Lighting, TV and colour to blame for overeating

 Over 60% of Brits are overweight and this is mainly down to the fact that most of us consume more calories throughout the day than we burn.

This is due to two possible causes:

• lack of exercise
• overeating.

More often than not, it’s a mixture of the two.

Of all the millions of pounds worth of special weight-loss books and radical diet plans out there, the real secret to weight loss is absurdly simple and doesn’t even have to involve foul-smelling smoothies or meat-only diets. The secret of weight loss is this: eat less.

Simple.

Of course, simple is one thing, easy is quite another. Now experts claim that modern living isn’t doing us any favours. Daily life is just an obstacle course full of food-traps designed to make us eat more than we really need.

Here are some tips for avoiding the food-traps you might not even have known existed:

Open the curtains, let in some light

It’s true, something as simple as opening the curtains could end up making you slimmer. Of course, opening the curtains then opening the fridge for a slice of cheesecake isn’t going to work, but scientists at the University of California reckon dieters are more likely to want to eat in a dimmer room, so take down those net curtains and let some natural light into your life.

Tidy your kitchen

Walking past an open packet of donuts on the kitchen table is no easy task for a dieter. According to the Professor Wansink, author of ‘Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think’, where we choose to store our food has a big impact on how much of it we eat. Leaving packets of crisps and sweets on the sides makes us snack even when we’re not hungry. If those foods were out of sight, it might not even occur to us that we fancy a snack. The advice here is to store biscuits and other fattening foods inside cupboards and keep things like fresh fruit and bottled water on the kitchen table at all times.

Buy something blue

Scientists at the University of Winnipeg found that the colour blue reduces our appetites. One study showed that eating in a blue-painted room reduces calories intake by as much as a third. So head down to the shops and bag yourself some blue crockery to stave off hunger pangs!

Turn off the TV

Something as simple as turning off the TV can help us lose up to 2lbs a month, even without dieting. Scientists at Cornell University found that watching TV while eating distracted participants from the brain signals telling them they were full, causing them to continue eating even after they’d had enough.

As well as trying the above techniques, why not attempt the tried and tested method of eating a healthy, balanced diet? Healthy food is diverse and delicious. With the right support and guidance, you could lose enough weight to significantly reduce your risk of dying prematurely of Heart Disease and other weight-related problems. Visit our page on Healthy Eating to find out more. 

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