Mindless Eaters

The truth is we eat too much.  Not only do we generally eat the wrong types of food as in too many carbs, too many refined and processed foods, and too much junk food... But we also eat too much quantity. 

I have spoken before about eating mindfully, but this actually goes beyond that. Brian Wansink, PhD And author of "Mindless Eating and why we eat more than we think", has spent years studying human behavior in relation to food.

It turns out we generally eat more than we need just because it is there.  Certain situations mean there is no end to what we can eat and most of us could not quantify what we have just eaten if asked.  A lot has to do with our surroundings, where we were at the time of eating, what we were doing whilst eating, and what our brains perceived about what we were eating. 

Here are several examples:

Cinema goers were given stale popcorn, some in medium sized containers and others in large sized containers. The popcorn was free for all those who went to a certain showing of a certain movie on a certain day and ate certain time, every attendee had their own popcorn, no-one had to share.  At the end of the movie the leftovers were collected and weighed.  Even though the popcorn was stale, the attendees still ate it, with those with the large containers eating the most... If it's there it will be eaten.

A restaurant was divided into two.  Diners  on the right hand side of the restaurant were given a complimentary bottle of California wine from a "new" winery. Those on the left were given the same wine but with a different label on the bottle stating it was from a new winery in North Dakota.  No one has ever heard of wine coming from North Dakota (no-one produces wine in North Dakota).  At the end of the meal more wine from the fictitious North Dakota winery was left over and when questioned diners said that they didn't like the wine that much.  Those on the right hand side of the restaurant, tool longer to finish their meal and lingered over their wine from California, enjoying their after dinner conversation.

Another trial was done to assess how much we eat if we can gauge the amount.  I'll explain; when we sit in a restaurant or at any table for that matter we cannot gauge how much we have eaten if we cannot see any left overs. For example, if you eat all your burger and fries there is nothing visibly left to prove you've eaten, however, if you eat chicken wings or something similar with bones that leave a trace... Then it is easier to gauge how much you have eaten.  Several college students were invited to watch a Super Bowl game at a bar and were offered free chicken wings and soft drinks while the game lasted.  The waitresses were told to only clear half the tables during the game.  On every table there was a bowl in the middle for the students to pile up their chicken bones.  The waitresses regularly cleared the bone bowl on half of the tables, but didn't change the bowls at all on the remaining half of the tables.  By the end of the game the students who didn't have clean tables had eaten 28% less chicken wings as than those with the clean tables.

You see, most days we aren't even aware of how much we have eaten.  But that isn't the only problem, because of this lack of awareness we also eat too much food.   This mindless eating, at the movies, at our desks, in front of the TV, means we just keep eating until our stomachs are full.  Is being full necessary or could we stop sooner?  The Japanese have a saying for this:  hara hachi bu—eating until you’re just 80 percent full. 

It takes 20 minutes for our brains to register we are full, so if you stop when you've had enough instead of when you can't eat anymore then you will be doing yourself a favor. It would be very easy for people to manage their weight if they thought about their food before actually eating it.  Am I hungry?  Do I really need to eat this?  Have I eaten enough?

Quite often I hear of people  who have lost weight by reducing the size of the plate they eat from.  A smaller plate filled with food is more satisfying than a large plate with a small amount of food on it.  The person believes he or she has eaten a large portion of food because the plate was full.  If you eat the same amount from a large plate you'll tell yourself you can't have had enough to eat because the amount was so small.

Other people are capable of losing weight without even realizing how they did it just because we don't contemplate a lot of our choices.  One woman lost weight after giving up caffeine and switching to herbal teas and lost 20lbs in 2 years... All she had seemingly done was to give up caffeine, so why the weight loss? When questioned about this she didn't know why either until she realized that in giving up caffeine she had also given up drinking sodas... Less sugar, less weight.

There is so much we can do for ourselves and our weight management just by being more mindful of what we are eating and drinking and the way we feel.  When you serve your food, try putting a little less on the plate or use a smaller plate.  Ask yourself if you are no longer hungry during a meal instead of waiting for the full feeling, or mindlessly finishing everything on your plate.  Be more considerate to yourself, your body will thank you for it.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com