There are numerous types of diets and weight loss supplements that promise to burn your excess fat and make you svelte. However, most of these programs and products are not tested and may require you to make drastic changes in the way you eat. Keeping things simple is often the best strategy for successful weight loss and weight maintenance. For example, simply swapping your usual plate for a smaller plate could be enough to help you lose weight and reach your weight loss goals.
Small Plate
The Small Plate Diet involves choosing a 10-inch plate for each of your meal, according to Brian Wansink, author of "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think." Most plates have a diameter of at least 12 inches and plates at restaurants often look like a platter because of their very large sizes. You could try controlling your serving size by using your usual plate, but the plate would probably look half empty, or half full depending on your mood. Choosing a smaller plate enables you to fill up your plate, preventing you from feeling deprived while allowing you to eat less without having to count calories.
Weight Loss
Although most diet books and weight loss supplements try to convince you that they know the secret to help you lose weight, it always come down to eating less than your body needs. A calorie deficit of 3,500 calories results in approximately 1 pound of weight loss, although it may vary depending on your metabolism. Choosing a smaller plate at each meal is likely to help you decrease your calorie intake by 100 to 200 calories at each meal, resulting in a calorie deficit of 2,100 to 4,200 calories per week, which could correspond to a weekly weight loss of 0.6 to 1.2 lb. However, no intervention studies were done to specifically test this hypothesis.
Fill Your Plate With Nonstarchy Vegetables
If you fill your plate with high-calorie foods, like pasta, rice, fried foods, sugary sauces and mashed potatoes, you may not be able to achieve your desired results, although reducing the size of your plate will help you control the amount you eat. For best results with the Small Plate Diet, fill half of your plate with nonstarchy vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, bell peppers, mushrooms and onions, which are all low in calories but rich in fiber. Fiber helps you feel full with fewer calories. Moreover, including more nonstarchy vegetables on your plate will leave less room for other higher-calorie foods.
Complete With Protein, Fats and Carbs
To complete your meal, fill the remaining half your plate with satiating protein, healthy fats and healthy carbs from either whole grains or tubers. For example, a quarter of your plate could include either fish, seafood, poultry, meat or tofu and the other quarter could include oven-baked sweet potato fries, a small serving of whole grain pasta, quinoa or barley. Use olive oil for cooking to add healthy fats or serve your meal with a few slices of avocado or a small handful of walnuts, almonds or macadamia nuts. Choosing the right foods and using a smaller plate increase your chances of reaching your target weight.
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