The Half-Plate Rule For Weight Loss
Some have no problem counting calories and tracking everything they eat. The same can’t be said for others.
Instead, counting calories is a complete turn-off because it involves very advanced math concepts, like addition and subtraction. Yeah, that shit is hard!
As if having to deal with Einsteinian levels of math wasn’t enough, you also have to analyze nutritional labels, which involves reading, something that’s extremely bor-r-ring!!! Zzzzzz…
So what’s a person to do when they want to watch what they eat without having to put barely any effort into it?
Well, follow the half-plate rule is what that person can do with the same almost nonexistent effort they do virtually everything else in life with!
So what is the half-plate rule?
The half-plate rule is pretty simple.
For every meal or snack, draw an imaginary line down the middle of your plate and fill one side of it with fruit, veggies, or both. Divide the other side of the plate in half and fill one quarter with protein and the other with starch.1This is the MyPlate dietary guidance system recommended by the USDA.
An even simpler version of the half-plate rule is to still fill one half of the plate with produce. The only difference is that the other half can contain anything — ANYTHING!!! — as long as the pizza, fried chicken, or ice cream is an amount that’s equal to what’s on the opposite side.2This is the dietary guidance system recommended by Brian Wansink, a food researcher, author, and former director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab.
Why either version of the half-plate rule works is because the fiber and water content in the fruits and veggies that have to be eaten every time you have a meal or snack help crowd out space in the stomach for higher calorie fare. That means you fill up on more food by volume while eating less calories, which reduces overall calorie intake. Moreover, the dietary guidance systems are easy to understand and easy to follow, which eliminates questions about what and how much to eat, thus resulting in greater adherence to eating better.
So yeah, calorie management without even having to think about it or put forth any sort of actual effort!
Glossary: calories
