Mindless eating is the bane of many a would-be dieter. I have to confess that I have been guilty of eating mindlessly on way too many occasions.
A scientist named Brian Wansink, the author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, reports that even nutrition experts, who should know better, are prone to fooling themselves when it comes to putting food in their mouths.
It's well known that ice cream served in a small bowl will appear to be more than the same amount of ice cream served in a large bowl. Therefore, it's better to use a smaller bowl if you want to keep yourself from overindulging in such a calorie-laden treat.
According to to a news report, Wansink tested this by inviting 63 nutritional science teachers from a leading university to a social event at which ice cream was served. When they arrived at the event, they were handed either a 17-ounce bowl or a 34-ounce bowl. Wansink sums up the results thusly: Even though these people think, sleep, lecture, and study nutrition, they still served themselves and ate 31 per cent more ice cream ... if they had been given a large bowl.
According to Wansink, people don't usually overeat because they are hungry or even because the food tastes too good to resist. Instead, the overeat in response to cues in their environment--other people, food packaging, plates and other utensils, smells, distractions, and many others.
The solution to this environmentally cued behavior lies simply in being mindful of what we are doing any time we are near food. Focus on the amount of food you are putting on your plate. Pull your attention away from the TV at least long enough to look at the fork hovering near your mouth, and ask yourself if you really need that particular bite of food. Think about what triggers your own eating activities, and what sorts of things cue you to to eat too much.
It's not easy to change habits, especially in the realm of food, but by fully engaging our minds we definitely stand a better chance of changing for the better.
