A study by Dr. Brian Wansink in 1994[1] shows that if the first room a person walks into when they enter their house is the kitchen, and they happen to have a single junk food item like breakfast cereal anywhere in sight, they will weigh on average 21lbs more than a person whose front door does not open directly into the kitchen.  When the first thing we see at home is highly palatable, convenient food it’s simply too easy and tempting to eat it, even when we are not hungry or wouldn’t have considered eating this food otherwise.  What’s in sight is quick to be in our stomach.  In other words, we eat what we see, and not what we don’t!  With this said, having a completely empty kitchen isn’t the answer either, as an empty kitchen leads to more convenient eating out, which often leads to overeating. The following strategies are ways in which you can set your kitchens up for success, making it easier to reach your goals:

• In general, a healthy kitchen should be stocked with proteins like Greek yogurt, eggs and egg whites, fat-free milk and cheese, tuna, tofu, and even deli meats. Fresh vegetables and fruits should also be readily available.
• Make the kitchen a less convenient lounging or rest space. The more time a person spends in the kitchen, the more they are likely to eat.  Having a comfortable seating area in the kitchen leads to more time there.
• Make food temptations invisible and inconvenient. Remove unhealthy food items from the house, or don’t bring them home to begin with. If this is impossible, the foods that are the least healthy should be tucked in the back of the cupboards, fridge, or pantry. The first foods a person sees should be the most nutrient dense, healthy options.  This small change can help a person eat way more healthy foods, and far fewer less healthy options.
• Do not leave baked goods, candies, regular soft drinks, cereals, granola, nuts, snacks or other highly tempting foods on counters or in view. Instead, have a fruit bowl with two or more types of fruit in view and easily accessible.
• For those of us who have kids, encourage them to choose healthy snacks. When processed treats are the only option,  set up a kids cupboard that is considered off limits to adults. This cupboard should be in an inconvenient place to access, like the bottom corner of the pantry or laundry room. If it requires time and effort for you to access, you have time to think twice about it and may find something healthier and more convenient along the way – especially if you’ve followed the suggestion in the previous point.
• Buy in bulk, but repackage into single serving portions. Buying in bulk saves money, but if we fail to portion our bulk buys and end up preparing or cooking it all at once, it’s and easy route to overconsumption.  It’s easier to eat foods in greater quantities if we don’t portion them out.  Have clients repackage foods like nuts, granola, oatmeal, meats and even dairy into single serving packages when possible.  In preparing foods this way it’s easier to track because everything is measured in advance. It’s harder to over-eat.
• Store big boxes of bulk foods that cannot be portioned in advance far from reach. If it takes more effort to reach for, we may simply opt for something closer.
• Learn to food prep, making it easier to throw healthy meals together and to cook. You are more likely to eat fresh vegetables if you find them prepared and ready to eat.  Wash and prepare fresh produce as soon as it comes home from the supermarket, before it gets put in the fridge. Lettuce, cucumbers, bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and countless other vegetables can be washed, peeled if necessary, chopped up and placed in containers.  Preparing vegetables like this makes throwing together a salad a simple, mindless task.  Fresh pre-prepped vegetables can also be used when cooking dishes like stir-fry or soups.  Fruits and berries can be washed and prepped in a similar way.
• Make food prep fun. You can watch Netflix on your portable devices or listen to your favorite podcast or music while you prep foods.  Why not?
• During meal times, serve food from a buffet area or counter top, instead of placing dishes in the middle of the dining table. There’s temptation to eat more than we need if foods are placed in front of us.  Serve meals in a buffet style so that it takes the effort of getting up to go back for more.  If it’s not possible to serve food elsewhere, try covering serving dishes with lids to help keep foods out of sight.
• Keeping fresh flowers or an air freshener with a floral scent in the kitchen can help reduce cravings.

Willpower is finite.  Do whatever you can to help prevent you from having to make the tough choice to begin with.  You’ll have higher chances of making better choices this way.

Are you done with diets and food fads? Do you want to transform your body and your relationship with nutrition, and are you willing to put in the hard work to accomplish their goals?

I’ve offer a program specifically tailored to help you break big goals down into small, actionable steps that you can do every day, easily in order to build sustainable healthy habits without feeling miserable about it.  ProCoaching is a program that works, even for people who think they hate health and nutrition:

LEARN MORE

[1] Wansink, B. (1994).  Antecedents and mediators of eating bouts. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 23(2) 166–82.