11 Ways Your House May Be Making You Fat
If your diet goes off the rails the minute you walk through the front door, your house may be the culprit, not you.
Overview
If your diet goes off the rails the minute you walk through the front door, your house may be the culprit, not you. Research shows that how your house is organized and decorated guides your eating behaviors -- whether that means grabbing an apple when you're feeling hungry or mindlessly plowing through a bag of chips while watching TV. "Our homes can either be designed to keep us healthy or designed to make us fat," says Brian Wansink, Ph.D., director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University and author of "Slim by Design: Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday Life." From rearranging your refrigerator to tidying up your house, here are 10 ways you can keep your home from sabotaging your healthy eating efforts.
1. Your House is Dusty
Better get cleaning, because house dust could be the cause of your weight gain. A Duke University study revealed how endocrine-disruptive chemicals (EDCs) in house dust can make you fat by affecting your body's metabolism and fat production. According to Dr. Heather Stapleton, a researcher of the study, The mixture of these chemicals in house dust is promoting the accumulation of triglycerides and fat cells." The study shows that simply by being exposed to EDCs in dust — even at relatively low levels — your body is prompted to accumulate fat in the form of triglycerides. An excess of triglycerides can lead to a higher risk of heart disease and stroke.
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2. Your Kitchen Chairs Are Too Comfy
The kitchen is the center of most homes. It's where we hang out with friends, sit down to pay the bills and help our kids with homework. At least that's true of homes that foster overeating, says Brian Wansink, Ph.D., director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University. "The more time you spend in the kitchen, the more you end up eating," he says. And since most people don't just stand around their kitchens for hours on end, switching out your chairs for slightly less comfortable ones can help keep you out of the kitchen apart from mealtime. Wansink notes that when people sit in the kitchen on cushionless chairs, they spend an average of 18 fewer minutes in the kitchen than do those sitting on tufted cushions.
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3. Your Lights Don’t Have a Dimmer Switch
Bright lights set the mood for overeating. In fact, in one Psychological Reports study, people who dined in a brightly lit room ate 18 percent more calories than those who ate in the same room when it was dimly lit. And get this: Even though they ate less food, they rated the meal as tastier. Researchers believe this may be because dim environments are calming, making you eat more slowly so that you have a chance to realize you're full — and stop eating — before you've cleared your plate and asked for seconds. It doesn't matter how relaxing the environment is, though; just stay at the table, recommends Christopher Ochner, Ph.D., nutrition expert for USANA and weight-loss expert at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. If you decide to get comfy on the couch and eat your meal in front of the TV, the tactic could backfire in a big way.
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4. Your House Is a Mess
"The most important way to keep your home conducive to healthy eating is to cut down the clutter in your home. That includes everything from the closet to the bathroom," says Coral Arvon, Ph.D., director of behavioral health and wellness at Pritikin Longevity Center. "Study after study shows that people who are able to lose more weight have a tendency to maintain a clean, clutter-free home." For instance, in one University of Minnesota study researchers had people hang out in either a messy or tidy room and then offered them a snack. Of the participants who decided to take a snack, 67 percent who had been in the tidy room chose an apple, while 80 percent of those who had been in the untidy room chose chocolate. "A clutter-free home encourages clearer thoughts and better decisions. Your home is a mirror of how you live your life. If your shoes are falling out of your closet, I wouldn't be surprised if you make unhealthy food decisions," says Arvon.
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5. Your Walls Are Red
"The color red actually triggers brain chemicals that promote hunger," says Christopher Ochner, Ph.D., nutrition expert for USANA and weight-loss expert at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. If you have a red wall in your house -- especially in your kitchen --you should consider painting it over with blue or green, says Coral Arvon, Ph.D., director of behavioral health and wellness at Pritikin Longevity Center in Florida. Both blue and green encourage relaxation, so that you don't anxiously rush through your meal, as well as mindfulness, so that you stop eating when you're full, she says. In one "Contract Magazine" experiment, gala attendees who ate in a blue room ate 33 percent fewer calories than those who ate in a yellow or red room.
