April 2015
IN THIS ISSUE: ________________________________________ For More Information, Contact: Feature Story: Fitness Turns 50 Feature Story: Burn 350 Calories in 10 Easy Steps Feature Story: 14 Ways to Cut Portions Without Feeling Hungry Gold’s Gym Milford [email protected] facebook.com/GoldsGymMilford 508‐473‐4462 Fitness Turns 50 In 1965, Gold’s Gym opened its doors and launched the modern fitness movement, bringing exercise and healthy living into the global consciousness. Fifty years ago, it all started in a single concrete room, 30 feet by 100 feet, just off the Venice Beach, California shoreline. It was an unassuming spot, but packed inside were massive men pumping iron and curling, benching and deadlifting thousands of pounds of weights. This was the first Gold's Gym, and it created a revolution that continues today. THE DARK AGES In 1965, American health was in decline. More than one‐third of the children in the U.S. failed one of the five strength tests administered in school, compared with a 1% failure rate for European students. The government was so concerned that it encouraged comic strips to promote fitness. "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz produced Snoopy's Daily Dozen, a booklet featuring Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus and the gang going through a series of exercises. Less than a decade before, Sports Illustrated had published "The Soft American" by President John F. Kennedy, in which he argued that "such softness on the part of individual citizens can help to strip and destroy the vitality of a nation… [T]he stamina and strength which the defense of liberty requires are not the product of a few weeks' basic training or a month's conditioning." The small percentage of American adults who did exercise favored quick and easy workouts that didn't require equipment or do much to build strength. Real strength training was nearly unknown. A GYM IS BORN
Enter Joe Gold, a Merchant Marine veteran with an impressive physique and film‐extra roles in The Ten Commandments and Around the World in 80 Days. He worked out at Muscle Beach, just south of the Santa Monica Pier—where young men like Jack LaLanne, the original fitness hero, and movie star Steve Reeves, who played Hercules, lifted crude weights, performed handstands and other gymnastic moves, and showed off their hulking physiques to tourists strolling down the boardwalk. Despite the favorable California climate, Gold knew they needed an indoor spot that would allow them to work out at all hours and train with better machines. He purchased an abandoned lot on Pacific Avenue and erected a simple cinder‐block building and Gold's Gym was born. At the time there were just three gyms for the 7 million people in the Los Angeles area. Gold saw an opportunity, and he also understood how much he could improve the bodybuilding community. The weights and benches of the day were poorly made and uneven, with faulty cables and uncomfortable grips. Gold knew what the lifters liked—after all, he was one of them—and set about creating equipment to suit their needs. "Joe was a hard‐core trainer, a competitive bodybuilder back in the day," says Shawn Perine, current editor‐in‐chief of Muscle & Fitness. "He was about building hardcore muscle, about giving guys the chance to create the ultimate physique." Gold turned his two‐car garage into a weight‐lifting shop of sorts, developing benches, pulley systems, unique handles and other homemade devices that were superior to anything on the market. While other gyms tried to mimic the cutting‐edge technology, none of them had the brilliance of Gold. "When you felt his dumbbells, there was a magic there," recalls Eddie Giuliani, a bodybuilder from New York who moved to California to train at Gold's Gym. Giuliani would later win his weight class in the Mr. America competition in 1974 and at Mr. World in 1975. Gold's creations were precursors of the equipment that's now standard at any good weight room, like leg extension and cable machines—
allowing serious bodybuilders to move beyond simple free weights. And the magic machines that came out of his garage spawned an entire industry that is now focused on perfecting and modernizing weight equipment. THE GOLDEN ERA
At the start of the 1960s, bodybuilders flocked to Gold's Gym. Dave "The Blond Bomber" Draper, who was literally and figuratively the biggest muscle star of the decade, joined, along with other huge men of the day. Tourists stood outside the gym, peeking in and hoping to catch a glimpse of the men inside. People who couldn't get to the beachside spot could still see Draper and others on the covers of bodybuilding magazines that were slowly taking off. Publications like Muscle Builder featured interviews and tips from the big names at Gold's, turning them into fitness icons for a small but growing community of bodybuilders. "That was the 'me' generation, and all of a sudden people were discovering themselves, and what better way to discover yourself than to see how ripped you can make your muscles?" Perine says. The rapid explosion of the fitness and bodybuilding trend spurred the growth of scientific breakthroughs and interest from the medical field. The fledgling International Society of Sport Psychology held its first World Congress in 1965, and