Mind over Munching

Based on the article: "The Psychology of Eating” by Kim Severson, National PostAll of us fall "off-track” every so often. Many of us attribute this to stress, social situations, or other emotionally-driven circumstances. However, there could be other factors at play, according to a professor based out of Ithaca, New York. Professor Brian Wansink's experiments on ‘the psychology of eating' show marked associations between the amount of food people consume and the way the food is presented. He believes that one of the ways people become overweight is by not realizing how much they are eating."We don't have any idea what the normal amount to eat is,” says Wansink, "so we look around for clues or signals.”Indeed, it can be very confusing trying to pick the right foods to eat. We are bombarded by the marketing of "Low Fat” and "Low Carb” packaged foods, as well as bigger portion sizes. Also, we can be easily influenced by how much the person next to us is eating. Wansink's studies show that our food intake can fluctuate by more than 20% up or down in order to match the people around us.Labels, brand names, atmosphere and the people around us have a significant impact on our eating habits, even though many of these things are subtle and barely noticeable.Simple awareness is the key when it comes to staying on track. By sitting next to a person you think will be the slowest eater at a restaurant, and making sure that you're the last one to finish, you'll prolong your food intake and feel fuller. Try not to eat directly from a package; measure out exactly how much of something you want to eat, and wrap the rest in foil so you won't see it. At a buffet, take only 2 food items on your plate at a time. Having even a slightly better awareness of what affects our food intake can help us in the long run.According to Wansink, the average person THINKS they make an average of 15 food choices per day. In reality, his research shows we actually make about 200 food choices per day. Some are obvious, many are subtle, but these choices determine how much food we actually put in our mouth. In one of his experiments, movie-goers were allowed free, stale popcorn. Some were given medium-sized buckets, while others were given large-sized buckets. At the end of the movie, the remaining popcorn was weighed, and it was found that people with the large-sized buckets ate 53% more popcorn than those with medium-sized buckets. So you see, we tend to eat what is put in front of us; regardless of how much is there.All you can do is be mindful when it comes to making choices. Remember: 200 food choices a day is a lot to think about. If you can become more aware of some of these choices, you'll be that much more successful in staying on track throughout the day. All of us "slip” for various reasons, but remember that it is sometimes and unconscious "slip” that we aren't even aware of. Be aware of everything you choose to eat. Keeping a conscious mind about food will help you to steer clear of the constant societal influences to "eat more.” Just keep trying, you can do it!