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Posted on May 11th 2011 10:00AM by That's Fit EditorsFiled Under: Diet & Weight Loss
By Penny Love Hoff
QUIZ: Read the following statements and label as True or False:
1. If you were given a large bucket of stale popcorn at the movie theater twenty minutes after you'd just eaten dinner, you'd still eat 34 percent more popcorn than if you were given a small popcorn.
2. Descriptive food names increase sales by almost 30 percent.
3. The first thing people taste has a "halo effect" meaning if you or your fellow diner tastes something delicious first, everything after that, including the restaurant and the chef are rated as better, even if they are worse.
4. A really tasty brownie tastes better on china than on a paper napkin.
5. If you eat with a fast eater, you will eat faster and vice versa.
6. You can't always tell when you are full due to external cues, like how much food is left on your plate.
7. Some foods have a health halo that making consumers eat more because they think it's healthier for them.
8. Not only do you estimate "organic" and "low fat" foods as 20 percent lower in calories but you also reward yourself by eating even more.
9. Even if a low-fat food tastes worse than a regular fat food you will still eat 21 to 46 percent MORE.
10. If you are an exerciser and you watch an exercise ad prior to eating you will eat less but if you are not an exerciser you will eat the same.
11. If you are told you are taking an exercise walk you will end of eating more but if you think you are taking a scenic walk you eat the same.
12. If you use a big bowl you will eat twice as much than if you use a small bowl.
13. The shape of a glass can make you drink more.
14. You consume less if you eat 100 calorie packs, especially if you are already overweight.
15. You can prevent mindless eating with willpower and self-control.
Answers:
Startling new research has proven that weight-control through willpower and self-control alone is a fallacy.
1. TRUE. Very simple things have a huge influence not just on how much but also on how frequently we eat. What to do? Always order the smallest size and use small containers, even if you want more, tell yourself you can come back for seconds. 8 out of 10 times, you won't.
2. TRUE. If you think the milk is spoiled, you drink it looking for confirmation of that. Conversely, if you believe something is going to taste good, it will. Not only that, everything you eat afterwards, you will rate as better-tasting. The power of expectation is immense.
3. TRUE. If you are making dinner for guests, make sure that the first thing they eat or drink tastes delicious. That way everything else you serve will have the "health halo" and taste better -- even if it's not!
4. TRUE. People are willing to pay triple for food served beautifully. Serve yourself and others with the nicest presentation possible.
5. TRUE. Fast eaters make others hurry. Slow eaters slow down fellow diners, but not to as great of a degree as the fast eaters rushed their companions. It's called the mimicry effect. Tip: Sit next to the slowest eater at the table. And try to eat slower than them.
6. TRUE. Studies have been done using refillable soup bowls where people unknowingly continued eating 73 percent more soup. They relied on external cues, like how full their soup bowl was, not their stomach. Beware: You count with your eyes, not your belly.
7. TRUE. People almost always underestimate the calories in places like Subway because they think it is healthier. This leads them to overindulge because they feel virtuous.
8. TRUE. If a food is labeled organic or low-fat you will eat 20 percent more. Beware of the devil wearing the health halo!
9. TRUE. This is referred to as the low-fat loophole. If you eat something you think is virtuous, you rationalize that you deserve a bit more.
10.TRUE. Watching exercise ads can bring to mind how much you have to do to work off calories. This is especially true for regular exercisers and not so much if you don't exercise.
11.TRUE. If you think you just exercised, you estimate that you burned more calories and you end up eating more.
12. TRUE. A study from Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) proved that even if you think you did not take more from a bigger bowl, you actually will on average, eat 53 percent more. Plus you will have an excuse, like I didn't eat breakfast today.
13. TRUE. Visual overconfidence cannot be underestimated when it comes to eating. You will pour and also drink 20 percent more from a short, wide glass than you will from a tall, thin glass.
14.TRUE. Studies also show that 100 calorie packs, although they are more expensive, can help overweight people think about portions. In contrast, with thin people, 100 calorie packs either had no effect or made them overindulge.
15. FALSE. The secret to ending mindless eating is not to try to eat mindfully but to set up our home so that we mindlessly eat less. How? It's simple:
-Use smaller bowls and plates. Use taller, thinner glasses.
-Keep food off the table and out of sight.
-Use opaque containers for food storage.
-Make sure that the first thing you see in the fridge or cupboard is the healthiest. You are three
times more likely to eat the first thing you see than the fifth thing you see.
-Package food in smaller containers. Even if you buy in bulk, watch out for eating in bulk!
Repackage food into serving-sized portions.
-Use smaller serving utensils.
-Put fruit in colorful bowl so it's the first thing you see in the kitchen.
-Sit next to the slowest eater at the table.
If your life is chaotic like mine, don't rely on self-control. For every external cue that tells you to eat, you can solve the problem by doing the opposite. Your self-control deserves a break today, so get up and put that food away.
