Does The Size of Your Plate Make You Fat?

Are the plates getting larger or are the portions getting bigger? Do larger plates actually influence your weight?  The answer to both questions is Yes!

A friend recently purchased a lovely older NYC apartment with a 1990 designer kitchen that will withstand time.  The problem is that their 2013 dishes did not fit in the 1990 kitchen cabinets.
Since the plates are larger the portions are larger since it takes more food to fill the plate or cup or bowl.

End result:  larger dishes = larger portions = larger bodies.

Are we falling victim to the size of our plates?
Brian Wansink, director of Cornell Food and Brand Lab and the author or Mindless Eating concludes the increase in the plate size is in fact contributing to the greater amount of food we are eating.  This is more of an issue for ‘emotional eater’ because a large part of their struggle with food is from feeling cheated or denied in one way or another as a child.   The emotional eater looks to take the largest portion of what is offered while for others it is the guilt or obligation to finish everything on their plate since there are people going to be hungry in the world as I was often reminded as a child while getting coaxed to finish everything on my plate.

The good news is that you are in control and can choose the smaller plate and reduce your calories which in turn will reduce your waist. .

In the coming days why not eat out of smaller plates, bowls, cups and glasses?  Try it and see what happens to your body, the way your clothing fits and how you’ll start lovin’ your scale again. By the way, it is okay if your mind gets tricked into believing that a full small plate is more satisfying than a sparingly filled big plate.

Bon Appetite with smaller plates.