This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Reading and implementing what I learned from the book Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink was a real turning point in my weight loss journey.
It was the tipping point that led to achieving the peace with food I’d been seeking while maintaining the Weight Watchers goal weight I’d set back in my late 20s.
Table of Contents
- 6-Week Mindless Eating Challenge Background
- 6-Week Mindless Eating Challenge Schedule
- Week #2: My Notes and Thoughts on Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think Chapters 3 & 4
- Notes from Chapter 3 of the Book Mindless Eating: Why You Eat More Than You think
- Notes from Chapter 4 of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think
- Here’s a video with Dr. Wansink explaining the power of clearing your counters for weight loss success:
- More Articles, Tips & Hints for WeightWatchers
6-Week Mindless Eating Challenge Background
Now seven years later, as I settle in at the scene of this healthy exploration (Land O’ Lakes, WI), I thought it would be fun to create a 6-week Mindless Eating Challenge to help others experience what I discovered.
While Weight Watchers friendly recipes are important, they are only one part of the equation. Learning how to manage our environment and develop healthy habits are the critical elements of lasting weight loss success.
Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think (affiliate link) helped me see this.
But it’s not enough to just read a book. You have to practice what you discover. Which is what this challenge is all about.
“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”
~ Confucius
For this challenge, we will all read Mindless Eating and share our awarenesses and experiences. Every week for six weeks, from July 10 – August 14, we’ll read two chapters a week and share what we learn.
I’ll kick things off every Monday with a post, which will give provide participants a place to comment with their discoveries, if they’d like.
It seems like a perfect summer project: A virtual book club, but with homework 🙂
To be most effective, this challenge is best undertaken in a low key “let’s just see what we discover” manner. No pressure. No way to fail.
But it does provide a bit of accountability if you find it helpful in propelling you into action.
All you need to do to take part is buy the book Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think (affiliate link), by Brian Wansink (or borrow it from your library).
Here’s the basic schedule:
6-Week Mindless Eating Challenge Schedule
- Why Do This 6-Week Mindless Eating Challenge?
- Mindless Eating Challenge Kick-Off
- Week #1: July 10 – Chapters 1 & 2
- Week #2: July 17 – Chapters 3 & 4
- Week #3: July 24 – Chapter 5 & 6
- Week #4: July 31 – Chapters 7 & 8
- Week #5: August 7 – Chapters 9 & 10
- Week #6: August 14 – Appendix B & Wrap-Up
Week #2: My Notes and Thoughts on Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think Chapters 3 & 4
The Bottom Line: We all consume more from big packages, whatever the product. The more food variety the more we eat. We are all subject to the “See Food” Diet. The more food we see, the more we will eat. The more convenient/easy a food is to get, the more we will eat.
Weight Loss Strategies:
- Minimize your boxes and dishes.
- Re-package jumbo boxes into smaller containers.
- Shrink your plates, bowls and serving utensils.
- Use tall slender glasses if you want to drink less.
- Eat with chopsticks at Chinese restaurants
- Limit the variety of food you allow yourself during any meal.
- Make healthy foods easy to see and less healthy foods hard to see.
- Leave serving dishes in the kitchen, not on the table where they are easy to reach.
- De-convenience tempting foods. Put them in hard to reach cabinets. Hide tempting leftovers under aluminum foil in the back of the fridge.
- Snack only at the table and on a clean plate.
- Don’t keep impulse foods in the house.
Notes from Chapter 3 of the Book Mindless Eating: Why You Eat More Than You think
Our huge American kitchens filled with huge packages of food are a danger to our waistline because they cause us to make bigger meals and eat more food.
People eat 20-25% more from large packages. With snacks it’s even worse. People given 1-pound bags of M&Ms ate twice as many as those given 1/2-pound bags.
You may save money with larger sizes, but it will cost you in excess weight.
The smaller the package, the less you make and the less you eat.
The smaller the serving dish the less you take and the less you eat.
Shrink your plates and bowls. Use an 8-inch or 9-inch plate.
Image Source: Food Psychology, Cornell University
To drink less, use tall slender glasses. You will pour 30% more into a wide glass than a tall one.
At parties on in situations with lots of food choices, never let yourself have more than two items on a plate at a time. Go back if you are still hungry, but the lack of variety will slow you down. (I needed to apply this at a recent 4th of July party where I got carried away with the dessert buffet and loaded up a plate with several options that I, of course, devoured.)
Image Source: Food Psychology, Cornell University
Notes from Chapter 4 of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think
Just seeing food can lead us to want to devour it.
Candy dish experiment: secretaries with see-though candy dishes ate 77 more calories a day than those with an opaque one.
Simply thinking about food can make us hungry. Just like Pavlov’s dogs we salivate when we hear, see or smell something we associate with food.
The more you think about a food before eating it the more you are likely to eat.
The more hassle a food is to eat, the less we eat. (The Almond Experiment, Chopstick, Cafeteria Ice Cream Cooler Experiments all illustrate this.)
Here’s a video with Dr. Wansink explaining the power of clearing your counters for weight loss success:
Image Source: Food Psychology, Cornell University
Questions to Consider:
- What were your biggest takeaways from Chapters 3 & 4 of Mindless Eating?
- What strategies have you implemented? What have you discovered? (We now use salad plates instead of dinner plates and small 1-cup bowls instead of the jumbo ones that came with our set of dishes.)
- Did you test out the optical drinking illusions?
- Did the “See-Food” Diet inspire you to make any changes? If so, which ones? (I now keep the chips in a bag in the pantry so I don’t see them when I open the door. I’ve also cleared away all food except a fruit bowl from the kitchen counters.)
I’ll be back next week with my notes from Chapters 5 & 6.
Have a great week!