the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity came into being in 1967. In 1971, State University of New York at Stony Brook chemistry professor Paul C. Lauterbur developed the concept that he would use to create the first magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, and the first issue of the Journal of Sports Medicine came off the presses a year later. Then, of course, came Arnold Schwarzenegger. Joe Weider, creator of the Mr. Olympia competition and publisher of magazines like Muscle & Fitness, brought Schwarzenegger to train at Gold's Gym in 1968, and the Austrian almost immediately became an icon. He worked out with Draper, Giuliani and his good friend and roommate Franco Columbu, harder, faster and longer than anyone else, smiling throughout the effort, impressing the young men who wanted to be him. "Arnold was everywhere," says his frequent training partner, Ric Drasin. "He made Gold's Gym the 'Mecca of Bodybuilding.'" Throughout the 1970s, the bodybuilding movement continued to gain traction, and Schwarzenegger's gang led the way. Yellow Gold's Gym T‐shirts featuring the ubiquitous Gold's Gym logo—designed by Drasin spontaneously on a cocktail napkin—were everywhere on the boardwalk, the beach, the bars around town and beyond. To wear one was an indicator that you were a part of something larger. Gold's Gym hosted the 1977 Mr. America contest. That same year, Pumping Iron, featuring Schwarzenegger and some of his closest friends training for the 1975 Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia competitions, became a box office hit. It vaulted the bodybuilders—and Gold's Gym—to another level of celebrity. Schwarzenegger became a household name, and Lou Ferrigno was cast as the Hulk, a role that made him famous in his own right. The small, almost cultish world of bodybuilding at Gold's Gym was suddenly on screens across America, and its devotees were becoming legends overnight. Soon Hollywood celebrities like Clint Eastwood were dropping in for sessions, as were sports stars like Muhammad Ali. Women had begun to show up occasionally at the gym in Venice in the mid‐1960s, but as the sport gained popularity through competitions and Hollywood box office hits, females began to want the same chiseled look. The first Ms. Olympia competition was held in the U.S. in 1980, and Shape magazine—the first fitness publication geared specifically to women—was launched in 1981. Bodybuilding had solidified itself in mainstream culture. "I remember watching TV in the '80s, and every other commercial featured a bodybuilder," Perine says. "More likely than not, that bodybuilder was recruited by somebody calling the front desk of Gold's Gym Venice." A LEGACY BEGINS
By 1980, Gold's Gym had been sold by Gold and passed through a few owners, landing in the hands of Pete Grymkowski, Tim Kimber and Ed Connors. The trio, nicknamed "The Three Horsemen," set about spreading the core message of the brand to the nation. They saw that bodybuilding and physical fitness had staying power, becoming less of a trend and more of a basic tenet of how to stay healthy as you age. The movement picked up pace, and by 1982 movie star Jane Fonda would take a break from her busy schedule to shoot Jane Fonda's Workout, launching her successful second career. Soon after, in 1985, the American Council on Exercise was formed to create a standard national certification process for aerobics instructors. Fitness was no longer a tourist attraction on Venice Beach; it was a part of everyday American life. Connors opened the first licensed Gold's Gym in San Francisco in 1980 and dedicated himself to launching new outposts. Jerry McCall, a nationally competitive bodybuilder who bought into the San Jose franchise in 1982, remembers the old days. "Ed really spawned the licensing program," the former president of the Gold's Gym Franchisee Association says. "He had a knack for meeting people, like somebody in Rochester or Madison, a hardcore kind of guy who had a small club and wanted to expand. Those owners saw something smart in becoming part of the Gold's Gym brand." By 1981 there were 5,000 independent health clubs across the country, and many entrepreneurs saw the great value in aligning their small business with Gold's Gym, which was rapidly becoming the dominant force in American fitness. The number of Gold's Gym locations across the country skyrocketed. The group took the brand international in 1985, opening a branch in Canada. The iconic T‐shirts started selling in retail outlets worldwide in 1987, the perfect complement to an increasingly global focus on fitness—and making the logo an internationally recognized symbol of strength training. Gold's Gym became a cornerstone of pop culture. Carl Weathers, who played Apollo Creed in Rocky, wore a Gold's Gym T‐shirt on a Saturday Night Live promo spot; Wesley Snipes donned a Gold's Gym tank top in White Men Can't Jump, and Will Smith flashed a Gold's Gym VIP pass in Men in Black. Celebrities of all types, from pop stars like Janet Jackson to Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis and basketball legend Michael Jordan, were showing up at Gold's Gym. By 1993, Gold's Gym had 1 million members, and that's when it became clear that it wasn't just pioneering a fitness revolution: It was building a legacy of strength and setting out to help people achieve their potential through fitness. In 1996, it expanded to Europe and Asia, changing perceptions across the globe. "When we first opened, the word fitness didn't exist in the Russian language," says Paul J. Kuebler, one of the three principal people to open the first Gold's Gym on Moscow's Leningrad Avenue in 1996. "We had to explain to Russians what fitness was. In the past, they only worked out to improve at the sports they played." EVOLUTION OF A GYM
