7 non-food factors that derail weight loss

Choosing your meals wisely is good advice but there are many other factors that might be the cause of your increasing waist-line. If you eat with a group of friends, you’re more likely to overindulge, shows a new study in the journal Appetite, is one example.

As compiled by Daily Mail, medicaldaily.com, Shape and Men’s Health magazine, here are seven zero calorie aspects that affect your weight loss goals in unexpected ways.

1 A good mood

Movies love to point out the old bingeing on ice-cream after a break-up cliché. And while it’s factual that you reach for comfort foods when you’re depressed, being in a happy mood also cranks up your appetite, shows a UK study. Happiness not only distracts you from counting calories, it also makes you worry less about sticking with your diet goals, researchers say. The way around this is set yourself a treat per day, whether you’re in a jolly mood or not, you should have one of the ‘forbidden’ foods daily. Having something to look forward to will help you take your mind off food cravings, no matter what your mood, and help you feel like you are not missing out on the ‘good’ things in life.

2 Chilly environment

The colder the ambient temperature, the more you eat. Your body uses food (and body fat) to keep you insulated and warm. So you tend to both eat more and retain more fat in cold climates than in hot ones, shows a study from Yale University. The key is to eat slowly when you’re cold, and follow strictly a few strategies that can help you slow down your eating patterns. You can chew your food for a set amount of times which also benefits digestion, or you can make a point of putting your cutlery down between mouthfuls and not load up your fork before you’ve swallowed what’s in your mouth first.

3 Dim lighting

Dim or soft lighting increases consumption in two ways, according to research from Cornell University. First of all, low lighting makes your environment more comfortable, which causes you to linger over a meal for longer, resulting in over-indulgence long after you’re full. Also, if you’re dining with other people, low lighting makes you less self-conscious about both your body and the dessert you’re devouring on, the researchers suggest. Next time you’re eating, turn up the lights and notice how you’ll gobble more consciously.

4 Speedy music

Ever wonder why you seem to chow down double the food much faster at a noisy restaurant? George Prochnik, author of In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise has the fascinating science behind this everyday phenomenon. According to the book, Italian researchers have recently proven that acoustic stimulation heightens the effect of hunger, to a degree that influences the mind to constantly feel deprived. The faster the music’s playing at a restaurant or around you at meal times, the faster you’ll eat, according to the research. Your eating speed can outpace your brain and belly’s ability to detect whether or not you’re full. So if you have a lot of big helpings in front of you, speed eating may lead to overconsumption, the study shows.

5 Eating with a group

The more friends you dine with, the more you eat. According to the study from Georgia State University, every buddy you add to your dinner party ups your consumption by about 11 per cent. Friends tend to keep eating as long as someone else is still going at it. So the more people you’re with, the longer the meal will last. Eating by yourself is mighty lonely but much healthier: Studies show you consume about 30 per cent more when you’re with another person and 45 per cent more when you’re with a group.

6 Long reads

Do you sit down to eat with a magazine? The longer the read, the more you’ll eat. People who eat and read together tend not to stop munching until they’ve flipped through the whole issue, shows a study from Finland. It’s a lot like eating in front of the TV. You might have noticed this at home as well: While watching your favourite soap or movie, you tend to eat more than you intended to. A bowl of pop corn and a bag of chips just disappear without realisation of the quantity consumed. The same thing happens while reading. That innocuous looking novel, fixed strategically in front of you, urges you to guzzle and shovel more. Just a little bit more!

7 Your plate 

It’s time to look at your crockery - as it could be a major contributor as to why you are overeating at every meal. Dinner plates, as with portions seem to have got bigger and bigger, it’s just trendy to serve food on massive white plates in restaurants but in the domestic situation this can bring about huge portions and you consuming them mindlessly. So, try shrinking down your plate - swap your normal one for a slightly smaller one, give it a go for a week and notice how it affects your food intake.

Compiled By: Umnia Shahid

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2014.

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