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6. Your Plates Are Huge
The bigger your plates, the bigger your appetite. Research from the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University shows that the size of your bowls and plates serve as an unconscious guide on how much you should be eating. For instance, when Chinese-buffet diners went to the buffet table with large plates, they served themselves 52 percent more food and ate 45 percent more food than those who used smaller plates. Brian Wansink, Ph.D., director of the Food and Brand Lab, recommends getting rid of any plates that are larger than 10 inches. Even if you put the same amount of food on a nine-inch plate as you would on a 12-inch plate, the nine-inch plate will look more packed, leaving you feeling more satisfied with your meal.
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7. You Keep Cereal On Top of the Fridge
"People tend to eat whatever is readily available and easily accessible," says Christopher Ochner, Ph.D., nutrition expert for USANA and weight-loss expert at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. For instance, people who live in households where breakfast cereals are out and visible -- like on countertops or on top of the refrigerator -- are an average of 21 pounds heavier than those who live in households where you actually have to open a cabinet door to get your cereal fix. "People say, 'Gee, I'm a little hungry,' and then they grab a handful of cereal," says Brian Wansink, Ph.D., author of "Slim by Design: Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday Life." Plus, since cereal comes with a health halo, that handful could easily turn into a dozen handfuls and 500 extra calories by the end of the day, he says.
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8. You're Constantly Watching Cooking Shows
Women who get their recipes from cooking shows have a higher body mass index and weigh an average of 10 pounds more than those who get their recipes from family, friends, magazines or cooking classes, according to a 2015 University of Vermont study. Researchers believe that's because many of the recipes shown on TV are less than healthy and often show the foods served in oversize portions. So when you make the foods, you overserve as well. Plus, even if you don't make the decadent desserts shown on your TV, the food porn could psychologically prime you to crave unhealthy foods, says Brian Wansink, Ph.D., author of "Slim by Design: Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday Life." If you like to watch cooking shows, stick with ones that have an emphasis on healthy flavors.
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9. The Kitchen Table Faces Your TV
"Banish TVs from your kitchen, dining room or wherever your family eats meals," suggests Willow Jarosh, M.S., RD, a dietitian at C&J Nutrition in New York City and Crisp Tools spokesperson. "Watching TV or interacting with technology through your smartphone or tablet at the table can contribute to mindless eating and a feeling of being unsatisfied with a meal, which can later lead to overeating." A 2013 review published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that multitasking during a meal, be it from watching TV or working on your computer, moderately increases food intake at that meal and makes an even bigger impact on food intake during the rest of the day.
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10. Fruits and Veggies Are Stored in Crisper Drawers
They're designed to keep your produce fresher longer. But, in the end, they just make you forget you bought veggies in the first place. "Instead, keep fruits and vegetables out in a beautiful glass bowl so you'll feel more inclined to grab these healthier choices. This way you won't waste them, because if you leave them in the fridge you'll forget about them and they'll spoil, which is a bigger waste," says Coral Arvon, Ph.D., director of behavioral health and wellness at Pritikin Longevity Center. After all, according to research from Cornell University, you're nearly three times more likely to eat healthy food if it's in your line of sight. Meanwhile, you can keep the rest of your healthy grocery items on the top shelf of your refrigerator and at the front of your cabinets in clear containers, says Willow Jarosh, M.S., RD, a dietitian at C&J Nutrition in New York City.
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11. You Keep Cookies on the Counter
Having a splurge every now and then can help keep you on track over the long haul, but if you have those splurge items where you can easily see and get to them, they are more likely to become a full-on binge, says Christopher Ochner, Ph.D., nutrition expert for USANA and weight-loss expert at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. For instance, in one International Journal of Obesity study, people ate an average of 7.7 chocolate candies each day when they were in clear containers on their desks; 4.6 when they were in opaque containers on their desks; 5.6 when they were in clear jars six feet away; and 3.1 when they were in opaque jars six feet away.
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What Do YOU Think?
Is your house guilty of any of these diet derailers? What tactics do you use to stay healthier in your home? Leave a comment below and let us know.
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