Does Dieting Tend To Make You The Buzzkill At Dinner Parties?

Meaning, you’re the ONE person who always says “no” to dessert, or indulgent foods, because you’re afraid of packing on the pounds.

Well, good news: A study in the Journal of Marketing Research has found a way to preserve your dieting needs without offending your hosts. Just find a way to SERVE YOURSELF rather than let the host serve you. It’s that simple! Researchers found that when people served themselves, they ate 33% LESS food, on average, compared to when someone else put food on their plate. And if you’re counting calories, cutting 33% from a meal or snack could be HUGE. For example: A typical serving of chocolate ice cream has 150 calories. But this study says that if you scoop it out yourself, you’ll consume 50 FEWER calories. And if you applied that to every meal, you’d potentially save hundreds of calories a day!

The reason? Researchers say that when other people serve us food, they serve more generous portions because they subconsciously want to send the message that THEY are generous people. And WE tend to feel pressured to eat more because we don’t want to offend the host by only taking a few bites. But when we put food on OUR OWN plate, we tend to be more careful about portion sizes and make healthier choices.