‘Tis the season of indulgent eating, and despite your best of eating intentions, it can be downright impossible to ignore that second (or fourth) helping of frosted cookies. Fortunately, a new study is offering up a clever approach to help you satisfy cravings for holiday food without stuffing yourself silly. Researchers from the University of Bristol found that those who thought they’d eaten large portions at their previous meal tended to feel full longer, and remember their meal as being more satisfying. To reach that conclusion, investigators served 100 participants bowls of soup, with half the participants eating out of a large bowl and the other half eating from a smaller vessel. But here’s the catch: As participants dined, researchers covertly removed or added soup from the bowls, meaning that bowl size had little to do with how much a given person was consuming. Still, participants who thought they had consumed larger portions—even if they actually hadn’t—reported feeling less hungry several hours later and enjoyed their repast to a greater extent. “Two or three hours after eating, our physiological response to a particular meal becomes blunted,” says lead study author Jeffrey Brunstrom, PhD, a professor of behavioral nutrition at the University of Bristol. “Having a memory of eating a large meal actually moderates self-reported hunger.” More from Prevention: 8 Things You Didn’t Know About Calories So how can you apply the research to your own dining habits? Experts recommend zeroing in on words that evoke satiation during a meal (terms like “filling” or “large”) to make it more likely that you’ll recall the repast as a satisfying one, and be less likely to overdo it a few hours later. And that’s not the only technique to try—these additional four tips can also help you indulge in moderation and enjoy every bite: Focus on the food Waited all year for your sister’s famous eggnog? Savoring every sip might make you less inclined to pour yourself a second glass. “Research says that distracted eating is a bad thing, since it disrupts memory encoding for a meal and could even lead to eating more at subsequent meals,” Brunstrom says. Load up strategically Increase portion sizes of nutrient-dense, lower-calorie foods (salads and broth-based soups are both good options) to sustain your sense of satiation. Picture your sweetie Set a photo of your partner as your phone background and glance at it the next time you’re contemplating that fifth cookie. Thinking about love and long-term relationships leads people to make healthier food choices, according to a recent study from Northern Kentucky University. “Companionate love makes us think about the long-term, which can encourage us to pick healthier foods,” says study author David Raska, PhD, an assistant professor of marketing. Pick a small white plate The smaller your plate, the less likely you’ll be to serve yourself oversized portions of food, finds recent Cornell University research. You’ll serve yourself less if your food contrasts with the color of the plate, too—so opt for white dishes when you cut into that chocolate-pecan pie. More from Prevention: The Problems With Being A Diet Perfectionist Questions? Comments? Contact Prevention’s News Team!
