The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

by Dan Buettner

LESSON TWO STRATEGIES To help follow the 80 percent rule in your Blue Zone, try the following tips. Serve and store. People who serve themselves at the counter, then put the food away before taking their plate to the table, eat about 14 percent less than when they take smaller amounts and go back for seconds and thirds. Learn to recognize when you have enough on your plate to fill your stomach 80 percent. Make food look bigger. People who eat a quarter-pound hamburger that has been made to look like a half-pounder with lettuce, tomatoes, and onions feel equally full after eating. Students who drank a smoothie whipped to twice the volume with the same calories ate less for lunch 30 minutes later, and reported feeling fuller. Use small vessels. Drop your dinner plates and big glasses off at a charity,