By Carol Smith

We’re all looking for simple ways to cut calories, so we don’t starve or feel deprived. Most of us eat more than we need to. The trick is to fool the brain into thinking you are eating more than you actually are.

Have you thought about the size of the plates you ate on when you were a kid? Most of us don’t give the size of plates and glasses much thought. But, in a super sized world, when we look for value, we may also find many unnecessary calories.

Researchers asked subjects to eat the same past dishes two weeks in a row. The only thing that changed was the size of the plates. They discovered that people ate 22 percent more food when given a bigger plate. Ironically, when people were asked about the difference between the two experiences, no one identified the plate size. In fact, some people denied that could have been the cause for eating more food.

Here are some simple ways to cut calories by tricking your brain or making your access to extra food more difficult.

Use smaller plates. (We recently purchased a new set of dishes and now use the large salad plates for dinner.) When we grew up, most plates were 9 to 10 inches wide. Now, they are 12 to 14 inches.

Use thin, tall glasses instead of short, wide ones. Researchers discovered people drink 29 percent less liquid with the taller glasses.

Use a smaller serving spoon. Instead of the large spoon, use a tablespoon.

Serve food from the stove instead of the table. If people have to get up to get seconds, they tend to eat less.

Notice, these simple ways to cut calories don’t have anything to do with the actual food you eat. Just by taking a little extra effort to control the container and way you serve food, you may cut out many of those extra calories.