Make sure to follow Penny on Twitter @pennylovehoff or visit her website for more health tips.
Getty
1. If you were given a large bucket of stale popcorn at the movie theater twenty minutes after you'd just eaten dinner, you'd still eat 34 percent more popcorn than if you were given a small popcorn.
2. Descriptive food names increase sales by almost 30 percent.
3. The first thing people taste has a "halo effect" meaning if you or your fellow diner tastes something delicious first, everything after that, including the restaurant and the chef are rated as better, even if they are worse.
4. A really tasty brownie tastes better on china than on a paper napkin.
5. If you eat with a fast eater, you will eat faster and vice versa.
6. You can't always tell when you are full due to external cues, like how much food is left on your plate.
7. Some foods have a health halo that making consumers eat more because they think it's healthier for them.
8. Not only do you estimate "organic" and "low fat" foods as 20 percent lower in calories but you also reward yourself by eating even more.
9. Even if a low-fat food tastes worse than a regular fat food you will still eat 21 to 46 percent MORE.
10. If you are an exerciser and you watch an exercise ad prior to eating you will eat less but if you are not an exerciser you will eat the same.
11. If you are told you are taking an exercise walk you will end of eating more but if you think you are taking a scenic walk you eat the same.
12. If you use a big bowl you will eat twice as much than if you use a small bowl.
13. The shape of a glass can make you drink more.
14. You consume less if you eat 100 calorie packs, especially if you are already overweight.
15. You can prevent mindless eating with willpower and self-control.
Answers:
Startling new research has proven that weight-control through willpower and self-control alone is a fallacy.
1. TRUE. Very simple things have a huge influence not just on how much but also on how frequently we eat. What to do? Always order the smallest size and use small containers, even if you want more, tell yourself you can come back for seconds. 8 out of 10 times, you won't.
2. TRUE. If you think the milk is spoiled, you drink it looking for confirmation of that. Conversely, if you believe something is going to taste good, it will. Not only that, everything you eat afterwards, you will rate as better-tasting. The power of expectation is immense.
3. TRUE. If you are making dinner for guests, make sure that the first thing they eat or drink tastes delicious. That way everything else you serve will have the "health halo" and taste better -- even if it's not!
4. TRUE. People are willing to pay triple for food served beautifully. Serve yourself and others with the nicest presentation possible.
5. TRUE. Fast eaters make others hurry. Slow eaters slow down fellow diners, but not to as great of a degree as the fast eaters rushed their companions. It's called the mimicry effect. Tip: Sit next to the slowest eater at the table. And try to eat slower than them.
6. TRUE. Studies have been done using refillable soup bowls where people unknowingly continued eating 73 percent more soup. They relied on external cues, like how full their soup bowl was, not their stomach. Beware: You count with your eyes, not your belly.
7. TRUE. People almost always underestimate the calories in places like Subway because they think it is healthier. This leads them to overindulge because they feel virtuous.
8. TRUE. If a food is labeled organic or low-fat you will eat 20 percent more. Beware of the devil wearing the health halo!
9. TRUE. This is referred to as the low-fat loophole. If you eat something you think is virtuous, you rationalize that you deserve a bit more.
10.TRUE. Watching exercise ads can bring to mind how much you have to do to work off calories. This is especially true for regular exercisers and not so much if you don't exercise.
11.TRUE. If you think you just exercised, you estimate that you burned more calories and you end up eating more.
12. TRUE. A study from Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) proved that even if you think you did not take more from a bigger bowl, you actually will on average, eat 53 percent more. Plus you will have an excuse, like I didn't eat breakfast today.
13. TRUE. Visual overconfidence cannot be underestimated when it comes to eating. You will pour and also drink 20 percent more from a short, wide glass than you will from a tall, thin glass.
14.TRUE. Studies also show that 100 calorie packs, although they are more expensive, can help overweight people think about portions. In contrast, with thin people, 100 calorie packs either had no effect or made them overindulge.
15. FALSE. The secret to ending mindless eating is not to try to eat mindfully but to set up our home so that we mindlessly eat less. How? It's simple:
-Use smaller bowls and plates. Use taller, thinner glasses.
-Keep food off the table and out of sight.
-Use opaque containers for food storage.
-Make sure that the first thing you see in the fridge or cupboard is the healthiest. You are three
times more likely to eat the first thing you see than the fifth thing you see.
-Package food in smaller containers. Even if you buy in bulk, watch out for eating in bulk!
Repackage food into serving-sized portions.
-Use smaller serving utensils.
-Put fruit in colorful bowl so it's the first thing you see in the kitchen.
-Sit next to the slowest eater at the table.
If your life is chaotic like mine, don't rely on self-control. For every external cue that tells you to eat, you can solve the problem by doing the opposite. Your self-control deserves a break today, so get up and put that food away.
Make sure to follow Penny on Twitter @pennylovehoff or visit her website for more health tips.
