This “Calorie Cloaking” Bowl Will Help You Eat Less and Feel Full
Want to be able to eat less and still feel satisfied? The IGGI bowl, one of the latest campaigns on Indiegogo, could help.
Designed with a convex middle, this bowl reduces the amount of calories you can fit into one serving, and “the unique false bottom causes your brain to see 33 percent more food than is actually there.”
The creator of the IGGI bowl, Australian designer Roderic Andrews, was inspired to find a better path to weight loss after his doctor warned him that his liver problem would be irreversible in three months if he didn’t make significant changes. After diving into nutrition research, “I soon discovered dozens of little-known food psychology studies using ‘sensory perception manipulation’ and learned that only about a third of our hunger is actually biological,” Andrews explains. “The rest is lifelong ingrained bad habits and unguided emotional eating.”
“Many of us overeat because it’s all we’ve ever known. We never learned appropriate portion sizes and we’re surrounded by excessive eating out in public.”
Enter the IGGI bowl and the attached Meal Mindfulness system. Based on a study from the National Library of Medicine that proved a correlation between portion perception and feeling “full,” this 7.7-inch stoneware bowl takes out a third of the space that would be in a similar-sized normal bowl. It allows for no more than 600 calories at once, but after you fill it to the top with food, your brain is tricked into thinking you’re eating more than what’s on your plate.
The dish is also glazed in a Japanese-style red, not only for beauty but because Andrews found studies showing that eating from a red plate versus a white plate reduces consumption by another 22 percent.
IGGI is designed to be used with an app that provides meal recommendations created by dieticians and chefs, as well as Mindful Eating audio that teaches you to slow your rhythm during a meal to reduce your calorie intake. The system also comes with 15 recipe cards and 15 Mindful Habits Cards that encourage healthier eating habits.
The bowl is microwave and dishwasher-safe and comes with food-grade silicone inserts that can separate your foods into vegetables, proteins, carbs, and legumes. These inserts are easy to clean and heat resistant up to 450°F. They can even be popped out individually for reheating. Also included in the bundle are a bowl lid with a hermetic seal and a tight-fitting neoprene-style carry case for easy and leak-proof transport.
Andrews says the “calorie cloaking” bowl and Meal Mindfulness system was personally effective for him: “So, how did it go after using IGGI daily for 6 months? I refuse to play the ‘before and after’ game (that causes us all great psychological pain), but suffice it to say, I finally ‘feel good in my skin.’ I reached my targets, but more importantly, I haven’t relapsed for the first time ever. My habits have changed for the better.”
If you don’t want to take his word for it, you can buy a one full bowl kit on Indiegogo for $69, or a two-pack for $99.
