Can the Color of Your Kitchen Make You Gain?
What color should your kitchen be? (and can the color of your kitch make you fat?)
Wansink's research found that bright colors aggitate us and cause us to eat too quickly (which leads to overeating, among other issues). This is why you'll find bright colors in fast food joints. They don't want you to stick around! Think about (or Google) to see interior pictures of McDonald's and Taco Bell!
Dark colors, meanwhile, will cause you to linger, eat longer, and eat more. Perhaps that's why I can't seem to unseat myself at Starbucks! It isn't just the free WiFi ;) I've also started to noticed some of the fancier restaurants are deep, dark colors.
The ideal solution is somewhere in the middle: not too bright, not too dark, and not white or cream.
Of course I know painting your kitchen isn't as easy a solution as it sounds, and having just spent a year and my life savings remodeling my kitchen (it's black and white) I'm not about to change it, but I have adopted a few other Wansink tips to overcome the white issue.
In Slim by Design, Wansink recommends dining in a dining room, away from food. Unfortunately I don't have a dining room in my tiny home, so that's out--BUT I was able to adopt another suggestion: uncomfortable chairs. I went all the way to metal stools. You can't sit on them long without wanting to get up ;)
annd yes, I recognize they're a bright color. LOL. I'm a work in progress too! But this has helped us a lot! We also put all the food away out of sight once we've served our plates so it's not just there on the stove across from us. (I wish I had room for a table or a dining room now!)
Another trick is to use smaller plates and smaller glasses (unless you're drinking water--go big!) to create a boundary for yourself (see next week's buffet newsletter for more info).