In this illuminating and groundbreaking new book, food psychologist Brian Wansink shows why you may not realize how much you’re eating, what ...
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Mar 15, 2010
Richard
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See an important related article in the New York Times: "In Obesity Epidemic, What’s One Cookie?" (10 March 2010) by Tara Parker-Pope.
Wansink's book combines diet instructions with lessons on the cognitive flaws in the human psyche that make dieting necessary for so many of us.
He runs a "food psychology lab" at Cornell University, where he and his colleagues study how we make out eating decisions and how they can be manipulated. That gives this book a More...
Wansink's book combines diet instructions with lessons on the cognitive flaws in the human psyche that make dieting necessary for so many of us.
He runs a "food psychology lab" at Cornell University, where he and his colleagues study how we make out eating decisions and how they can be manipulated. That gives this book a More...
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Feb 28, 2009
Trevor
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My friend Richard recommended this to me with this review.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/363...
It seems there are an endless supply of books coming out at the moment about how our judgement can be lead astray and what we can do about it. This one is particularly good. Simple advice on how to lose weight by explaining why we might put it on in the first place.
When I was a child my mother told me not to cheat at patience (Solitaire) because you are only c More...
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/363...
It seems there are an endless supply of books coming out at the moment about how our judgement can be lead astray and what we can do about it. This one is particularly good. Simple advice on how to lose weight by explaining why we might put it on in the first place.
When I was a child my mother told me not to cheat at patience (Solitaire) because you are only c More...
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Apr 22, 2009
Nic
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I breezed through this book in just a few hours. Much of its advice is common sense, but the fact it is backed up by actual research studies gives it more weight. The studies conducted are fascinating - especially those conducted on behalf of the Army on how to get stressed out troops in combat environments to eat MORE - and Wansink's voice is fun. Nothing is belabored and he advocates making a few changes to ones habits and looking for longterm results since the body responds to "diets"
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Apr 18, 2011
Tom
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Very straightforward, entertaining, and informative. I've read a lot of statistics that came from studies, and it's nice to see the studies fleshed out a bit more here.
This book made me hungry! Actually, this book made me hungry while I was reading it, but as soon as I put it down to get a snack, the hunger vanished.
I think that the main messages of controlling portion sizes (e.g. don't eat until you're full, instead eat until you're no longer hungry) and of creating a More...
This book made me hungry! Actually, this book made me hungry while I was reading it, but as soon as I put it down to get a snack, the hunger vanished.
I think that the main messages of controlling portion sizes (e.g. don't eat until you're full, instead eat until you're no longer hungry) and of creating a More...
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Sep 29, 2007
S
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I bought this book at a conference after reading just the title. Fully aware that I myself am a mindless eater (most of us are, so don't think you're immune!), I was curious to see what the book had to say about our eating habits.
This book was very interesting and laugh-out-loud funny in parts, too. (Believe me, I got a few odd looks as I was reading this during the conference's keynote address.) The experiements that the author has conducted in his lab and elsewhere to reveal the More...
This book was very interesting and laugh-out-loud funny in parts, too. (Believe me, I got a few odd looks as I was reading this during the conference's keynote address.) The experiements that the author has conducted in his lab and elsewhere to reveal the More...
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Apr 29, 2008
Elizabeth
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How do we determine how much we eat? Surely it depends on how hungry we are and how tasty the food is, but Brian Wansink argues that it depends just as much on external cues, like how much is on our plate, the shape of our drinking glasses, how fast other people at the table are eating, and so forth.
The best parts of this book are when he describes his experiments: the famous bottomless soup bowl, for example, or the chicken wing Super Bowl party experiment. (In the former he find More...
The best parts of this book are when he describes his experiments: the famous bottomless soup bowl, for example, or the chicken wing Super Bowl party experiment. (In the former he find More...
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Dec 27, 2007
Mike
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What an interesting book! In short, it examined our (humans') tendencies with respect to eating: what makes us eat, what makes us enjoy food, what causes our eating habits. Through psychological studies, the author demonstrates that almost all of our decisions about food and eating are psychological and even if we believe we control them, we don't. He presents many cases and analyzes many different scenarios, all of which are very interesting.
Aside from this, the overall premise of the boo More...
Aside from this, the overall premise of the boo More...
