Is your house making you fat? Sounds strange, but it can happen! Here are some ways your house may be ruining your weight loss efforts – along with fixes!

It’s January, the start of 2022 and you’ve got your resolutions written down in your planner or journal. You’re trying your best to stay on track and workout, but somehow, things don’t seem to be falling in place you’d like them to.

Sounds familiar?

Before you start blaming yourself and bin the entire plan, here’s something you need to know. It’s not you – it’s your house.

Yes, your house could be sabotaging your weight loss efforts.

According to James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, “Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior…. over a long time period, your personal characteristics tend to get overpowered by your environment.”

We know that for a weight loss plan (or any plan) to be successful, you need to focus on your everyday habits and tasks. However, if you’re depending upon motivation to carry them out, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Instead, you should be focusing on making your environment as conducive to executing your plan as possible.

Since we’re all back to spending most of our time at home, it’s time to think about your home environment. Have you designed your space in a way that’ll make reaching your goal easier? Or are you doing the opposite? In other words, is your home making you fat?

While you ponder on that, here’s another question – how many food-related decisions do you make in a day? 10? 20?

Well, according to a Cornell University study, the average person makes a whopping 200 food decisions a day – yes, 200!

Now that is a lot even for the person with the strongest will power! You may not have noticed it, but there are many things in your house that may be subconsciously making these decisions more difficult. Let’s take a look at what they are and how you can fix it.

Is your house making you fat? Let’s see how you can fix it!

1. You have stocked up on snacks.

Ah, snacks! The kryptonite for most weight loss plans across the globe. If you are ‘stocking up’ on biscuits, cookies, namkeens, frozen snacks and other sundry items, is it any wonder that you’re not losing weight? If they’re there, you’re sure to eat them, because.. well, they’re there.

The Fix: Forget about stocking up. You’re not a toddler anymore! Most of us crave something around the 3 P.M. mark, so prepare by having healthy snacks ready. Nuts, dried fruit, vegetable sticks or even just green tea are all great ways to beat the afternoon slump – not samosas!

2. Your fruit is hidden.

This goes in line with the previous point. If your cookies are out on the counter and your fruit is somewhere within the deep recesses of your fridge, they’re likely to die a slow painful death right there. Studies show that you are three times more likely to eat something healthy if it is out in a prominent spot and easily accessible.

The Fix: This is an easy fix, just keep your fruit out! Most fruits don’t need refrigeration, like bananas and oranges. You can keep them in a pretty bowl or basket on your kitchen counter or the dining table.

For other fruits, you can slice them and put them in glass containers in the fridge so you can easily see what’s available and pick it up when you’re feeling peckish. Wrap large pieces in see through cling film so you use them before they rot.

3. You use large plates.

I love buying big, beautiful plates just like you, but it may not be such a good idea if you’re trying to lose weight. Studies show that we eat 22% more from a 12″ plate than from a 10″ plate. That comes to approximately 44% more calories. This also applies to bowls, spoons and glasses – we tend to drink 30% more from a short, wide glass than from a tall, skinny glass.

The Fix: Keep aside your big plates for special occasions and get a set of cute, smaller plates, around 9-10″. You’ll automatically eat less without even realizing it.

4. Your decor is red or yellow.

Does your kitchen or dining room resemble McDonald’s? Well, that could be the reason you never feel full!

Apparently, the colors red, yellow and orange trigger our appetites and make us eat 33% more than we would eat in a room of another color. The Pantone Color Institute states that warm colors like these make food look more appetizing.

The Fix: It’s time to redecorate! If your walls have been a light yellow, try painting them bluish-white or light blue. Blue has the opposite effect of yellow or red – it can curb your appetite. Apply the same principle for your decor elements like table linen and centerpieces.

5. Your home is dark.

A dark setting with just candle lights may seem romantic, but it can make you eat more than you intended. The University of California states that we tend to be less self-conscious in dark environments, causing us to eat more. Now you know why restaurants turn down their lights!

The Fix: Try to get in as much natural light as possible into your dining areas. Install plenty of decorative lamps that have a warm glow but are still bright enough for you to see what you’re wolfing down!

