huge. Definitely doing that again!

    I also tried this in reverse. I have a very nice stoneware bowl that I specifically use for salads. It's the size of a small serving bowl, so it's quite large for salads. I definitely should never put ice cream in it.
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  • WillLift4Tats
    WillLift4Tats Posts: 1,699 Member
    I have small rice bowls from China which I've started using for ice cream, and an actual serving does not seem to swim in a giant vacant sea of loneliness. Now I'm considering buying a new set of dishes with this in mind (I've needed a new set for a long time, as I have a hodgepodge of 3 different sets.)

    This had me laughing. SO true. This is why I use either a condiment bowl or a cappuccino cup for my ice cream servings. Otherwise it's a little anti-climatic.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,993 Member
    Stowing the 13" plates that most people use today is a great step. Using 9" plates for meals is something I've done for years now and attribute it to helping keep my weight and "hunger" in check.
    Common logic will tell you smaller portions means less calories. But some people can't "leave" food on a full plate so they continue to "clean it off". So it would make sense to use smaller plates if this is how they think.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    Careful... you could spark a new diet trend, similar to the "five bite diet" where you can eat whatever you want as long as it fits on a little plate. Pass the french fries and gelato!
  • mlrs29
    mlrs29 Posts: 1
    im 47 years of age and started menopause a little early and I find it very hard to lose weight.. any suggestions? I work out 5-6 days a week. im very frustrated as I never had this problem before.
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    this was on the local news about a month ago actually, they took 2 random groups of people and let them eat at a buffet. one group used smaller plates, and the items on the buffet were put in order of healthiest to least healthy, and the line started at the healthy end. the second group had larger plates and the line started at the unhealthy end. the first group ate like 600 less calories on average for the meal than the second group
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    It does work. We have this cheap little plastic ramekins that we've adopted for eating everything out of. Everything seems bigger out of them!
  • Janice2Shakira
    Janice2Shakira Posts: 257
    I'm so glad I'm not the only one using rice bowls for ice cream :drinker:
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    I went out and bought 8 half cup bowls just for ice cream. Having a single serving in a cereal bowl is disappointing. I also eat it with a tiny dessert spoon.
  • jonathandavid_t
    jonathandavid_t Posts: 107 Member
    On a similar note, there's a suggestion I've read somewhere (not sure if trialled scientifically or not) that getting dark-coloured plates influences the food you put on them -- classically we use light plates so pasta, potatoes, etc. tend to be less visible so we load more of them on out plates, whereas with dark plates they stand out more so we put less, and vegetables 'blend in' better so we put more.
  • 40andFindingFitness
    40andFindingFitness Posts: 497 Member
    I use a smaller plate sometimes, but even with a larger plate I've learned to let the white space show. When I was eating ice cream I used to eat it out of a coffe mug with a dessert spoon (tiny with long handle). That helped as well. Haven't had ice cream in months though.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    I've tried and I don't think it makes a difference for me. We have really big square plates so I'm used to seeing a lot of white space on them and I generally have a large salad with dinner so it doesn't fit on little plates with the rest of my food.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    I have tiny Ikea bowls that are perfect for cereal and ice cream.
  • srslybritt
    srslybritt Posts: 1,618 Member
    OP:

    This really does work and is genius. We don't even have full-sized "dinner plates." Our biggest plates are 11" luncheon plates, but I usually go for even smaller if possible.
    im 47 years of age and started menopause a little early and I find it very hard to lose weight.. any suggestions? I work out 5-6 days a week. im very frustrated as I never had this problem before.

    As for you, you need to start your own thread and we need more information. How many calories you're eating, what type of exercise you're doing, if you weigh your food, if you're using a heart rate monitor to track your exercise, etc etc. There's not enough information in this post to help you. I would also suggest utilizing the search function to see if your questions have been answered before. (try "menopause," "exercise," and "calories.")

    ETA: And your height/weight. Important piece that I forgot.
  • SomeNights246
    SomeNights246 Posts: 807 Member
    It makes a lot of sense, and I've found it works in many cases.

    Works with ice cream. Anyone else have a tendency to fill their bowl of ice cream... and yet, when they use a tiny, tiny cone... one or two scoops is the perfect amount?
  • Veil5577
    Veil5577 Posts: 868 Member
    I use plates that belonged to my grandmother, they're over 40 years old, and they're smaller than plates you can buy today because back then people didn't eat huge portions. But I'm thinking of buying even smaller plates.
  • j4nash
    j4nash Posts: 1,719 Member
    I have small rice bowls from China which I've started using for ice cream, and an actual serving does not seem to swim in a giant vacant sea of loneliness. Now I'm considering buying a new set of dishes with this in mind (I've needed a new set for a long time, as I have a hodgepodge of 3 different sets.)

    This had me laughing. SO true. This is why I use either a condiment bowl or a cappuccino cup for my ice cream servings. Otherwise it's a little anti-climatic.

    lol, so true. poor ice cream is so lonely, i want to rescue it, and the rest of its family.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    I have these, they are gigantic:

    10291945.jpg

    but never break.
  • robster160
    robster160 Posts: 147 Member
    Totally works for cutting down on intake.
  • Jess__I__Can
    Jess__I__Can Posts: 307 Member
    I eat with my left hand (I am right handed). It slows me down and makes me appreciate what I am eating.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,251 Member
    I am totally a plate piler and a plate cleaner. Luckily I tend to load it with vegetables, but even so I bet I could stand to go smaller! I have big noodle bowls and smaller soup bowls and find that I'll eat twice as much soup if I use the noodle bowls than the little ones.

    I want to try the plate thing but I think my husband would mock me, LOL.
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
    I can imagine this working quite well, and definitely a useful weapon to have :) For myself though, I think I will stick with normal sized plates, and instead focus filling them with a lot of veg and salad, two things I have to keep on top of to eat enough of :)

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