As Gold's Gym continued to evolve; the brand also pioneered the latest fitness innovations, making sure their members stayed at the forefront of fitness trends. Connors built a group exercise room in the San Jose gym in 1981, well before the trend took off nationally. The Gold's Gym trainers got ideas from around the globe, increasing the use of kettlebells and sports periodization after seeing the success these exercises and philosophies had in Russia. The cardio age came into being in 1984 with the Stairmaster Stepmill, and Gold's Gym locations nationwide featured the machines. Lori Lowell, the national group fitness director for Gold's Gym International between 1999 and 2009, talked about how classes created the right atmosphere. "There's a power in group fitness," she says. "It wasn't just about coming in and lifting weights. We were delivering a great social environment as well as a great workout." The success is obvious, with gyms offering everything from yoga, Pilates and core training to cardio kickboxing. Classes like TRX and Zumba gained popularity in the coming decades, along with modern additions like Cardio Cinema rooms, and became standard offerings at Gold's Gym locations around the world. This past year, Gold's Gym partnered with Microsoft to bring fitness into the next era by featuring their branded workouts on the Microsoft Band, the most cutting‐edge health fitness tracker available. But the tireless process of evolution and innovation at Gold's Gym is most evident in its members. With females representing nearly half of its membership base, the Gold's Gym enthusiast today is not necessarily a massive muscle man. Now at Gold's Gym you'll find all kinds of people with a variety of fitness goals, from losing weight to boosting performance. Now more than ever, Gold's Gym realizes that strength comes in many forms—whether it's the strength to be a better parent, the strength to overcome diabetes or the strength to finish your first triathlon. THE LEGACY CONTINUES
The Gold's Gym legacy continues to leave its mark on the American attitude toward fitness, even though at the beginning it wasn't a guarantee. At an event to celebrate his February 2013 cover of Flex Magazine, which marked the 40th anniversary of his arrival in Venice, Schwarzenegger reflected on those early days. "We all together went on a crusade to fight for health and fitness, for resistance training, bodybuilding and weight lifting. At that time, everyone laughed," he said. "Now there isn't one hotel in the world that doesn't have a fitness room with weight machines, bodybuilding machines. Our crusade has been extremely successful." Gold's Gym is now the largest full‐service gym in the world, with more than 700 locations in 38 states and 23 countries, and its mission has remained the same: to help people reach their potential through fitness and exercise. The Gold's Gym logo has become an international symbol of strength that transcends culture, politics and language barriers, and the brand continues to expand around the world, recently signing deals to open new locations in Jordan, Morocco and Mongolia. Amid its humble beginnings in 1965 inside a single concrete room in Venice Beach, Gold's Gym set off the first sparks of a fitness revolution. That fervor flickered and then grew, spreading across the country until it raged like a wildfire, making exercise a part of the mainstream and putting healthy living at the forefront of our culture. The same spirit of innovation that Joe Gold began in his two‐car garage continues to thrive and inspire Gold's Gym leaders to be at the vanguard of fitness today. Gold's Gym is poised and ready to keep this revolution alive for the next 50 years and beyond. Burn 350 Calories in 10 Easy Steps Don’t let a busy schedule stop you from getting a good workout. We’ve created an office‐friendly fitness routine that burns 350 calories in under an hour. Gold's Gym Fitness Institute members Sue Fleming and Nikki Kimbrough are pros at making exercise plans for busy clientele. They have designed a 10‐step sweat‐free workout that fits in to any schedule and burns up to 350 calories, i.e., one serving of Stouffer's Mac N' Cheese. And they explain how to increase that number to 500 calories when you do make it to your local Gold's Gym. That extra effort could help you lose up to 1 pound per week, according to the National Institutes of Health. So stop making excuses and use that office downtime to up your fitness level. All you need is a resistance band and a few extra minutes throughout the day. 1. MOUNTAIN CLIMBER