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Feb 09, 2009
Kirsti
rated it:
"The best diet is the one you don't know you're on."
Wansink is a Ph.D. who has run food labs at different universities and independently. His book is a friendly, rather chatty account of his findings, which include:
* Your stomach can't count. It doesn't know how many spoonfuls of soup (or whatever) you had, so it will encourage you to keep eating until the plate is clean, the bag or box is empty, or the TV show is over. That's evolution, baby.
* It ta More...
Wansink is a Ph.D. who has run food labs at different universities and independently. His book is a friendly, rather chatty account of his findings, which include:
* Your stomach can't count. It doesn't know how many spoonfuls of soup (or whatever) you had, so it will encourage you to keep eating until the plate is clean, the bag or box is empty, or the TV show is over. That's evolution, baby.
* It ta More...
Sep 24, 2011
Pikachu
rated it:
Many people gain twenty or thirty pounds in a year and are at a loss as to where that mysterious weight gain came from. In his book, Mindless Eating, Brian Wansink describes experiments he runs at his food lab in Cornell, and how various cognitive and physiological process contribute to the overeating epidemic. The biggest surprise? A lot of it is unconscious, leading to food amnesia -- and those phantom pounds.
I've been trying to lose weight myself. It's a plight many people are pro More...
I've been trying to lose weight myself. It's a plight many people are pro More...
Aug 02, 2011
Frank
rated it:
A great read! There's a mindless margin of ~200 calories a day that you don't notice if you eat 200 calories extra or less. You can use this to your benefit. With some simple changes, you can lose around 30lbs over the course of a year without suffering or feeling like you're on a diet.
Many of the thoughts in the book are quite obvious, but then the author shows you that even though it's obvious, we're all victim to it. For example - plate size. If you use a smaller plate and fill it up, y More...
Many of the thoughts in the book are quite obvious, but then the author shows you that even though it's obvious, we're all victim to it. For example - plate size. If you use a smaller plate and fill it up, y More...
Oct 08, 2010
Lesli
rated it:
This is not boring, dry, or painful. Dr. Wansink is funny, insightful, and just a little bit scary. Scary because I now look around at everyone wondering if they are carrying a clipboard and writing notes on everything I buy at the supermarket. Then I remember that the studies Dr. Wansink does are based on eating...not buying. Then I start to become suspicious of the drive-thru clerk or the cheerful cashier at the cafeteria.
Apart from my sudden suspicions about why people are staring a More...
Apart from my sudden suspicions about why people are staring a More...
Jan 10, 2010
Kelly
rated it:
I enjoyed this one. The topic interests me and the author presented the experiments he completed in an easy to understand manner. A couple experients are as follows: giving theatre attendees free popcorn that is 5 days old,then asking the attendees how much they 'think' they consumed and comparing that to how much they actually consumed to see if they realized how much they are eating.
Another experiment entailed determining if a person will eat less if the bones from their chicken More...
May 17, 2009
Anita
rated it:
An interesting trip through a scientist's study on "mindless eating", eating food without really thinking about what we're putting in our body. We've all done it - sat down infront of the TV with a bag of chips to find an hour later that the bag had mysteriously emptied into our bellies, leaving only a greasy bag and queasy stomach behind.
A couple interesting comments that stuck in my head:
- I am the "Nutritional Gatekeeper" to my family's health and happin More...
A couple interesting comments that stuck in my head:
- I am the "Nutritional Gatekeeper" to my family's health and happin More...
Jan 05, 2009
Bettie
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Editorial Reviews:
"[Mindless Eating] does more than just chastise those of us guilty of stuffing our faces. It also examines the effectiveness of such popular diets as South Beach or Atkins, and offers useful tips to consciously eat nutritiously."—Boston Herald
"Entertaining... Isn't so much a diet book as a how-to on better facilitating the interaction between the feed-me messages of our stomachs and the controls in our heads."—Publishers Weekly
More...
"[Mindless Eating] does more than just chastise those of us guilty of stuffing our faces. It also examines the effectiveness of such popular diets as South Beach or Atkins, and offers useful tips to consciously eat nutritiously."—Boston Herald
"Entertaining... Isn't so much a diet book as a how-to on better facilitating the interaction between the feed-me messages of our stomachs and the controls in our heads."—Publishers Weekly
More...
