London - Willpower is all very well – but in the struggle to lose weight, a little mental trickery may be better.
From buying clothes a size too small to eating from little plates, a survey has revealed women’s diet tips.
Top of the list was buying clothes that do not fit to wear “when I’m skinny”, with 81 percent saying they do so.
More than half used small plates to trick themselves into having smaller portion sizes, with many saying a small plate full of food seemed better than a large plate which was practically empty.
Nearly half said putting pictures of themselves looking fat on cupboards or the fridge deterred them from snacking, while a quarter used snaps of slim celebrities.
But if the sneaky approach doesn’t work, women are happy to impose draconian diet rules – on their whole families.
More than two thirds admitted banning treats for the entire family in an effort to avoid temptation, according to the survey by an online sales voucher company.
Nearly half stopped their family from watching food programmes on television.
One dieter said: “I once bought a skirt that was a bit on the snug side and finally lost enough weight to get into it during the summer. It took me the grand total of six years. I have to admit, I felt amazing when I finally put it on and it fitted. I will not be putting those kilos back on.”
Another said: “I always carry celery with me when I’m trying to lose weight.
“If I get peckish, I just pull out a stick and get chomping. It drives my workmates nuts – I think they’re relieved when I ditch the diet and go back to pulling chocolate out of my bag.”
A spokesman for Voucher Codes Network, which commissioned the survey, said: “These are great dieting tricks and I’m sure most of us have tried one or two of them at some point, if not all.
“It’s all about tricking ourselves into thinking we don’t want or need those naughty treats.
“The harsh reality is that pretty much all of us would swap the celery for a fresh cream éclair and the glass of water for a glass of wine.” - Daily Mail