When You Eat The Entire Box Of 100-Calorie Packs, It Is Less Effective
Since this article is from October, you may have to do what I did and Google the title to find it online. But it's well worth reading! It's about a book called Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, by Professor Brian Wansink. Apparently, his research contributed to the concept of those 100-calorie packs of chips and cookies that are so popular these days. The whole article is a really interesting examination of why and how we eat.
"Although people think they make 15 food decisions a day on average, his research shows the number is well over 200. Some are obvious, some are subtle. The bigger the plate, the larger the spoon, the deeper the bag, the more we eat. But sometimes we decide how much to eat based on how much the person next to us is eating, sometimes moderating our intake by more than 20 percent up or down to match our dining companion."
Thanks to Beth for the link!
"Although people think they make 15 food decisions a day on average, his research shows the number is well over 200. Some are obvious, some are subtle. The bigger the plate, the larger the spoon, the deeper the bag, the more we eat. But sometimes we decide how much to eat based on how much the person next to us is eating, sometimes moderating our intake by more than 20 percent up or down to match our dining companion."
Thanks to Beth for the link!
posted by mo pie at 3:51 PM
9 Comments:
The title of the article is "Seduced by Snacks? No, Not You"
By KIM SEVERSON. In case anyone else was having trouble finding it in google.
The whole serving size issue is really interesting. People often take one scoop, or one "serving" of whatever food, no matter what size the scoop is.
My husband and I use our smaller plates and bowls more often now, and when dividing things up to freeze we go for smaller portions, because we know that whatever size we portion out, we'll use them one at a time.
I think this guy is right on the money. When I started tracking my food intake about six months ago, I spent the first week not trying to reduce my calories, but just keeping track of what and how much I ate and drank. I was eating a lot more than I'd thought I was, and paying closer attention is a big part of what has helped me to lose 35 lbs. since then.
Thanks for the link!
Great article, and it looks like a really interesting book.
My favorite quote from the article, on his food experiments:
“It’s easy to find undergraduates to participate, but with the guys nothing makes sense because they all eat like animals,” he said.
This is a great article! I have trouble with portion control, for sure. And I come from the era of having to clean your plate because there are starving kids in Africa who are going without ;)
This is a great article! I have trouble with portion control, for sure. And I come from the era of having to clean your plate because there are starving kids in Africa who are going without ;)
I loved this article.
I used to try to economize by purchasing things in bulkier packages, but now I've started purchasing preportioned stuff more often, because I've decided it's wasting food for me too eat too much of it.
I also have started using measuring cups and spoons as serving utensils.
I saw this guy on TV over the weekend (something on Discovery Health channel, maybe...) My favorite part of the study annecdotes was when he was talking about a bowl of tomato soup that secretly automatically refilled itself. Subjects ate as much as a quart (~500ml) of soup; just because the bowl never emptied.
I still weigh and measure everything. My salad plates are pretty good sized so I almost never use the dinner plates if it's just me. And yeah, 1 cup of cereal looks pathetically lonely in my bowls. It really is a challenge to retrain my eyes and brain.
Really interesting article. I bought a kitchen scale a few months ago and was surprised how far off my estimates were. (I am on Weight Watchers.) Also, I think one of the reasons I gained weight after marriage was because I was living with someone who ate more. I have taken more control over our diet, portions, etc., and now we are both losing weight.
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