WHEN YOUR EYES
ARE BIGGER THAN
YOUR STOMACH
DID YOU KNOW THAT WE EAT FIRST WITH OUR EYES?
YES! THE EATING PROCESS STARTS WITH EYE APPEAL.
by Liz Bull
82 | Eydis Magazine
I
remember so well my
grandfather teasing me
because my eyes were always
bigger than my stomach. As
a card-carrying member of
the “Clean Plate Club,” I would
naturally prove him wrong by
stuffing myself at those big
family gatherings and holiday
meals. Who could resist all those
colorful, tempting foods? As
it turns out, few of us can. The
average American will eat more
than 4500 calories
on Thanksgiving Day
“These plates have completely changed the way I consume
alone. Then there is
and enjoy food! I have generally known what to eat but
Easter, Passover, 4th
not necessarily how much to eat. I consistently left the
of July BBQs, and the
table feeling too full, knowing that I consumed too much.
Super Bowl parties.
After using these plates for the past few months, I now eat
We are seduced by
buffet tables and
the right portion sizes and leave the table feeling satisfied
pastry carts. And
and better about myself. The plates, bowls, and cups are
we are seduced
also beautifully designed; I use them every day and for
by dinner plates
dinner parties; my guests rave about them.”
that are 51 percent
bigger than they
were in the 1900s. There is no
Relax! You can save the blindfold
A group of Swedish researchers
question that the mere look of
for more entertaining pursuits.
found that taking away the visual
certain foods makes us salivate.
cues of food enabled people to
Food advertising is based on
I do have a great resource to give
focus solely on taste, smell, and
that fact. The tremendous eyethose greedy eyes a reality check on
texture. In doing this, subjects in
appeal of many foods subtly
the size of your stomach—it’s about
the experiment ate far less than
encourages us to overload our
the size of your fist— and allow you
when they could see the food.
plates, and overload our bodies
to truly enjoy your meal without
They ate until they were satisfied
in the process. And many of us,
getting to that stuffed place.
and then stopped. They actually
especially members of the “Clean
left food on the plate. How did this
Plate Club”, have been trained to
My friends Walt and Sheila
happen? They blindfolded them!
confuse “clean plate” with full. In
Dietrich have designed the most
truth, full happens long before
beautiful china, stemware, and
You may be wondering, “OK Liz,
the plate is clean. So, what to do?
serving pieces with right-sized
does this mean that the next big
How do we avoid this trap?
portions “built in” to the design.
thing will be ‘The Blindfold Diet?’”
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