6. Your bedroom isn’t dark enough.

I know what you’re thinking: “You just said that my home was too dark and now you have a problem with it being too bright?”

Well, the previous point was about your eating spaces; this one is about your sleeping space. The American Journal of Epidemiology states that people who slept in bedrooms that weren’t dark enough were 21% more likely to be obese than people who slept in pitch black rooms.

Here’s how it works. If your bedroom is not dark enough at night, your body produces less of the hormone melatonin, which means you don’t sleep well. Being sleep deprived leads to a lower concentration of leptin, the hormone that controls your hunger. So, less or poor sleep = being overweight.

The Fix: Ditch the sheers and invest in blackout curtains that will block not just light but also noise from outside. Make sure your room is cool enough and your mattress and pillows are right for you.

7. You workout in front of a mirror.

I know many of us have heard that you should workout in front of a mirror so you can check your form. However, the truth is that at least for women, this has a negative psychological effect. The journal Health Psychology states that women who exercised in front of a mirror feel less energized and more critical about themselves. Getting out those sweats is challenging on its own – you don’t want to add demotivation to make it harder.

The Fix: Easy peasy – just remove any mirror you may have hanging in your exercise space. If you workout in a room that needs a mirror, like on a dressing table, turn away from it as you do your crunches.

8. You don’t have a mirror in the dining room.

Okay, there I go, contradicting myself again! But hear me out – we are talking about a different room here. A study found that when people were offered a variety of foods and asked to eat in front of a mirror, they chose healthier options 22-32% of the time. So mirrors work – only in the right spaces!

The Fix: Hang a mirror in a strategic place in your kitchen or dining room so you can have a glimpse at yourself when you eat. Make it a beautiful, showstopper piece so it doesn’t look odd or out of place. You’ll be eating better when you can see yourself do it!

9. You have a screen in your bedroom.

Working from home has got us glued to our screens all day, as employers expect employees to be available 24×7. Bringing a screen into the bedroom affects the quality of your sleep, which as we know now, can lead to weight gain (see point 6 above). The Pediatric Obesity journal claims that children who had a screen in their rooms were 1.47 times more likely to be overweight than screen-less kids.

The Fix: Remove the TV from your bedroom or your kids’ rooms. Set a switch off reminder on your phone and turn it off at least an hour before bed. Read or listen to music instead of scrolling mindlessly.

10. Your workout gear is out of sight.

It seems really easy to make a resolution to work out everyday – executing it is the tough part! And if your workout gear is hidden away inside a cupboard you are much more likely to skip your daily exercise. We also have a tendency to put away the larger, uglier equipment in an unused room or basement. It’s a simple concept; out of sight is out of mind.

The Fix: It’s hard to make exercise equipment look good, but you’re more likely to use your treadmill or elliptical if it’s in front of the TV. Keep your yoga mat or dumbbells in a pretty basket near the couch, so you can easily take it out whenever you get time.

11. Your kitchen is not organized.

How does a messy kitchen make you gain weight? There are many reasons. One is that since your cabinets are overflowing, you probably just throw in your fruit or healthy food, which gets lost in the mess. Another reason is that when you can’t find what you need, you’ll feel less motivated to cook, and will end up eating out or ordering takeaway.

The Fix: There’s no other way about this – you have to organize your kitchen! Get rid of expired food and give away those snacks you ‘stocked’ up on. It’s not just your food that needs to be organized; keep your pans and cooking utensils easily accessible too. There should be as little friction as possible when you set out to cook a healthy meal.

12. You opt for family-style serving.

Most of us have grown up with this kind of meal; a large dish is placed in the middle of the table and we serve ourselves from it, taking second and third helpings whenever we feel like it. When the food is right there across the table, taking that unnecessary helping becomes too easy – and it wrecks your diet just as easily!

The Fix: Stop the middleman – which in this case refers to your serving dishes. Instead, serve everyone directly from the pot or pan and take it to the table. You can still eat as a family, but taking an extra serving will require a little more effort. Since most of us are lazy by nature, we’re likely to delay getting up and going into the kitchen, which gives your body that valuable interval to determine whether you really need any more food.

