C. Fraser
Small Stuff makes you Smaller
For over a year now I have been talking about how the small stuff, over time, makes the biggest difference for our life success and destiny. What about how we eat?
We all know that overeating and eating the wrong foods is receipt for disaster long term. But how do we overcome our bad habits? The typical approach is to get desperate enough to make a dramatic lifestyle decision and we know how that usually turns out.
Who doesn’t know someone who announced they were going on a diet or would join a gym or start running again only to quit one month later? Not only did they quit, but now they are more depressed than before. It’s a vicious circle and the percentage of quitters is always higher than those stalwart few that stick it out.
So, what’s the alternative?
I vote for small stuff, done well and done consistently. Sound too easy? Read on.
In Mindless eating: Why we eat more than we think author Brian Wansink, professor of consumer behaviour and nutritional science at Cornell University provides a shopping list of environmental stimuli that numerous investigations have tied to overeating (think about these in terms of what you could do to reverse the effect):
• The larger the amount of food on the plate, the more we eat.
• The bigger the food container, the more we eat.
• When the food we prepare comes in large packages, we prepare and eat more than if the food comes in smaller packages.
• We eat more when the food is visible and conveniently located.
• We eat more when the food has an appealing name (such as Succulent Italian Seafood Filet) than when the food has an ordinary name (such as Seafood Filet)
• Schoolchildren who live close to fast food outlets have a 5 percent higher obesity rate than do students who attend schools farther away from such stores.
• People who move from less modernized countries to more modernized ones show increased rates of obesity as compared with individuals who stay in their less modernized country.
So, there you have it: buy smaller plates, purchase food sold in smaller containers with boring names and hide the food. You can compensate for the dreariness of these strategies with the pleasure of waking up pounds lighter.
One final tip: Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones and documenter of the lifestyles of the oldest populations on earth recommends eating like the senior citizens on Okinawa. Their Confucian belief is ‘Hara hachi bu’ which roughly means eat until you are 80% full. They also eat from small plates and bowls.
Small stuff, done well and done consistently wins again.
Hugh D. Culver is a thought leader in personal performance at work. He has worked with over 450 organizations to inspire change, growth and success in the workplace. You can reach Hugh at hugh@HughCulver.com
Hi Sherry, great to hear from you! And you site looks fantastic. I love hearing about new niches.
Yes this sounds like a win/win. What do you need from me?
Hugh
Hi Hugh!
You taught me marketing at CFDC about 13 years ago. I started as a graphic designer but my business has since morphed many times (as have I).
Currently I’m providing marketing for health clubs in the international health club industry. There are only about 1/2 dozen of us in the world who specialize in our niche.
I’m also acting as an agent representing business consultants in our industry by providing free educational resources to health club owners in exchange for their permission to market to them. I do very little business in Canada – most of my clients are in the US and Australia.
I’d like to reblog some of your posts as I think you’ve got some great thoughts that are worth sharing. Please look at FitnessIndustryGroup.com. an explanation of the initiative are on the small bottom menu on our site (bottom page left).
Glad to see you’re well and active. Your girls look wonderful. Cheers!
~Sherry Robb
Hi Anderson,
I’m thrilled that you like it. What other blog’s are you reading and liking?
Hugh
I just found this site recently when a friend of mine suggested it to me. I’ve been an avid reader ever since.