I talk a lot about how our thoughts about food determine our eating. But sometimes, our minds can use a little help! I have discovered a few weight loss mind hacks that help me feel more satisfied.

I talked about a couple of these mind hacks in an earlier post, Mind Hacks That Work For Weight Loss.

Weight Loss Mind Hacks

1/2’s To 1/4’s

We know that reducing portion size is essential for weight loss, but it feels so deflating to look down at a plate with significantly less food than you are used to eating; especially when you know you don’t get to eat more. This is where the 1/2’s to 1/4’s mind hack comes in handy.

Instead of serving yourself the entire reduced portion all at once, determine how much you are going to eat and then, serve yourself half of that. Yes, you will end up with a tiny amount on your plate, BUT you are setting up a scenario where you get to go back for seconds.

The idea of seconds lessens the feeling of deprivation, because you have allowed yourself a controlled indulgence of extra food.

Down Sizing

There is a commonly known psychological effect called the Delboeuf Illusion in which people are likely to misjudge the size of identical circles when one circle is surrounded by a larger circle. Blank space plays tricks on our minds and causes us to perceive an item as smaller when it’s surrounded by empty space.

…in a study conducted at a health and fitness camp, campers who were given larger bowls served and consumed 16% more cereal than those given smaller bowls. Despite the fact that those campers were eating more, their estimates of their cereal consumption were 7% lower than the estimates of the group eating from the smaller bowls. This suggests that not only could large dinnerware cause us to serve and eat more; it can do so without us noticing and trick us into believing we have eaten less.

Source: Food Psychology.Cornell

The size of the plate or bowl makes a huge difference in our perception of portion sizes. So, try down sizing your plate size to bring your portions into perspective.

Select And Savor

Are you guilty of eating too quickly? Fast eating causes you to polish off a meal before your mind has even had time to register the experience or the calorie consumption. Instead, try to select and savor each bite of a meal or snack.

Eat one piece at a time; taking special care to fully chew and appreciate the flavor of the food. If you are eating with a fork, make sure to put the fork down between each bite. This hack helps to curb the need for speed and increases the enjoyment level of each bite through mindful eating.

I hope some of these weight loss mind hacks work for you. Do you use a weight loss mind hack besides the ones I’ve mentioned in these two posts? If so, I’d love to hear about it and share it in a future post.

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