It's that simple - your dinner plate can help you control portions, shed weight and stay healthy.

Acessorising your dinner with a ‘diet plate' is the latest way to triumph in the weight war. A Canadian study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found portion control plates to be effective.

‘The weight loss we saw is similar to studies using weight-loss medication, but without the potential side-effects or the expense,' study author Dr Sue Pedersen says.

A diet plate is a simple piece of crockery with painted lines that provide visual cues when people are measuring food portions. The official diet plate used in the study comes from the UK and allows unlimited vegetables with the exception of starchy vegies such as peas, carrots, corn and potatoes. There are other lines to help people measure carbohydrates, proteins, cheese and sauces.

Of 130 overweight people with diabetes in the Canadian trial, 17 per cent of participants using the diet plate lost more than five per cent of their body weight over six months. However, of the trial participants who didn't use the diet plate, only 4.6 per cent lost the same amount of body weight over the same period of time.

‘If you are overweight, losing five per cent of your body weight is a clinically significant development because this decreases your risk of obesity-related diseases such as cancer and heart disease,' Dr Pedersen says.

 

Make your own diet plate

‘Anything that tracks what you put in your mouth is a good idea,' dietitian Kate Di Prima says. But, for people who want to create their own diet plate without any expense, follow this formula:

Make sure that half of your lunch and dinner plate is comprised of vegetables and salad (not including potatoes, kumara or corn on the cob).

Make sure quarter of your plate is filled with 100g to 150g of lean protein such as chicken, fish or red meat.

Include half a cup (or up to one cup if you're larger) of carbohydrates. This includes pasta, bread, rice or starchy vegetables such as potatoes, kumara or corn. Sneaky fat-burners.

‘Eat soup 20 minutes before a main meal. Your stomach will have time to register that it's eaten, so you'll eat less,' dietitian Dr Clare Collins says.

‘Instead of cream-based soups, try chicken and vegetable,' Dr Collins says. ‘Or combine a can of tomatoes, three onions, some crushed garlic, one leek, two stock cubes, two cups boiling water, two teaspoons Tabasco sauce, celery, green beans and two carrots for a low-kilojoule winter soup.'

Sneak more vegies on your plate and add low-fat dressing for flavour. Or buy some of the new varieties of frozen vegetables and stick them in the microwave for snacks. The diet plate system used in the study costs around $57.70 including postage. For more details and to order, visit www.thedietplate.com.

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