13. You use non-seasoned cookware.

Anyone who’s tried making a dosa on an unseasoned pan knows what a nightmare it can be! Such pans or pots require a good deal of oil to get things moving, and all that extra oil can add up to the total calories you consume on a daily basis.

The Fix: Non stick pots and pans are the easy solution here, but if you are concerned about the non-stick coating, you can go for good quality stainless steel or cast iron pans. When seasoned and well maintained, these pans should work as well as non-stick pans.

14. You have too many chairs.

By now we’ve all heard about how sitting is the new smoking, and this fact gets new relevance during the pandemic as we spend even more time sitting on our bottoms all day. A study by the Mayo Clinic found that obese people sat at least 150 minutes more than lean people every day. If you have a chair at every nook and corner of your home, you are much more likely to sit down on it to take a call or scroll through your phone.

The Fix: You don’t have to throw out all your chairs, but have just the bare minimum. You can also replace ottomans with hard tables, so you aren’t tempted to sit on them. This way, you’ll spend more of your free time walking or standing – anything but sitting!

15. You use too many machines.

The pandemic saw many of us buying lots of gadgets for our homes. Now the average urban home has multiple machines – dish washer, dryer, vacuum cleaner and robot vacuum, to name a few. It’s great that these take a load off our shoulders, but it also means that we’re moving even less than usual!

The Fix: There’s nothing wrong in using these machines whenever you’re short of time or help. However, if you have the time to spare, it’s a good idea to do some tasks manually, like sweeping and mopping, washing the dishes or hanging clothes out to dry.

16. Your home is cluttered.

Yes, a disorganized kitchen can lead to weight gain, but so can other messy rooms in your home. Studies show that those who live in cluttered environments are 80% more likely to choose unhealthy foods over healthier options. Another fact is that clutter causes anxiety and disturbs sleep, which is directly linked to obesity.

The Fix: Declutter every room of your home thoroughly, throwing out anything you don’t need. Clear all surfaces and make your bed every night before bed to ensure a clear mind and sound sleep.

17. Your kitchen is the hub of the home.

Do your family’s lives revolve around the kitchen? It may sound very warm and cozy, but it can be ruining all your weight loss efforts!

When you use the kitchen to work, do homework or entertain guests, you are more likely to snack frequently or ‘graze’, and all the little bits add up eventually. A Cornell University study found that people who simply pass through the kitchen during the day eat 15% more than others.

The Fix: If your kitchen is an open plan setup, see if you can install a divider that clearly demarcates the room. Set up spots for homework or other activities in other parts of the house. Finally, remove all chairs from the kitchen; this will discourage people from spending time there.

18. Your wardrobe has multiple sizes.

We’ve all been there; we have a dress that we’re waiting to lose weight to fit into, and we have another ‘in case we gain more weight’. Well, none of these tactics are working for your weight loss goals!

Having ‘thin’ clothes can make you upset every time you see them and are reminded that you don’t fit into them yet. On the other hand, ‘fat’ clothes act like a backup plan. It’s like they’re sneakily encouraging you: “go ahead and gain weight, I’m here for you!”

The Fix: Accept where your body is at right now. Get rid of everything that doesn’t fit. Decide that you are going to stick to your plan and lose weight so you won’t need the oversized clothes anymore. And when you reach a new smaller size, you can get new clothes!

19. Your TV is the focal point of the family room.

It’s no secret that TV watching has direct links to obesity; the Harvard School of Public Health has published a survey that found that every two hours spent watching TV per day increased the risk of obesity by 23% and the risk of developing diabetes by 14%. This applies to children and adults, so if the TV is the focal point in your family room, it’s bad for everyone.

The Fix: Make it a point to turn the TV off during meals and at least two hours before bedtime. Rearrange your furniture so it encourages people to talk to each other rather than face the TV. Another great tip is to have a sliding door for the TV unit, so you can close it when the TV is not in use.

