How about a diet that you don’t know you’re on? That sounds too good to be true. Brian Wansink, of Mindless Eating and soon to
be released, Skinny By Design has a research lab dedicated to environmental
cues that lead to over eating. This
could explain why you always reach for the Hershey Kisses on your desk. Their research shows that if you move it at
least 6 feet away, you’ll be less inclined to munch. Simple tricks like these can save Calories
daily and result in gradual weight loss without deprivation.
Here are a few tips:
Personalize your diet danger zone.
Do you eat without abandon every afternoon? Do you find yourself eating out of
boredom? Can’t pass a candy dish? Wansink discusses how everyone has a meal
script. To avoid mindless eating you
need to figure out a plan to change the “script”, if you eat compulsively in
the afternoons when not hungry take a walk instead, take a different route home
bypassing the fast food restaurants.
There is no one perfect diet.
Each person needs to
evaluate what their road blocks are and how to bypass or detour them.
Watch less TV.
People who watch a lot of television are known to exercise
less, weigh more, and eat more than people who watch less TV. Wansink’s studies
show that people watched 60 minutes of TV ate 28% more than those who watched
30 minutes of television. Think of how
much more you’d eat during a Netflix binge.
Cut down on portions or servings without knowing it.
Serve yourself 20% less on a plate. This can be a gradual calorie reduction of
100-
200 Calories per day that your body won’t notice; you’ll end
up with a gradual
weight loss over a few months.
Other great (and free) resources can be found at
http://mindlesseating.org
Gina (Lesako) Volsko is a Columbus, Ohio based RD and the SCAN blog coordinator. Contact her at glesako@gmail.com to be a SCAN blogger. You can find her blogging at Sport2Fork and Food and Nutrition Magazine's Stone Soup Blog.
