Moroccan Meatball Tajine recipe here.
________________________________
OCT 2019 UPDATE: Brian Wansink has been discredited and some of his academic papers have been retracted. Yet even though the science behind all his findings may not be validated, I personally use the recommendations listed here and still find them valuable.
Did you know there are teams of researchers who devote their careers to figuring out what makes us eat?
Even though I studied food science at university, I didn’t know about this specialty either.
Until I read the brilliant book ‘Mindless Eating. Why We Eat More Than We Think‘ by Brian Wainsink.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN TODAY:
- What mindLESS eating is and how to harness its power.
What is MindLESS Eating
It’s when we allow external factors to govern how much and what we eat. From an empty packet to a clean plate, we can harness these ‘little things’ to eat less without even noticing.
How to Harness the Power of MindLESS Eating
1. Use small plates and glasses
The larger the plate, the more food you’re likely to pile on. And the more food on your plate the more you’re likely to eat. Same goes for glasses and wine.
I switched to using smaller plates and glasses and haven’t looked back. It really makes a difference.
2. Serve your whole meal out before you start eating.
This way you can see how much you’re planning on eating and won’t fall prey to the ‘buffet’ syndrome.
I have a personal rule of not having second helpings except extra salad or vegetables. Which I follow most of the time.
3. Don’t store food on the counter / table
Unless you want to eat it all. Having little bowls of snacks or treats is just too tempting for most of us to refuse. But if the same food is stored in the pantry, we’re far less likely to go and get some.
4. Keep High Carb food in hard to reach places
If, for some reason you must have high carb food in the house, storing in hard to reach places makes it less likely you’ll indulge.
5. Serve up leftovers / lunches first
If you’ve made extra dinner, it can easily be eaten before you intended. So serve up your lunch portion / intended leftovers and put them away before you start eating.
6. Buy smaller packages
You might want to consider breaking up with Costco when you realize that just preparing food from larger packs means you’re more likely to eat a larger serving.
7. Don’t clear the evidence
In an experiment researchers got college students to watch a football game and served beers and wings. For one group they removed the empty glasses and cleared the plates periodically. For the other group they let the bones end empty glasses pile up.
No prizes for guessing which group ate and drank significantly more!
8. Only serve healthy food ‘family style’
For weeknight meals I tend to plate up our meals in the kitchen and then serve extra salads or veg in the middle of the table. Of course sometimes it doesn’t make sense to plate up first, like when we have a lot of guests. In that case I make sure I follow tip number 2. and fill my plate before I start eating.
SUMMARY
Here’s what we’ve covered:
- We can use mindless eating to eat less without noticing.
- Some ways are to use smaller plates and serve food out (and put away leftovers) before starting to eat.
ACTIVITY
Which of the mindless eating tips resonates with you most? Choose one mindless eating opportunity and start / stop doing it.
See you next week when we’re exploring one of my favourite game-changing concepts, the power of fasting!
Cheers,
Jules x
ps. If you have any questions or comments from today’s lesson definitely leave a comment.
____________________________
IMPORTANT NOTE: The Low Carb Love 28-Day Program is where I share my personal journey of managing my blood sugar eating (mostly) Low Carb. I am not a doctor and this information is not intended as specific advice. Please discuss with your doctor or dietician before changing your food intake. Especially if you’re on medication or have any special medical concerns.
Leave a Reply