20. You don’t have a garden.

A garden is soothing to the soul and boosts your mood, but maintaining it also takes work – which is good news if you’re trying to stay active. Simple gardening tasks can burn up to 120 calories in 30 minutes, so if you don’t have a garden, you’re missing out on a valuable hobby that offers you both a workout and home grown greens!

The Fix: Even if you live in a tiny apartment, that’s no excuse not to have your own patch of green! You can always have a few pots in your balcony or a window box. Place a few, easy to maintain house plants around the home, which will also purify the air. Plant your own herbs and use them in your cooking – there’s nothing like it!

21. You store food in plastic containers.

Most of us have stopped using BPA-laden baby bottles but we forget to check the containers we use at home to store leftovers. When food in such containers is heated, the BPA can leach into the food. BPA is bisphenol A, a chemical that mimics estrogen and can cause weight gain. The International Journal of Obesity published a report that found that women whose urine had the highest level of BPA were also the ones who gained the most weight in a 10 year period.

The Fix: If you can, avoid plastic completely in the kitchen, at least for storing wet food and leftovers. Opt for glass, ceramic or stainless steel. If buying plastic, look specifically for the label that says ‘BPA-free’.

22. Your kitchen is open 24×7.

It sounds cute to say that Mom’s kitchen is open 24×7, but while the kids may have fun with it, it may prove terrible for your waistline! When you know that food is accessible throughout the day and night, you’ll be tempted to have a little something for your midnight snack. Before you know it, it becomes a habit you can’t break and you’re piling on the pounds.

The Fix: Right after dinner, do the dishes, wipe down the counter and turn off the lights. That’s it – kitchen closed! By doing this, you’re giving yourself a subconscious signal that you’re done eating for the day. Keep a water bottle outside so you don’t have to enter the kitchen for anything.

23. You have too many end tables.

What does your poor end table have to do with not losing weight? When it comes to eating healthy, it’s all about accessibility. When getting food is more difficult, you’re less likely to eat – it’s as simple as that.

End tables give you a spot to rest your bowl of popcorn or a chocolate bar, which makes it super easy for you to reach out for a bite or a handful and before you know it – poof! An entire bowl of popcorn or candy bar has vanished!

The Fix: Studies show that simply moving a bowl of sweets six feet away reduces the number of sweets a person eats from nine to four. Remove all side tables and end tables from the side of the couch and move them out of arm’s length. While you’re at it, downsize your coffee table so all it can  hold are essentials like remotes.

24. Your scale is inside the cupboard.

When setting your goals for the New Year, you may have read that they need to be SMART, where the M stands for measurable. What gets measured, gets improved, and that applies to weight. Weighing every day is recommended so you get a clear picture of the general trend of your weight. However, if your scale is hidden away in your cupboard, you’re likely to forget this important task.

The Fix: To make every day weighing a habit, you need to keep the scale in a prominent location so you won’t miss it. Weigh every morning on an empty stomach for the most accurate results.

25. Your home smells like a bakery.

How can that be a bad thing? Well, it’s not, for anyone visiting your home – but it can be for you!

Studies show that aromatherapy has a powerful effect on your appetite. ‘Yummy’ smells like cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate or gingerbread can stimulate the appetite, and make you want to eat or order something even if you’re not really hungry. Now, you don’t want that, do you?

The Fix: Yes, these smells can ruin your diet plans, but you can also use the power of aromatherapy to work for you instead of against you. For instance, try jasmine when working out – it makes you feel more energetic and alert. Lavender can help you get a good night’s sleep which can improve your weight loss.

Peppermint has been proven to suppress the appetite; in one study, people who inhaled the scent of peppermint consumed 1,800 fewer calories in a week.

After reading through all these, what do you think – is your house making you fat? Most of us will find that there are a few small changes we can make in our homes so that our environment is setup for weight loss success and not failure.

You know how supermarkets arrange their products in a way to tempt us into buying them? Well you need to do the same with your food and exercise equipment. Keep the things that need to be used out in the open, and hide or throw the rest. You’ll be surprised at how quickly your efforts are rewarded – and how healthy you are!