The first step to changing your diet is rearranging your refrigerator. How you position your groceries may shape the way you eat.
And for even more ways to revolutionize your diet and get lean for good, check out The Lean Belly Prescription by Dr. Travis Stork. It’s filled with simple strategies that will help you lose weight the same way you gained it: By making easy lifestyle choices that will transform your life—for the better.
Shelve Strategically
Fill your eye-level shelf (or top shelf) with fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious snacks. You’re 2.7 times more likely to eat healthy food if it’s in your line of sight, a Cornell University study says. “That’s also why manufacturers pay a premium to have their products at eye level in stores,” says Kit Yarrow, Ph.D., a professor of psychology and marketing at Golden Gate University.
Pack Smart
A variety of small leftover containers tempt you to eat more than you planned, says Brian Wansink, Ph.D., author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. Instead, combine leftover entrees and sides so that each container has one meal’s worth.
Shop More, Buy Less
Instead of laying in supplies for the week, hit the supermarket more often and buy only for the next few meals. An overload of choices at home may deplete your willpower, a 2008 Journal of Consumer Psychology study found. “And people tend to reduce consumption when resources are scarce,” Yarrow says.
Hide the Junk
All stocked up on snacks? Now make sure you eat the good ones. In a 2009 Danish study, one in four participants who chose a healthy snack over an unhealthy one later reached for the junk anyway. So place the healthy stuff front and center, and stash small guilty pleasures out of sight.