Buzz
It’s the start of the new year, and everyone’s hopping on a diet—or should I say, a wellness journey. Whether weight loss is your goal or not isn’t my concern, but please, for the love of all things sensible, let’s put an end to these absurd weight loss “hacks.” Some of these tips lean toward disordered eating habits, while others are just designed to make you miserable without reason. (If you feel like your relationship with food is spiraling, the National Eating Disorders Association offers a screening tool, helpline, and other resources here.)
Smaller Plates Don’t Help You Eat Less
Here’s an old one: The idea is that serving food on a smaller plate makes a small portion appear larger. The theory is that by doing this, you'll end up eating less and, over time, shed some pounds.
Our brains and bodies are too clever to fall for that trick. The claim that smaller plates lead to smaller portions came from a study that was later exposed for questionable research methods. Other researchers conducted similar experiments and found that people don’t tend to eat less when given smaller plates. Additionally, we actually get better at estimating portion sizes when we’re hungry. So, the small plate trick wasn’t fooling anyone.
Drinking a glass of water won’t curb your hunger
A common piece of advice is to drink a large glass of water when you're hungry, because sometimes our bodies mix up signals for hunger and thirst.
But there’s no real evidence supporting this claim, nor does drinking a glass of water help with hunger. One frequently referenced study on hunger, thirst, eating, and drinking actually found that we get a bit hungrier after drinking water—so even if our bodies confuse hunger with thirst, drinking water likely won’t fix it.
Ultimately, there’s nothing wrong with drinking a glass of water if you feel like having one, whether you're hungry or not. But don’t convince yourself that hunger pangs mean you’re thirsty. Your body can tell the difference between food and water, okay? That’s why you’re not starving or dehydrating right now.
It’s not necessarily a great idea to eat like a bodybuilder
There’s a common image of bodybuilders eating nothing but chicken breast, brown rice, and broccoli from tiny plastic containers. They eat with strict discipline and end up looking shredded, so this must be the healthiest meal plan, right?
While it can be a fine meal if you enjoy it, this combo isn’t the best or only way to meal prep—especially if you don’t love each individual item. Chicken breast and rice are both notoriously difficult to prepare in advance. They tend to dry out, particularly if you skip the marinades or sauces.
So forget about what healthy food should look like, and plan meals with things you actually like. Switch to chicken thighs, experiment with a tasty marinade, throw that dry rice in a waffle maker, or just try an entirely different recipe. It’s totally fine for your food to taste good.
And while we’re on the topic of bodybuilder habits: no, eating many small meals does not “boost” your metabolism.
This is a diet, not a permanent lifestyle shift.
Here's a well-worn saying: 'It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change.' If you’re aiming to lose weight, please don’t make this a never-ending journey. Dieting involves intentionally limiting your intake. If you need to do it temporarily, embrace that decision and approach it in the healthiest way possible. But once you've achieved your goal, make sure to return to a nourishing way of eating.
It’s neither healthy nor practical to keep losing weight indefinitely. Weight loss occurs when we consume fewer calories than we burn, and the meals and habits that assist in shedding pounds won’t be the same ones that will help you maintain your ideal weight. At the very least, you’ll need to adjust your portion sizes.
If your current habits need adjustment, distinguish between what requires a long-term change (such as cooking at home more often) and what should be altered only temporarily (like eating smaller portions). Remember, healthy eating is not the same as eating less.