Warmly,
Martha
PS: If you want some support eating better and losing weight this summer, my 28-Day Smart Start Weight Loss Challenge may be just what you’re looking for! Many of the tips and suggestions are based on what I learned by applying Dr. Wansink’s Mindless Eating concepts.
This has been a wonderful challenge. Thank you for all of the support and encouragement. I have definitely made some positive changes that I plan to continue! – Bronwyn
More Articles, Tips & Hints for WeightWatchers
- A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding the WeightWatchers Program
- A Comprehensive List of Articles & Tips for WeightWatchers
- What Foods Should I Eat in a Day on WeightWatchers
- WeightWatchers Zero Points Foods List
- WeightWatchers Friendly Meal Plans
- Why We Are More Motivated the Closer We Get to Our Goals – Another powerful WW Weekly Workshop Topic.
I have read the first four chapters of Mindless Eating and find this book enjoyable, informative and entertaining. I do keep my counters pretty clear and use smaller plates. I even bought smaller bowls when I was buying paper plates. So easy to eat popcorn from a 20 oz bowl when a smaller 10 oz bowl is completely satisfying. I do have a bad habit of putting serving bowls on this table. … this is my next goal. Once helping serving bowls out of sight.
Hi Ann,
Sounds like you are already doing many things to help avoid overeating. That’s great! I began plating our food and serving it restaurant style years ago and it’s been a big help. Those serving bowls on the table can be so tempting, especially with the super tasty foods! ~Martha
These 4 chapters have really given me a lot to think about. Some things I have already done before reading ( Just shows how long I have been dieting!!). But I have also learned a lot. I have cleared my counters of the bread and desert bread that my husband keeps there realizing that I nibble on the desert breads just because I see them there when I am bored. I have put nuts into single serving baggies. I already use a small plate. I now think of all the times I have taken a bag of chips or cheese curls and been amazed when there was little left in the bag when the tv program was over. Definitely Mindless Eating out of a large container. This book makes me realize how many things I have done that definitely promote weight gain.
Hi Arleen,
Those are such great insights! It really is amazing how influenced we are by our environment without realizing it. These changes are so much easier than working against our bodies and their natural inclinations. ~Martha
I am truly enjoying this book! Today I bought a pretty small plate & matching place mat & it set up on my dining room table, instead of on the tv table next to my chair in front of the television. You know, my food actually tastes better & I can tell you what I had to eat 3 hours later. I’m making progress! Well, now on to chapters 5 &6
Dear Patsy, How wonderful! ~Martha
I implemented the “the more hassle the less i want to eat it.” I would always have cookies and cakes in the house. Now I buy the mixes. Most of the time I decide its too much trouble and not eat any sweets.
I so can relate to the package of certain food items. With reading Chapter 3 and 4, I realized that some of this was me. I have bought a bag of mixed chocolates and had them in a candy dish with a lid, but now have put them out of sight and out of mind and haven’t had one yet today. Those mini chocolates can cause a huge disappointment with at the scale. i also did the water glasses I have, and noticed the glass that i will use moving forward, and have even told my spouse that is mine. I have always used a smaller plate while eating, but the food is always left on the counter in front of me, so now today have moved it away from where I’m eating, and will drink more water before and after my meals. Thank you for this challenge. Sorry it took awhile to do this, but had lasik surgery.
Hi Amy,
I am happy to read you are learning and implementing so many strategies from Mindless Eating! Good for you for moving the candy dish out of sight!!
This book has been a real eye opener and very interesting how we react to different situations. I have been trying to retrain myself to try and become more familiar with my inner self’s fullness verses my visual fullness. I came from a home where you don’t leave food on your plate, because there are starving children “somewhere” who wishes they had the food you are wasting. I had ordered some new dishes before I had even saw this challenge and when the 6oz bowls came, my husband and I thought they looked comical, after reading this book, it really does have you to stop and think just HOW much we over eat. I know it’s going to take time to retrain myself to take 20% less and to try and leave food on my “smaller plate”, I have to admit it is a challenge and I haven’t done extremely well at this first week and a half, but I guess the important thing is, I am conscience of my new self awareness. Thank you Martha!
That’s awesome Samantha. Like any new skill, learning to eat less takes time and practice. But stick with it. The smaller dishes help a lot!!
Starting this summer, I only allow fruit on the counter.
That’s an awesome strategy Jeannie! When I do it I’m more successful 🙂
I am enjoying reading Mindless Eating, especially the science that has gone in to determining why we eat too much. In my house, the cookies and candy go on the very top shelves in the cupboard. My 6’5” husband has no trouble reaching them but I have to haul the step stool from the laundry room to get at them. I put WW point values on multi-serving food containers and am now measuring out individual servings in snack bags.. I have switched to the small plate and enlarged my water glass.Thanks for the challenge, Martha! I am looking forward to more strategies and will continue reading!
Hi Pat,
Happy to read that you are enjoying this challenge while gaining valuable insights! Love the steps you are taking to stay aware and better manage your portions. That’s awesome!
We need to be more aware of how much we are served and drink. Many times the plates are larger, and so are the glasses. At home down size your serving plates, and glasses. Make trigger foods inconvenient to get too. Eat only at the table, and have a cut off time for eating healthy snacks.
The book has made me feel less guilty and realize we often act instinctively when it comes to bad eating based on subtle cues all around us. Armed with this knowledge we can make better choices. I panic at the thought of eating 20% less at a meal so Martha your advice “to just experiment, no stress with this” is making me feel better about giving it a try.
Hi Mary, I felt the same sense of relief the first time I read this book! I’d been beating myself up forever for overeating, eating when not hungry, eating food that didn’t even taste that good! Mindless Eating helped me see that these behaviors are deeply ingrained in us. I’ve also found it helpful to tell myself I’m just experimenting and if I want more I can have it! Thanks for sharing!