Trick Yourself Slim

Eat in a window seat

Restaurants aren't the dieter's friend, but if you go out, you can trick yourself into eating healthily by sitting in a well-lit sit. By the window is an especially-good spot.

Studies suggest that diners who eat in well-lit areas of restaurants are more likely to order healthy options such as salad, while diners who eat in dark and cosy corners are more likely to order fried foods and are 73% more likely to order dessert.

Watch the wording

Restaurateurs know what they're doing. They hire experts to craft their menus, and draw our eyes to particular dishes. They use descriptive words ("velvety", "buttery", "succulent") designed to make us "taste" what we're reading and salivate. Salivation mimics hunger by making our stomach contract.

Watch out for these words on menus:

• "Buttery" typically adds 102 calories to the dish
• "Crispy" typically adds 131 calories to the dish
• "Seasoned", "roasted" or "marinated" dishes tend to have 60 fewer calories

Change your dishes

Studies show that people eat less from bowls or plates that contrast with their food. For example, they spoon up 18% less pasta in tomato sauce from white plates than red plates (and 18% less pasta in cream sauce from red plates than white).

Switching to smaller plates - nine or ten inches - is another great way to cut your carb consumption by up to 22% without noticing. Serving with a tablespoon, rather than serving tongs, also cuts food consumption by an additional 14%.

So, just by changing to small dark dishes and a tablespoon, you could cut your food consumption by around 50% without even noticing.

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Don't let people serve themselves

If people serve themselves at the table, they could eat 19% more than if it's served up by someone else away from the table.

The only thing that people should serve themselves is salad or vegetables, which should be kept on the table and be served in abundance on the plate (to cover half the plate). Everything else should be kept covered and out of the way.

The act of having to get up and leave the table if you want more is enough to prevent unconscious nibbling until overfull.

Hide your food

If you leave your food out on the side, you are more likely to snack on it without thinking. So hide it all away in cupboards.

Don't believe it makes that much difference?

This is the average number of pounds added to your waistline by having these items on display:

• Fizzy/soda drinks: 28lbs
• Diet drinks: 24lbs
• Breakfast cereal: 21lbs
• Cookies: 9lbs
• Chips: 8lbs

Don't exercise to lose weight

If you exercise to lose weight, you will quickly give up if weight loss is not immediately forthcoming. Additionally, people who tell themselves they're exercising to lose weight typically eat more after an exercise session.

So trick your mind.

Don't say you're going for a "calorie-busting jog", say you're going for an "energising jog". Rather than go for a "fat-burning power-walk", go for a "scenic walk". Your Zumba isn't "slimming", but "uplifting". Yoga is for "balance", "toning", and "relaxation".

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Create a top list of distractions

Sometimes, you couldn't be thinking about food more if there was a giant cake dancing in front of you, holding an "Eat Me" sign.

For those times when cravings seem to lurk around every corner, be ready with a list of your top distractions.

Useful ideas include:

• Watch a movie
• Play a video game
• Read a book
• Do a puzzle
• Paint your nails
• Call a friend
• Take a walk
• Read to your kids
• Walk the dog
• Brush your teeth
• Meditate

These thirteen simple tricks won't make you drop a dress size overnight. But they will, in time, help you lose weight and gain better eating habits that will become part of your life.

And that can't be bad news.