14 DAY TRIAL // You think that what enters inside your guts is the result of your decisions.
Well, it seems that's just an illusion.
"So many food decisions are made on mindless autopilot", said Brian Wansink, Professor of Marketing and of Applied Economics at Cornell.
139 subjects (university staff and students) estimated they made about 15 decisions about food and beverage each day. But in reality, they made on average 221 such decisions, thus most of them are unconscious. "Each of these small decisions is a point where a person can be unknowingly influenced by environmental cues", said Wansink.
"It's really easier than we think to let small things around us -- plate size, package size, people around us, distractions -- influence these 200-plus decisions because we are not aware of them in the first place", said Wansink.
"Rather than try to overly obsess about our food decisions, it's better to change the environment so that it works for us rather than against us, making it easier to make decisions to eat less," suggested Wansink.
Wansink even offers some research-based tips:
Eating from smaller bowls: people ate almost 60 % less than when they are served in larger bowls.
See it before you eat it: When people served a snack mix in a bowl - instead of a package - they ate 134 fewer calories than those eating straight from the bag.
Skipping the appetizers will help you slim and enjoy the upcoming dessert.
Sitting next to the slowest eater at the table: Let him/her indicate the rhythm of eating and always be the last one to start eating, and set your fork down after every bite.
Don't abuse of your preferred food item.
Eliminating one of three food items (appetizer, a drink or a dessert) won't bother you much.
Fill half of your plate with vegetables, the other half with protein and starch.
Keep tempting treats in the back of the refrigerator wrapped in aluminum foil.
Studies proved that office workers ate 23 % less candy (around 50 calories) when it was in an opaque covered dish than a see-through dish.
And always sit at some distance away from a buffet table or snack bowl.