According to Brian Wansink, Ph.D. author of Mindless Eating-Why we eat more than we think,” we are a nation of mindless eaters. “We overeat because of the numerous cues around us. We overeat because of family, friends, packages, (size of) plates, shapes, smells, distractions, etc…” This Sunday’s Super Bowl could be that kind of event but it doesn't have to be.
Think of mindful eating, and about what you eat with more choice involved around it. Along those lines dieters frequently say to me, “I just don’t want to think about food all the time.” This is a legitimate argument but the idea isn’t that you have to be obsessed with planning your food, it just means you have to make healthy eating a priority as part of your lifestyle. Once that happens, you accept it and implement it in your life as such, and the rest is easy (well, sorta). Wansink states we make up to “200 food related decisions a day.” Learn to make them more mindful decisions, as part of your lifestyle and your normal way of living and you can still maintain your weight and remain healthy regardless of all the social events.
Those social events around food will never fade. They are a part of how we live and we need to learn to live healthy within the context of them. When we make both a conscious choice and are mindful about what we eat we can be successful with weight management. Check out some of Wansink's suggestions here, Dana's tips and a plan for Sunday.