The Truth Behind Following a Diet
UCLA researchers recently found that 95% of all diets fail and that two-thirds of people following diets end up regaining more weight than they lost.
Diets fail to deliver the so long waited results because they often set strict boundaries that are challenging our wellbeing in the wrong way. Diets are based on the idea that reducing or eliminating the consumption of certain foods can create long term happiness.
But for how long can you actually avoid eating a succulent cheeseburger or an inviting piece of chocolate?
I used to think that if I wanted to purify my body, I would have avoided all sorts of junk food or unbalanced meals. I was reading about diets and the benefits of losing weight. Every month I was becoming stricter and pickier in my choices, and for every little healthier step made in the kitchen, I was making larger unhealthy steps in my mind. Having to check all labels, tracking my calories every day and never allowing myself to eat outside, wasn’t a healthy choice.
Now I follow a more flexible diet that allows me to find peace between having a healthy meal and keeping a healthy mind. To achieve this balance I had to convince myself that:
The best diet is the one you don’t know you are on.
Food is a great pleasure in our life — not something we should compromise. We simply need to shift our surroundings to work with our lifestyle instead of against it. (Brian Wansink)
I have summarised below the three rules that have allowed me to eat healthy without having to follow a diet.
Rule One — Expectation-Assimilation
Expectation-Assimilation is the concept that our taste perception is biased by our imagination. If you expect a food to taste good it will; if you expect it to taste unpleasant it will too.
Many experiments in the field of food science have proven this concept. For instance, clients that are served a more expensive bottle of wine will experience their meal to taste better because they believe so in their imagination, while customers that purchase less expensive meals will appreciate less because that is what they make themselves believe.
When following a diet often we assume that the meals and ingredients that are recommended will have un unpleasant flavour simply because we make ourselves believe so. Usually, we hear advertising promoting the crunchy and greasy flavour of junk food, and therefore we expect burgers and crisps to taste amazingly good, but has there ever been anybody telling you that carrot and tomatoes have a fresh and tasty flavour too?
Take-Home Message: Set high food expectations. Sure, you might be eating green salad; but take the time to tell yourself that you have prepared the best homemade green salad and that it is fresh and tasty.
Rule Two — Your Eyes Eat First
Did you know that you are more likely to eat something that has an appealing shape and colour? The way that food is presented is almost as important as how it tastes. Do you think you might be tempted to eat more fruit if it came already cut, in a circular composition around a glass plate?
In another food science experiment, scientists offered to a group of participants three desserts (a brownie slice) and asked how much they would have paid for each of the desserts. The first dessert came on a yellow china dish, the second one on a plastic plate and the third one on a napkin.
Although the three slices of brownie all came from the same batch, all participants replied that the one coming on the yellow china dish tasted better and that they would have paid almost as much as three times the amount they would have paid for the dessert served on the napkin.
This is a clear example of how the presentation of food can affect your judgement of taste.
Take-Home Message: Make your healthy food look amazing! Arrange the fruit on nice platters and put beautiful and colourful veggies on the front of your fridge. Renaming your recipes with attractive names can also help. Turn your juices in “Rainforest Smoothies” and your green salad into “Mediterranean Aperitif Salad”.
Rule Three — Smaller and Thinner
How can you measure your portions and still avoid using scales? You probably heard before that using smaller plates or cups to serve your meal will make you believe that you are eating a lot. This technique can be very efficient if used the right way.
Studies show that people tend to finish whatever amount is in their plate even if they are not hungry anymore; people that use smaller size plates fail to lose weight because they are not satiated and end up having multiple servings.
This can be avoided by filling your smaller plates as much as possible. The plate will still be containing less food, but you will have the impression that the plate will be brimful.
Take-Home Message: Select a small to medium size plate for your meals and fill it up with amazing food you like (for example a Mediterranean Aperitif Salad). Fill your plate with the right amount of food and try to avoid grabbing more.
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