An unsuspecting culprit of your weight woes might not be just the food you eat, but rather the place you store it: the kitchen! From snacks on your counter to the overstocked pantry, your kitchen can help pack on the pounds. Here’s a few ways to give your kitchen a weight loss makeover.
Plentiful Pantry
A large kitchen pantry naturally holds a large amount of food. Unfortunately that leaves a lot of space for a multitude of unhealthy snacks like chips, cookies and so on. When you have five packages of cookies staring at you every time you look into the pantry it makes it hard to resist. Combat this by separating large packages of food into smaller portions so you’re more likely to eat less at one sitting. Also only keep one favorite snack on hand at a time.
Cluttered Counters
The kitchen counters seem to be a home for all sorts of clutter: mail, newspapers, coupons, etc. This is hard on the waist line for several reasons. First, it’s easier to just order take out than it is to unclutter your counter tops to make your own meal. Second, clutter may lead to stress which in turn raises cortisol levels leaving you feeling hungry. Declutter your kitchen counters by moving non eating activities out of the kitchen area. For example, read the newspaper in the living room or keep your bills and mail in an office.
Titanic Tableware
Oversized plates and glasses are also to blame for expanding waistlines. Just by switching your 12 inch plate to a 10 inch plate would result in 22% fewer calories being served. That doesn’t mean you have to run out and buy new dinnerware. As a rule of thumb, make half your plate veggies and the other half consist of a lean protein source and carb.
Snacks In Sight
That cookie jar on the counter isn’t helping with your weight loss efforts. But don’t completely ditch all the snacks laying out in the open, instead replace them with healthy, low calorie alternatives such as fresh fruits or nuts. This will help you reach for a healthy snack and keep you from mindlessly searching the cupboards (where the unhealthy snacks should be stored) for something to eat.
Kitchen Commune
Kitchen’s have become a sort of meeting grounds for friends and family to hang out in. Being in the constant presence of food may just lead to more mindless snacking. Try removing the TV and computer from the kitchen and move social gatherings to another room.
