Tips for Eating Better

Gretchen Rubin from The Happiness Project is weighing in with her Wednesday Tips series. This week she’s here to help us eat better. Here’s a sampler platter:

Paradoxically, studies show that over time, people who diet tend to gain more weight than people who don’t diet. Here are some non-dieting tips for eating better that have worked for me:1. To have a tastier salad without adding calories—yes, this sounds crazy, but it really improves the flavor—sprinkle a packet of Equal or any artificial sweetener on it. Don’t laugh, try it!

3. Eat smaller portions. At a restaurant, order an appetizer for your entree, ask for an appetizer portion, or leave 25% of each serving on your plate. Studies show that while cutting fat, eating more fruits and vegetables, and increasing exercise all help people lose weight, the single most effective change is to trim portion size.

9. Keep a bowl of sliced red and yellow peppers in the fridge.

10. Know your weaknesses, and avoid them. My weakness is anything in mini form. I wouldn’t dream of eating a whole Tootsie Roll bar, but I’d eat 50 mini-Tootsie Rolls without blinking.

There are another 15 or so tips at the site, each one just as useful. Check them out for yourself.

Tips for Eating Better – [The Happiness Project]