Making a few changes to your kitchen layout could help you lose weight.
Studies have shown that the room where food is stored, prepared and cooked can make or break a diet.
Research published in a 2016 issue of Environment and Behavior found an unorganized environment can cause someone to overeat.
Experts shared tips with Daily Mail Online on how people can turn their kitchen into a gut-busting tool.
Studies have shown that certain tweaks to your kitchen design can help your diet
Have a calorie guide on the fridge
Hanging up visuals that display the calorie content of people’s favorite comfort foods of a muffin could encourage people to stick to their weight loss goals.
Colorful graphics that reveal how much calories are in high-fat, low-fiber products could deter people from consuming them.
This means a chart hanging on the fridge displaying the sugar, fat and calorie content of a piece of cake will make someone think twice about getting a second slice.
‘People are visual,’ clean eating coach Nikki Walter, of bodybuilding.com, told Daily Mail Online.
‘The more visual reminders we have the more apt we are to stick with our goals.’
Conversely, visuals that display weight loss goals could coax people to sticking to their diets.
Plenty of counter space
A tidy and spacious food prep area will make eating healthier second nature.
‘Lack of food preparation space people get turned off by cooking healthy meals,’ registered dietitian Paul Salter told Daily Mail Online.
And there’s science to back this up.
A 2016 study published in the journal Environment and Behavior revealed that being in a messy kitchen could double a person’s calorie intake.
Furthermore, simply eating home-cooked meals can be conducive to weight loss.
A 2014 study from researchers at Johns Hopkins University discovered that people who cook most of their meals at home consume fewer carbohydrates, less sugar and less fat.
Keep spices next to stove
If healthier meals tastes bland, spice it up.
Many people are hesitant about swapping their burger and fries for a quinoa-based meal because they think it’s bland, Salter said.
Having herbs or spices within arms reach could help with that.
Registered dietitian-nutritionist Wendy Kaplan said that in addition to ‘upping the ante’ of a dish, spices can also substitute sugar and salt.
Furthermore, many spices have been proven to help people lose weight.
A 2015 study by researchers at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences found one daily teaspoon of cumin can help people burn up to three times more body fat.
See-through containers
Believe it not, storing fruits and vegetables in glass jars or tupperware is a weight loss tactic.
‘When you see what you have, you’re more likely to use it,’ Kaplan told Daily Mail Online.
For instance, storing berries and grains in half-cup to one cup portion containers makes it easy for people to grab it and incorporate it with their meal.
Keep stirrers near stove
Spoons and stirrers located in the kitchen makes cooking more appealing.
Salter says doing this enhance efficiency and makes cooking at home seem like less of a hassle.
But first people should invest in the foundation of cooking utensils like wooden spoons, stirrers and a spatula.
‘Without these items, people are less likely to cook healthy foods,’ Salter said. ‘[That’s] because they won’t be able to prepare of cook health food properly.’
Clean eating coach Walter added making utensils accessible makes cooking more convenient and people ‘more likely to stick with it.’