3 sets of 15–20 reps on each leg Anywhere: Stand facing a desk or counter an arm's length away. Rest your hands on the edge, palms down and fingers forward and slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Lean in, then walk your feet out in back. Lower your hips slightly so that your body forms a diagonal line. Balancing on your toes, bring your right knee toward your chest. Alternate legs continuously. Calories burned: 30 At the gym: Start in a plank position, with hands just wider than shoulder width apart, body straight out, core tight. While balancing on toes, bring your right knee toward your chest, then alternate legs as if you were running continuously. Calories burned: 50 "Really focus on keeping your core tight," Kimbrough says. "When you lift your leg, focus on the lower abdominal region and use those muscles to bring that knee up." The more you use your abdominals, the less strain you feel in your back. 2. STAND-UP HANDS-UP
3 sets of 10 reps Anywhere: Stand with feet hip width apart. Place a resistance band under your feet while gripping one end in each hand. Lower your hips to a squat position and slowly stand up. Next, curl your hands up to your shoulders like you're doing a bicep curl, then raise your hands above your head. Lower your arms. Repeat. Calories burned: 30 At the gym: Replace the resistance band with barbells or a weighted fitness bar. Calories burned: 45 Make sure to keep your elbows close to your sides as you curl your arms to your shoulders. Keep your back straight and your core tight when you raise your hands above your head. "This is great for a midday energy burst because you are working more than three muscle groups with one exercise," Fleming says. 3. STAIR CLIMB
2 sets of 5 minutes Anywhere: Almost every office building has a set of stairs; take them instead of the elevator to a meeting or take an afternoon break and do a full 10 minutes. Take two steps at once if you're feeling extra energetic. Calories burned: 90 Gym: Use the stair climber and increase resistance when you can. Add back leg kicks and side steps for an even better leg workout. Calories burned: 130 It's a well‐known but highly effective fitness habit: Take the stairs whenever you can. 4. LOWER-BACK EXTENSIONS
3 sets of 20 reps Anywhere: Sitting in a chair, lift your arms above your head. Lean over and curl your back over your knees until your fingers almost touch the ground. Pause. Raise your arms again above your head. Repeat. Calories burned: 15 At the gym: Grab a stability ball and balance on it with your stomach on top and your toes on the ground. Let your torso fall over the ball, and relax your arms by your sides. Starting with the head and upper back, slowly lift your spine until it's straight. Calories burned: 30 Cubicle‐bound office workers should put this move on their to‐do list. "People who work at a desk tend to hunch over," Fleming points out. "A strong lower back helps you maintain good posture and avoid back injuries." 5. IN-AND-OUTS
3 sets of 10 reps Anywhere: Sit on the front edge of a chair (without wheels). Place your hands along the sides of your body, holding the sides of the chair. Kick your legs straight out in front of you, toes flexed, and lean back in the chair as far as you can while keeping your back straight. Then simultaneously bring your knees and chest toward each other as close as you can. Return to starting point, and repeat. Calories burned: 30 At the gym: Sitting on a bench, repeat the exercise above. Stabilize your body by holding the sides of the bench. For an even better burn, remove your hands from the bench and cross your arms over your chest. Calories burned: 40 This move may seem tough at first, so Kimbrough advises beginners to start by keeping one leg on the floor and lifting the other knee up, then alternating. And last but not least, take your time when you do these. "Too many people try to rush it," she says. 6. 3 O’CLOCK TO 9 O’CLOCK
3 sets of 15 reps on each side Anywhere: Tie a resistance band around a doorknob and close the door. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your body at a 90‐
degree angle from the door (start on your right or left side). Grab the band with both hands and hold it at shoulder height. Pivot on your feet to turn your body away from the door while pulling the band across your body. Switch sides. Calories burned: 20 At the gym: Repeat this exercise while holding dumbbells. Calories burned: 30 "This works your obliques (the muscles on the sides of your stomach) and shoulders, which are often overlooked," Fleming says. You can increase the intensity of the move by walking farther from the door to pull the resistance band tighter. 7. CHEST PRESS
3 sets of 10 reps Anywhere: Lie on the ground with the resistance band behind your back. With elbows straight out from the shoulders, lift your hands straight into the air, then bring them together above your chest. Pause. Then lower hands back down. Calories burned: 10 At the gym: Replace resistance band with dumbbells or a barbell and lie down on your back on a bench. Calories burned: 15 "If you want to increase the difficulty, just loop the band around your hand a few times to shorten it," Fleming explains. A daily dose of this exercise will help you perform better pushups or, for the yoga devotee, chaturanga dandasana. 8. 10-MINUTE WALK 2 sets Anywhere: Take a lunch stroll and a brisk evening walk to get an easy dose of burned calories. Calories burned: 75 At the gym: Add a boost by walking on an inclined treadmill or walking with ankle weights. Calories burned: 90 "Buy a pedometer," Fleming suggests. Studies have shown that walking 10,000 steps per day can increase your metabolism, and Fleming has found that being able to check her daily count pushes her to walk more. "If I'm at 8,000 at the end of the day," she says, "sometimes I'll just walk around the block or stay on the treadmill until I hit that goal." 9. BENT-LEG STEPS-UPS