Aug 08, 2010
Sean
rated it:
The title of this book immediately caught my attention as I was walking through the library and shifted my thoughts to my seeming inability to not eat just one more pringle, starburst, pretzel, chocolate covered raisin, bread, cheese, and so on and so on...
The book follows a typical non-fiction format: intro, stuff, conclusion. The author's treatment of the material is alternatively wonkish and cheesy and he seems torn about whether or not he's writing a self-helpish diety book or a More...
The book follows a typical non-fiction format: intro, stuff, conclusion. The author's treatment of the material is alternatively wonkish and cheesy and he seems torn about whether or not he's writing a self-helpish diety book or a More...
Apr 25, 2010
Heidi
rated it:
Brian Wansink has a fascinating job: he runs a food lab (which looks like a restaurant) and studies how people eat. In Mindless Eating, he shares the surprising results of many of his studies.
*A group of people was given what they were told was strawberry yogurt, but they had to eat it in the dark. And then they were actually given _chocolate_ yogurt. Unable to see what they were eating, most of the people in the study found the "strawberry" yogurt to be delicious, but n More...
*A group of people was given what they were told was strawberry yogurt, but they had to eat it in the dark. And then they were actually given _chocolate_ yogurt. Unable to see what they were eating, most of the people in the study found the "strawberry" yogurt to be delicious, but n More...
Aug 06, 2009
Cindy
rated it: 
Not a brilliant writer, but it's bearable and it has a lot of good ideas about how to painlessly cut back on food. Such as:
1. Put only half the food you think you want onto your plate. We generally eat all of whatever is there, but if you put less on it to start with, the chances are pretty good you'll realize you're full and don't need more.
2. Put the food back in the cupboard, refrigerator, etc., rather than leaving it out on the counter. If you don't see it, you're More...
1. Put only half the food you think you want onto your plate. We generally eat all of whatever is there, but if you put less on it to start with, the chances are pretty good you'll realize you're full and don't need more.
2. Put the food back in the cupboard, refrigerator, etc., rather than leaving it out on the counter. If you don't see it, you're More...
Aug 14, 2011
Dana
rated it:
First of all, the title of this book bothers me. Not the "Mindless Eating" part, but the "Why We Eat More Than We Think" part. It should be stated "Why we eat more than we think we do" or Why we eat more than we think we eat" to be accurate, because as it is stated it could sound like we are thinking less than we are eating and I am pretty sure than unless we are goldfish or paramecium or something, we usually think a lot more than we eat.
My husband s More...
My husband s More...
Jan 05, 2011
Madeline
rated it:
Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink, PhD is an insightful read through a series of tests where a few variables were altered in any given environment where people tend to consume food. And I love the subtle statement of the book cover design.
Key takeaways: portion sizes, marketing, paying attention, eating experiments
In the book he compares a European, namely French, eating style to an American style. The main difference is, though the French eat food that's just as fatty as that More...
Key takeaways: portion sizes, marketing, paying attention, eating experiments
In the book he compares a European, namely French, eating style to an American style. The main difference is, though the French eat food that's just as fatty as that More...
Mar 07, 2011
Ryan
rated it:
Gladwell presents a few studies that deal with how we buy or taste things - the soda taste test, how packaging influences purchases, etc - so this seemed like an interesting follow-up. And it is. Wansink's material is equally interesting to read. A number of 'duh' moments, quite a few 'really?' moments, and some interesting clarification on the idea of serving size. My daughter often says she has NO clue who makes up the servings listed on packages - obviously, these are not real people, she'll
More...
Jun 04, 2009
Nimit
rated it:
An intriguing read overall. Most of the knowledge presented in this book wouldn't be brand new for most of us, though it was insightful to hear it presented in a concrete scientific way. I got some great tips about how to structure my food-surroundings to eat less unhealthy food and the art of food presentation and how it greatly impacts how much we enjoy what we eat.
I gave this book 3 stars, however, because I don't really agree with the basic argument Dr Wansink makes about weight More...
I gave this book 3 stars, however, because I don't really agree with the basic argument Dr Wansink makes about weight More...
