14 DAY TRIAL // Dieting is frustrating – as also is the very idea of starting a new dietary plan, especially since most of them imply restrictions, limitations and, ultimately, the feeling of being deprived of something that we want badly and perhaps even deserve. Because of this, the best way to lose weight is not by starving ourselves, but rather by putting an end to mindless eating, Brian Wansink says in his latest book, “Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think.”
According to the author, just like we can gain weight without being aware of it, we can similarly drop a few pounds. The secret to successful weight loss (this means dropping the extra pounds and maintaining the figure) is to avoid mindless eating by eliminating the factors that lead to it. At all times, we have to be aware of how much we eat – and only do so when we’re hungry or we feel the uncontrollable urge to satisfy a craving, on the condition the latter doesn’t happen on a regular basis.
“Every single one of us is influenced by what’s around us when it comes to deciding what and when we will eat. In other words, we over-eat not because of hunger, but because of family and friends, packages and plates, names and numbers, labels and lights, colors, shapes and smells, cupboards and containers. The list is almost as endless as it’s invisible. That’s what makes mindless eating so dangerous: we are not aware it is happening to us.” Wansink writes, explaining how we make on average about 200 food decisions a day.
This is how mindless eating appears, more of a product of circumstance and us not paying enough attention to what’s going on around us. In order to prevent it – and consequently lose weight –, we must eliminate all factors and causes that lead to it, like eating in front of the TV, straight out of the bag / container, falling for the “healthy” or “low-fat” label and overindulging, thinking too much of “comfort food,” and so on and so forth. All of them are common-sense pieces of advice, Wansink says, because, sometimes, the easiest solution to a problem is the one we’ve known all along, but simply were not aware of.
“Food is a great pleasure in life – not something we should compromise. We simply need to shift our surroundings to work with our lifestyle instead of against it. Traditional diet books lead most people to throw up their hands in frustration and deprivation – and to buy another diet book that might promise a less painful way to lose weight. My book shows you how to remove the cues that cause you to over-eat in the first place, and how to change your kitchen and your habits. You won’t be a swimsuit model in the next week – but you will be back on course and moving in the right direction. Because although you can eat too much without knowing it, you can also eat less. Because, let’s face it, the best diet is the one you don’t know you’re on...” the author further explains.
Please refer here for more details on how to eliminate temptation and, at the same time, put an end to mindless eating and the piling pounds.