10 Tips for Minimizing Visual Cues

[Guest guest]

Good Advise.

by Tammy Bartz

To control "head hunger" eating, arrange your environment to reduce the visual food cues.

1. Store tempting foods on the highest shelves of cabinets or on the lowest shelves of the refrigerator so they will be less noticeable and harder to reach.

2. Remove foods from every room in the house except the kitchen (no candy dishes on the coffee table, no chocolates in the desk drawer, and no chips or crackers in the car or in the family room next to your favorite chair).

3. At parties, buffets and social events, after you have eaten, chew a piece of sugarless gum and stay away from the area where the food is being served.

4. Don't talk on the phone, read, or watch TV in the kitchen (or any other place that food is stored).

5. Eat before you go grocery shopping, and avoid the aisles with candies, cookies, chips, and desserts.

6. Leave the dinner table as soon as you have finished eating your pre-planned meal.

7. Serve reasonable portions of food in the kitchen and bring the plates to the dinner table. Don't put serving bowls or platters on the table. If you or someone else really want seconds, they can go into the kitchen to get them.

8. Purchase single servings of snacks for other family members instead of the bulk sizes. It is too easy to lose track of how many chips you have had if you have a large bag of chips versus a single serving bag. And you are less likely to eat more than a single serving if you have to go back to the cabinet to get a second bag.

9. When eating out, ask the server not to leave the bread or chips on the table while you wait for your meal.

10. Quit the "Clean Plate Club". Leave at least one bite of food on your plate to help unlearn the association between the sight of food and eating.

[Guest guest]

Good Advise.

by Tammy Bartz

To control "head hunger" eating, arrange your environment to reduce the visual food cues.

1. Store tempting foods on the highest shelves of cabinets or on the lowest shelves of the refrigerator so they will be less noticeable and harder to reach.

2. Remove foods from every room in the house except the kitchen (no candy dishes on the coffee table, no chocolates in the desk drawer, and no chips or crackers in the car or in the family room next to your favorite chair).

3. At parties, buffets and social events, after you have eaten, chew a piece of sugarless gum and stay away from the area where the food is being served.

4. Don't talk on the phone, read, or watch TV in the kitchen (or any other place that food is stored).

5. Eat before you go grocery shopping, and avoid the aisles with candies, cookies, chips, and desserts.

6. Leave the dinner table as soon as you have finished eating your pre-planned meal.

7. Serve reasonable portions of food in the kitchen and bring the plates to the dinner table. Don't put serving bowls or platters on the table. If you or someone else really want seconds, they can go into the kitchen to get them.

8. Purchase single servings of snacks for other family members instead of the bulk sizes. It is too easy to lose track of how many chips you have had if you have a large bag of chips versus a single serving bag. And you are less likely to eat more than a single serving if you have to go back to the cabinet to get a second bag.

9. When eating out, ask the server not to leave the bread or chips on the table while you wait for your meal.

10. Quit the "Clean Plate Club". Leave at least one bite of food on your plate to help unlearn the association between the sight of food and eating.