9 Habits That Are Making You Gain Weight (2 of 2)

6. Using large plates

This is something that may – like many of the points on our list – make you frown because why could that make a difference? It’s another subconscious decision that we make – we naturally judge the ratio of food to the size of our plate. If you have a bigger plate, a normal portion would look smaller.

But if you have a smaller plate, a normal portion will take up most of the plate, meaning that you’ll feel as if you’ve eaten more. You will feel full, just not stuffed. It’s also been proven by a study in Spain that people eat less from red plates.

7. Not watching what you drink

Juices and sodas don’t fill you up for very long at all, but they can fill you up with sugar. A single serving in a bottle can contain our entire daily sugar intake.

Alcoholic drinks such as wine and beer can also be calorific, especially if you have more than one. However, when we’re counting the calories, we can often forget about what we drink, but you do have to add them up, too!

Instead of sugary drinks, opt for a glass of water or tea and coffee, as they are all low in calories.

8. Eating around overweight friends

When we’re surrounded by others, it’s easy to follow their behaviours. So, if your friend is overeating in front of you then you are 57% more likely to also overeat.

Research has also shown that eating around an overweight person can cause you to eat more.

We’re not telling you to drop your overweight friends – just don’t eat around them! Do something fun that can help you burn calories like exploring your local area or going bowling.

9. Not sleeping enough

Similarly to the plates, it doesn’t seem that sleep and gaining weight could have any correlation, but they do. If you don’t sleep, your level of the stress hormone called cortisol can be boosted, which limits your body’s ability to process sugar through insulin. That excess sugar then is turned into fat.

However, from a purely behavioural perspective, if you’re tired then you’re more likely to make bad choices, as you don’t have the energy to stand and cook a healthy meal. So you’re more likely to just order a takeaway.

So, there you have it! Were you shocked by any of these habits? Our brains play a much bigger role into our diets and gaining weight than we may have previously thought. But now that you have that self-awareness, we hope that you can start on your way to losing weight!