Slim By Design

Have you ever looked in the mirror, frustrated by your expanding waistline, and asked yourself, �how did this happen?�   Cornell University professor, Brian Wansink, Ph.D. may have not only uncovered the reason for your mysterious weight gain, but more importantly, the way to manipulate your environment to slim down.  As a behavioral economist researcher, he has authored over 200 academic articles and books on the fascinating science of eating behaviors.

In his new book, Slim By Design, Wansink shares how to make small and effective, research-based changes in the five �zones� in your life where you do the majority of your eating: your home, workplace, grocery store, favorite restaurant, and school.  These five zones are likely engineered to make you �fat by design� by encouraging you to mindlessly nosh throughout your day.  Daily, mindless eating causes many of us to unknowingly and chronically take in extra calories, so that over time, we frustratingly don�t like what we see in the mirror.

Take this quiz to learn more just a few of the many environmental changes that you can make that could make a difference in your weight:

Here are Wansink�s answers based on research:

1. Home: (A)  People with fruit bowls weight eight pounds less than their neighbors without.  Bonus tip:  Reducing kitchen clutter does cut snacking by one-third as well.

2. Restaurants:  (B) People who take to-go boxes eat one-third fewer calories than those who don�t.  Bonus tip:  Sit by the window and you�re twice as likely to order salad

3. Grocery Stores:  (B). People who divide their shopping carts in half � fruit and vegetables in the front and all the other food in the back -- buy twice as many fruits and vegetables as people who don�t.  Bonus tip: Chewing gum while you shop also cuts cravings and snack-food purchases by over 20 percent.

4. Workplaces: (A) Leaving your desk causes you to eat better, snack less, and rate work as more balanced than if you were to eat at your desk.  Bonus tip:   Choosing fruit first also triggers healthier entr�e selections.

5. Schools:  (A) Vegetables with creative names (such as Power Peas) sell 28 percent more.  Bonus tip:  Cookie sales are cut by half if kids are forced to use cash.

�Becoming Slim By Design works better than trying to become slim by willpower,� claims Wansink.   �That is, it�s easier to change your eating environment than to change your mind.�  The book advises you how to change the environment in these five zones to make it easier for you to mindlessly eat less.  Click here for more on the Slim By Design movement. 

I don�t know about you, but a big bowl of apples is my new kitchen table centerpiece, and I am getting a window table at the restaurant the next time I dine out.  I feel slimmer just thinking about it.

Be well, Joan

Twitter:  @JoanSalgeBlake