If you struggle to manage your weight, or to lose it, your kitchen may be partly to blame. From the the size of your dinner plates to clutter on the countertop, a number of factors can have an impact on what you eat and how much.
Dr Brian Wansink, director of the Cornell University Food & Brand Laboratory, has spent 25 years researching mindless eating and the simple changes we can make in our kitchen to avoid weight gain – a process he terms as being “slim by design”.
“When people try to lose weight they count calories, keep food diaries and read labels incessantly. It becomes a 24/7 job,” he says. “But if a person can change a few things in their immediate environment – how they set up their refrigerator or their table, for example – they can eat less without having to think about it. It’s easier to be slim by design than to be slim by willpower.”
Here are 10 ways to reorganise your kitchen and dining area to help you lose kilos or avoid weight gain in the first place: