Posted on: Thursday, November 23, 2006
Quirky tips to avert holiday weight gain
By Rosie Mestel and Ben Harder
Los Angeles Times
Fill up on the vegetables. Skip the pumpkin pie or at least the whipped cream. Forgo the gravy; go really, really easy on the stuffing. And just say no to alcohol, because wine and liquor are not only calorie-laden, they're apt to set off a frenzy of feasting.
Such sensible advice surely helps with weight-gain damage control during this season of endless treats. But let's be realistic. How likely are you to pile your 14-inch plate with roasted brussels sprouts and salad and take the tiniest sliver of pie?
Maybe there's another way. Instead of practicing conscious, painful self-deprivation, what if one were to draw from the arcane experiments of appetite researchers, whose job it has been to find out what makes people unconsciously want to eat more — or, for our purposes, less?
We're talking plates. Lighting. The clothes you show up in. Who shows up. Set up these things just right and maybe you won't have to dwell on how much you're eating. In a sense, you'll have license to gorge — the trick being you won't want to gorge quite as much.
Consider adding these quirkier tips from appetite experts to bolster your beat-the-bulge efforts.
Fast before the feast today. In a yet-to-be-published study, nutrition and psychology professor David Levitsky of Cornell University deprived some undergraduate volunteers of breakfast and monitored how much they ate for the rest of the day. By day's end, the skippers had eaten about 400 fewer calories.
Avoid Viagra. In a recent Belgian study, a dose of Viagra's active ingredient, sildenafil, increased stomach capacity by an average of 16 percent.
Don't drink a river before you eat. A common recommendation is to fill up with water before you sit down for the feast. But Barbara Rolls, professor of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University, has found that drinking water has no influence on food intake. Also, military studies show that troops eat less than usual when they're mildly dehydrated. Coming to the table a bit thirsty might have a similar effect.
Select your company with care. Sure, you'll have more fun with the friends and relatives you adore — but you'll eat more, too. Really want to cut down on the stuffing? "Eat Thanksgiving alone," says Brian Wansink, author of "Mindless Eating" and director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab, which is devoted to figuring out why, what and how much we eat. He's kidding. But the science is inescapable: Most people eat less when they're alone. The bottom line: The bigger the crowd, the longer you'll linger at the table and the more you'll consume.
Pick the right plates and glasses. Sip that beverage from a short, squat glass and you will drink more than if you drink it from a tall, skinny glass. Small plates and bowls and spoons are a must for the dinner table, too — again, because of optical illusions. Objects of the same size appear smaller when placed on a larger background, such as the behemoth dinner plates available in stores these days.
Dress carefully. Formal or casual? That's your choice. Make it a bright orange prison jumpsuit for all we care. Just make sure it's a tight bright orange prison jumpsuit. Although there is a dearth of hard data on this point, an investigation at a Midwestern jail showed that prisoners gained between 20 and 25 pounds during their average stay of six months, even though they had opportunity to exercise, access to visitors and the food was unappetizing. When questioned after release, they pointed a finger at the loose jumpsuits they'd worn during their stay — accusing the slackness of failing to give them feedback on their paunch.
Turn up the lights. "The brighter the light, the more aware you are of what you eat," says Nanette Stroebele, a psychology researcher at the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado, Denver. Scientists have tested this. The difference is seen even if the same menu is served in different settings. So if you want to eat less, turn the Thanksgiving table, if not the whole world, into a brightly lit stage.
