If you load the plates with food, people will naturally try to eat it to be polite. It has been drilled into our heads that to leave food on your plate is wasteful. So you feel guilty when you scrape those last few bites into the garbage. You have to change your mind. Instead of feeling guilty, congratulate yourself for having the common sense to stop eating when you have had enough – for not being a glutton.
If you’re the one doing the serving, put smaller portions on the plate. They can always have more if they’re still hungry. Don’t make people feel like they “have to†overeat. Most people will eat what you put in front of them. If you have bowls and platters of food on the table, people will mindlessly eat. If they have to get up to get more, they usually won’t.
Try it and see for yourself. I’ve always done this. My daughter’s friends thought it was really weird that I plated the food. Truth be told; I did it to avoid dirtying up serving dishes, but it turned out to be a smart move.
A cool trick is to use smaller plates. When you put a normal portion on a large plate, it looks like its not enough food. You’re prepared to not be satisfied before you ever start. But when you use a smaller plate, it looks like a lot of food. Make sense? Use a 9 or 10 inch plate.
If you’re snacking – take a portion, put it on a plate, and put the container away. Don’t assume that you will have any will power to stop eating if you have the whole container in front of you.
Remember that it only takes a few hundred calories a day to make a difference. Every bit that you don’t eat is a victory.