if our stomach is roughly the size of 2 fists - why are stan

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kimski08
kimski08 Posts: 28 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
If our stomach is roughly the size of 2 fists - why are standard dinner plates SO HUGE?!

I'm really trying hard to get to grips with simply eating less and I can't wait for the day when I feel full on less food than I eat at the moment.

When I cook, I do tend to put less food on our plates. But when other people in the family cook, seriously there is enough food on each plate to feed 4 people.

So I got thinking, how the heck has the standard dinner plate become so huge over the years? Think about the size of a plate in an average restaurant. :huh: This doesn't help us in our battle!

I think from tomorrow I am going to borrow one my nieces smaller plates (coz lets face it a side plate is too small) in a bid to get my actual stomach back to a natural size.
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Replies

  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    or you could just put a bit less on it? Or perhaps more importantly, lots and lots of veg.... ?
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    Your stomach doesn't get stretched out...it is made of muscle and is pretty small whenever it's empty, then can stretch to hold up to about 2 liters. What changes is your brains response to the nerves in your stomach saying 'the tummy is distended and full'. We eat to fullness rather than to just not being hungry any longer. But the small plate is a great idea!
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    They did a study on foodnetwork where they served the same food on big plates and little plates. The people with big plates ate much much more than those who ate on small plates. Apparently the smaller the plate the more food People thought they were eating.
  • SMarie10
    SMarie10 Posts: 956 Member
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    I've been using a smaller plate for a while now - I know it's more psychological than anything, but It does help you control portions. I use a smaller glass as well, Other thing that help slow down my eating it to put your fork / spoon down on the table between bites. It makes you taste your food, and takes longer to eat a meal so you can hit that full feeling before chowing down your entire meal.
  • tmtolbert
    tmtolbert Posts: 59 Member
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    i frequently eat off of a smaller plate (salad plate size i guess). it really helps me to control my portions and i feel like i am eating more because my plate looks fuller!
  • zendarah
    zendarah Posts: 91 Member
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    At my house, everyone serves their own plate, instead of food being put on a plate for you. Its actually a pretty neat idea because it gets rid of the "eat whats on your plate" mentality. I tend to eat my dinner off bread plates rather than dinner plates to trick myself too.
  • clrrrr
    clrrrr Posts: 261 Member
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    I've heard it helps to use a smaller plate and larger utensils. In theory you end up eating less and feeling more satisfied.
  • cgraylyon
    cgraylyon Posts: 292 Member
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    They did a study on foodnetwork where they served the same food on big plates and little plates. The people with big plates ate much much more than those who ate on small plates. Apparently the smaller the plate the more food People thought they were eating.

    This is a great idea! I am going to try using a smaller plate and see how it goes :)
  • kimski08
    kimski08 Posts: 28 Member
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    Rainbow, that's exactly what I mean. I think that the amount we think we should eat at a meal has become distorted.

    Small plate challenge starts tomorrow! From now on if my mum serves up her usual daily banquet on a plate I may have to halve it onto a smaller plate so I am not tempted to just eat on.
  • MsBaby117
    MsBaby117 Posts: 201 Member
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    I don't even use dinner plates anymore. I always use my salad plates....It's a mind game. The plate looks fuller and then you don't feel cheated...:flowerforyou:
  • mznisaelaine
    mznisaelaine Posts: 2,262 Member
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    i frequently eat off of a smaller plate (salad plate size i guess). it really helps me to control my portions and i feel like i am eating more because my plate looks fuller!

    This is what I started to do too for a while now. It is also helping me :)
  • kimski08
    kimski08 Posts: 28 Member
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    It certainly is a mind game, conditioning your brain to behave differently.

    I'm quite excited for tomorrow now, sometimes the more trivial the change appears the more impact it will have. I'll have to let you all know how I get on because I think that portion control is my biggest battle. The types of foods I'm eating are right - it's just the amount.
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
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    ever notice that plates at a buffet restaurant are smaller than standard size? that way people feel like they have eaten more. saves the restaurant money. most people won't go up for that THIRD plateful. my husband will tho, damn his lightning fast metabolism!
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    You'll be fine! As you eat less, your stomach shrinks naturally. Now that I've been cutting my calories, I just simply can't eat as much as I used to. It hurts! That's natural. Just give it time.
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
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    i often actually eat from a cereal bowl. it looks like "a big bowl full". really rather silly since i weigh and measure everything.
  • Newf77
    Newf77 Posts: 802 Member
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    Let’s face it dinner plates have gotten bigger because of glutton eaters. I really noticed the change in plate size a few years ago when I pulled some old China my Grandparents had out and compared it to the everyday dinner ware we were using. I am trying to remember the specific numbers but the circumference of a modern plate is 12 inches where it uses to be seven or eight. Humans are visual eaters, bigger space on the plate to fill to think we are eating enough.
  • kimski08
    kimski08 Posts: 28 Member
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    Let’s face it dinner plates have gotten bigger because of glutton eaters. I really noticed the change in plate size a few years ago when I pulled some old China my Grandparents had out and compared it to the everyday dinner ware we were using. I am trying to remember the specific numbers but the circumference of a modern plate is 12 inches where it uses to be seven or eight. Humans are visual eaters, bigger space on the plate to fill to think we are eating enough.

    A lot of dinner plates are over 20cm nowadays! Funny, someone asked on Yahoo for people to comment on what they thought a standard size was and most quoted 9/10" which is 22/25 cms. No wonder people eat more than their body needs, me included, well that was until today haha :happy:
  • vscott913
    vscott913 Posts: 65 Member
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    Agree with Arielle... it just takes time. I've gotten to the point where if I eat more than 500 cals in 1 sitting, I feel a bit ill for a about 30 minutes afterward. Basically, I eat about 1/2 of what I used to eat.... particularly if we're talking pasta, but I'll also only have 1 hamburger instead of 2... just depends on what it is I'm eating. The small plate idea is good, because it's been shown to be effective in helping with weight loss. Another study that has been done is to leave dirty dishes on the table while eating, instead of clearing them as you go (particularly in restaurants), as you will be more apt to pay attention to how much you've been eating. Just hang in there... it didn't take more than a few months for that to happen for me. Good luck!
  • ahavoc
    ahavoc Posts: 464 Member
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    So they can charge us more, silly! Bigger plate, bigger price!

    But seriously folks, the entire idea of portion control has gone out the window. If you really measure your food, and see what a true 2 oz portion of dried pasta cooked looks on your plate, or weigh that 4 oz of cooked rice and 4 ounces of chicken, that's when you really learn what a true portion is. Even drinks like Smart Water, the flavored ones, one bottle is 2.5 servings, but people just drink the entire bottle, they don't look. Measure your food and drink, not only your neck, waist, hips and pounds/kilos, and you will see, you will see.
  • kimski08
    kimski08 Posts: 28 Member
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    thanks vscott913 :-)

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