Football fans, listen up! Here’s the game plan for getting through the Super Bowl without blowing your diet:
First: Put the high calorie snacks in small bowls. Research shows that serving foods in small containers decreases consumption by 40%! That’s because we estimate the appropriate serving size based on the volume of the original container. In other words, one handful of chips from a small bowl seems like plenty but from a larger bowl, 2 handfuls feels more like a normal serving.
Our 2nd Super Bowl party tip: Use black plates. A study in the journal Appetite shows that people eat and drink less when using black dishes. The researchers think we subconsciously relate the color black with danger, death and mold.
So, how can you cut down on liquid calories? Use tall glasses. When longtime food researcher Dr. Brian Wansink asked volunteers to pour the same amount of liquid into differently shaped glasses, people poured 25 percent more into short ones. And, that held true even when the volunteers were professional bartenders. Why because we focus our attention on the height of the liquid, and don’t compensate for the width of the glass.
So, use black plates, tall glasses, and smaller bowls for high-calorie items. That way, no matter which team wins the Super Bowl, your waistline will be a winner, too.