3 sets of 12 reps on each leg Anywhere: Stand in front of a step or chair. Put your left leg on the step in a bent position. (Do not straighten leg.) Keep your right leg on the floor. While your left leg is still and bent, quickly raise your right leg and tap the ball of your right foot on the step, then lower your foot to the floor. Switch legs and repeat. Calories burned: 30 At the gym: Hold a dumbbell in each hand and repeat the exercise above. Calories burned: 40 "This move might seem familiar to people who use the stair machine, but the difference here is you have to keep the nonmoving leg in a bent position, and that really gets your quads working," Kimbrough explains. The burn in your quads will get your heart rate up and can push you through a late‐afternoon energy slump. 10. WALL SITS
3 sets of 3 reps Anywhere: Place your back against the wall with your feet hip width apart. Slide down until your legs form a 90‐degree angle. Make sure your knees are directly above your ankles and the back of your head is against the wall. Begin holding for 10 seconds, then increase your hold time when you can. Calories burned: 20 At the gym: Place a stability ball between your back and the wall and repeat the exercise above. For an even better burn, add 10 dumbbell curls per wall sit. Calories burned: 30 "The great thing about this move is that all you need is a wall and a little time," Fleming says. "Do it while you wait for an appointment, or for the commuter train to pull in." People might look at you funny, but you will look better in the end. 14 Ways to Cut Portions Without Feeling Hungry Health.com shares the best portion control tips for easy and fast weight loss.
To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume, which inevitably means one thing: portion control. But you're not necessarily doomed to a growling stomach until you reach your goal. "Portion control doesn't mean you have to eat tiny portions of everything," says Lisa Young, Ph.D., R.D., author of The Portion Teller Plan: The No‐Diet Reality Guide to Eating, Cheating, and Losing Weight Permanently. "You don't want to feel like you're on a diet, but you have to eat fewer calories." Here are 14 easy ways to cut portions, trim calories and lose fat without counting the minutes until your next meal. START WITH A GLASS OF H2O
Drink 16 ounces (a big glass) of water before you eat, suggests Dawn Jackson Blatner, R.D., author of The Flexitarian Diet. Filling your belly with water will naturally make you less likely to overeat, she says. Plus, some symptoms of dehydration may actually be what's causing your rumbling belly, so sipping some water before you eat may eliminate your "hunger" altogether.
WEAR FORM-FITTING CLOTHES
We're not suggesting you squeeze into pants that are too tight. However, wearing an outfit with a waistband or perhaps a jacket with buttons can serve as a tool to prompt you to slow down and assess how you feel during your meal, says Young. As your clothing begins to feel a little snugger, it may keep you from going back for seconds. ADD VEGGIE FILLERS
Bulking up your meals with veggies is one easy way to cut calories while filling you up fast. Spinach, for example, can be used as a sandwich‐topper or can add fiber and nutrients to pasta and stir‐fries, says Blatner. Other ideas for eating more veggies: swap in mushrooms for half the ground meat in most recipes, make oatmeal more filling with diced apples, and use a whole‐wheat pita in place of bread so you can stuff it with more veggies. DINE ON DINNERWARE THAT HELPS YOU LOSE
The color of your plate may influence how much you eat, according to a 2012 Cornell University study. The researchers discovered that when a plate and the food on it had a low color‐contrast (like pasta with Alfredo sauce on a white plate), people at a buffet served themselves 22% more than when there was a higher color‐contrast (like pasta with red sauce on a white plate or pasta with Alfredo sauce on a red plate). The study conclusions suggest that if you want to eat less, select plates that have a color‐contrast to the food you're eating for dinner. Or if you want to eat more healthy foods, like a bigger salad, eat greens from a large green plate or bowl! MAKE CARBS THE TOPPER INSTEAD OF THE BASE Rethink the way you use grains and starches. Take a breakfast parfait, for instance: instead of starting with a granola base, fill your cup with yogurt and then sprinkle just a tiny amount of granola on top for the crunch you crave. Making a stir‐fry? Load up your plate with veggies and a serving of lean protein, then add a quarter cup of brown rice. SET THE SCENE FOR SLOWER EATING
Dim lights and listen to relaxing music to set the tone for a more leisurely meal, suggests Blatner. "Taking your time while eating increases enjoyment and decreases portions," she says. Remember to chew slowly, put down your fork between bites and sip water to make your meal last longer.
