Beat Mindless Eating Now!

Why do we overeat? Larger plates, which lead to larger servings, and watching TV while eating are at two culprits that cause us to eat about 40 percent more food. And the reason we eat too much is all in our heads.

Dr. Brian Wansink, a behavioral scientist at the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, blames what he calls "mindless eating" on busy lifestyles.

"We’re a nation of mindless eaters. We do so many things during the day that when it comes to food we can just nibble and nibble and nibble, and eat and eat and eat," Wansink explains.

Wansink, who has made a career watching how people behave around food, offers some pointers on how to beat mindless eating.

Serve your meals on smaller plates. Studies show people typically serve about 25 to 28 percent more food on bigger plates. A six ounce serving of pasta on an eight-inch plate, for example, looks normal. But it will look like an appetizer on a larger scale, which causes people to dish out more.

Don’t eat in front of the TV. Studies show over 40 percent more food is eaten while watching TV. "We often end up eating more because we simply eat to the pace of the program, or we eat until the program is over," Wansink noted.

See what you eat. Since it takes about 20 minutes after we eat for our stomachs to register we are full, visual cues are critical to controlling how much we eat. Wansink, for example, advises people serve snacks on a plate rather than eat out of the box. You will eat less if you can see how much you’ve already eaten.

Don’t be fooled by food packaging. Wansink found that people will eat more of a snack if it is labeled low fat because they think they are being health-conscious. Wansink suggests that if you’re going to indulge, eat something you truly enjoy--but have half a portion instead.

Why does this matter to you? Because a lean and athletic physique is built on 80 percent nutrition. That means you can’t out-exercise a poor diet, which includes mindless eating! Schedule meals and snack three hours apart (3hourdiet.com), that way you'll never be starving--and stay out of the cupboards in between.