Losing weight is hard enough without your home working against you, so don’t let your living environment become an obstacle between you and your fitness goals! You may be struggling
to lose weight as a result of your home setup or ambience without even realizing it. Here are some common ways that a home environment may be to blame for excess pounds and what you can do to improve your own house for
weight loss.
Re-Colour Your World
It’s possible that something as simple as the color of your kitchen walls can be causing you to over-eat. Research suggests that certain shades, namely yellows and reds, can supersize our appetites and lead to
weight gain. So
which color is best for mellowing out your appetite? One study found that people ate 33% less food in a blue room than in a yellow or red dining room. It sounds crazy, but it’s true. Yellow and red environments can make your food seem more visually appealing and cause you to over-indulge.
Lighten Up
In addition to the colour of your dining room, the lighting in your house can also influence how much food you consume on a daily basis. Researchers have found that dark living space can contribute to
weight gain by encouraging binge eating. If you have bright, open windows, leave the blinds open throughout the day. If not, lighten up your home with extra light fixtures in the dining room.
Organize A Real Sit-down Dinner
Many modern families are too busy or disorganized to sit down for an old fashioned family dinner. But eating at the table with everyone around has benefits beyond sharing stories about your day with your family members. If you set a time to eat together, you may find yourself eating slower as the natural flow of conversation interrupts your eating and the formality of a family dinner encourages everyone to sit and eat rather than stand around snacking on random foods without tracking calorie-intake or checking their hunger.
It’s bad news when your home environment encourages excessive eating and the worst part is you probably don’t even realize it’s happening. We’ve already discussed how colour choices, lighting and meal planning can all influence your weight and eating habits, but here are a few more changes you can make to prevent your home from contributing to
weight gain.
Scent Therapy
Scent is a very powerful of any sensory experience. Some researchers believe that specific smells can even influence how much or how little you eat—and not just in reference to how appetizing your meal smells! The scent of lavender is believe to benefit
weight loss through its ability to help you sleep more soundly; the more well rested you are, the less likely you are to experience unnecessary cravings throughout the day. So place lavender scents in your bedroom, and in the meantime keep fresh peppermint in your kitchen, as the smell is said to stunt overeating.
Downsize In The Kitchen
Making healthy meal choices is as much about eating more
nutritional foods as it is about eating healthy portions. One of the most common culprits of habitual overeating is large plates and bowls for serving meals. In fact, research suggests that people eat 22% more food using a 12-inch plate than a 10-inch. The same theory applies to oversized cutlery such as larger spoons and forks, as well as large cups (which is great for
drinking water, bad if you’re drinking juice or pop).
Turn Down The Heat
It’s almost crazy how simple this tip is, but
weight loss can be assisted by turning down your thermostat. A study in Obesity Reviews claims that warmer homes can encourage
weight gain. How is this possible? Well, colder climates force people to expend energy to stay warm, so a subtly colder home could slowly help you shed the pounds. You only need to drop your house by 10 degrees maximum to reap the rewards of a colder clime.