WORK FOR YOUR FOOD
Here's another way to slow down your eating: munch on foods that require shelling, peeling or individual unwrapping, suggests Blatner. Oranges, edamame and pistachios in their shells are healthy options. DON’T EAT FROM THE BAG OR BOX
When you sit down with a bag of chips, do you really know how many you're eating? Researchers from Cornell University sought to answer this question in a study and found that people ate 50% more chips when they were given no visual cues as to how large a portion should be. So if you buy a bag of pretzels or tin of nuts that contains 10 servings, divide the contents of the container into 10 smaller baggies ahead of time. SLURP YOUR APPETIZER Before you dive into your entrée, have some soup. Though it may seem counterintuitive to add more to your meal, research shows that starting a meal with soup may help you reduce your overall calorie intake. In a 2007 study, people who ate soup before their lunch entrée reduced their total calorie intake by 20%. Your best bet: a broth‐based soup, preferably with veggies to help you feel full from the natural fiber, says Young. TAKE A LAP BEFORE SERVING YOURSELF
In a Cornell University study published in PLoS One, researchers observed people at two separate breakfast buffet lines that featured the same seven items: cheesy eggs, potatoes, bacon, cinnamon rolls, low‐fat granola, low‐fat yogurt and fruit. One line presented the foods from healthiest to least‐healthy while the other line had the order reversed. Regardless of which line they passed through, more than 75% of diners put the first food they saw on their plates; the first three foods they encountered in the buffet made up two‐thirds of all the foods they added to their plate. So take a stroll around the buffet or dinner table before you serve yourself, suggests Young.
DRINK FROM A TALL GLASS
It's okay to have a cocktail with your meal if that's what you really want, but keep it to one glass and enjoy it slowly, suggests Young. To trick yourself into believing you're having more, pour your drink into a tall, thin glass. A 2005 study published in the journal BMJ revealed that practiced bartenders who poured what they thought was a shot of alcohol (1.5 ounces) into a short, wide glass poured 20% more than when the glass was tall and thin. Add extra ice to your drink to make it look like even more! LIMIT MEALTIME DISTRACTIONS
Turn off the TV and put your smartphone away while you eat. A recent review of studies found that people who watched television during meals tended to consume more than those who ate without any distractions. And for you office dwellers? Consider taking your lunch break away from your desk—in an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study, people who played computer solitaire while having lunch felt less full at the end, and went on to eat more food later in the day than those who didn't play the game. USE SMALLER SERVEWARE AND DISHES
Turns out that even food experts aren't so savvy about eyeballing portion sizes. In a Cornell University study, 85 nutrition experts gathered for an ice cream social to celebrate the success of a colleague. They were randomly given either a small or large bowl, or a small serving scoop or large serving scoop. Then the nutritionists were asked to complete a brief survey while the study researchers secretly weighed their bowls. Those given the larger bowls served themselves 31% more without realizing it, while those who used the larger scoop unknowingly served themselves 14.5% more. Moral of the story? Dish up your own food with a small utensil onto a small bowl or plate, and chances are you'll eat less. END YOUR MEAL WITH A NEW KIND OF SWEET TREAT
Many people have trained themselves to expect a sweet treat at the end of a meal, says Blatner. Swap in a new, healthier ritual after meals to signal that you're done eating. She recommends brewing a flavorful decaf tea like peppermint, cinnamon, chocolate, or one of your favorite fruity varieties for a low‐or no‐calorie sweet‐tooth satisfier.