Feb 11, 2012
Amanda
rated it:
I have been fascinated by mindful eating and food psychology for a long time. Back when I first began my weight loss journey at Thanksgiving of 2009, I started with only two ideas in mind: eat only when I was hungry, and exercise more. Eventually that bloomed into a few more guidelines, but the general principles of my weight loss journey remained constant: eat healthier-but-reasonable food only when my body needed fuel, and spend some time up off my butt every day. I never saw any reason to eli
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Oct 13, 2011
Tammy
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This was an interesting book for me. The author is the director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab and has studied the eating habits of many different people in many different situations. His research shows that the average person makes over 200 decisions EVERY DAY about food, even though they think they only make about 15.
The book describes a lot of studies and what they've found. For example, they did a study received a free bucket of large or medium-sized popcorn. Th More...
The book describes a lot of studies and what they've found. For example, they did a study received a free bucket of large or medium-sized popcorn. Th More...
Jan 10, 2011
Joy
rated it:
So, I saw this special on 20/20 one night about Professor Wansink and the experiments he does in his food lab at his college. I decided I needed to read the book.
Wansink has done various experiments studying why we eat what we eat and what factors cause us to eat more or eat less. His findings are very interesting.
Here are some of the things that are covered in this book:
What would happen if your soup bowl automatically refilled?
Does it matter that the More...
Wansink has done various experiments studying why we eat what we eat and what factors cause us to eat more or eat less. His findings are very interesting.
Here are some of the things that are covered in this book:
What would happen if your soup bowl automatically refilled?
Does it matter that the More...
Apr 16, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
I know it sounds trite, but truly this book changed my life. Or rather it helped me immensely at a point when I was already changing my life. I had weight loss surgery two years ago and read this book during my recovery from surgery. In the first year after my surgery, not only did the surgery itself help me loose weight, but becoming aware of all the things which caused me to eat when I wasn't necessarily hungry also helped me loose weight.
Learning to NOT eat mindlessly is help More...
Learning to NOT eat mindlessly is help More...
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Sep 25, 2011
Estelle
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Very readable descriptions of the studies focusing on eating behaviors. Loved the little "in-a-nutshell" summaries/practical things you can do to minimally (but significantly) change your eating behaviors.
I really loved that the author highlighted the fact that we often don't have an accurate picture of our actual eating habits in our heads and that many of our eating patterns are more habit than intentional choice, but that we can also use habit to our advantage when sett More...
I really loved that the author highlighted the fact that we often don't have an accurate picture of our actual eating habits in our heads and that many of our eating patterns are more habit than intentional choice, but that we can also use habit to our advantage when sett More...
Jan 12, 2012
Andy
rated it:
From my perspective, most people are looking for shortcuts and promises of a magic pill that will finally help them get into shape.
So a book like this, with it's very common-sensical and some would say "not new" conclusions about many of the ways we over-eat tends to get overlooked by the masses. Of course, because the fundamentals of being in shape are boring and don't have a new car smell doesn't mean that they aren't valuable.
The most valuable insights in this b More...
So a book like this, with it's very common-sensical and some would say "not new" conclusions about many of the ways we over-eat tends to get overlooked by the masses. Of course, because the fundamentals of being in shape are boring and don't have a new car smell doesn't mean that they aren't valuable.
The most valuable insights in this b More...
Apr 25, 2011
Kendall
rated it:
This book pretty much single-handedly encouraged me to start eating better.. more mindfully. It is full of experiments that have been done involving food. It was surprisingly interesting and easy to follow.
For example: There is an experiment where a hole is drilled into the bottom of soup bowls attached to the table into which more soup is pumped when the bowl starts to empty. People would eat the equivalent of 3-4 bowls and testify to the SAME amount of fullness of patrons with no hole More...
For example: There is an experiment where a hole is drilled into the bottom of soup bowls attached to the table into which more soup is pumped when the bowl starts to empty. People would eat the equivalent of 3-4 bowls and testify to the SAME amount of fullness of patrons with no hole More...
Jan 13, 2010
Abby
rated it:
I liked this book. It was very interesting, as well as informative. Unfortunately, I suddenly can't remember any of the little epiphanies I had as I read it. I swear I had a couple good ones to share.
Whatever. The author's basic idea is that there are little changes you can make to add or subtract a couple hundred calories from your diet each day. Short term - you don't notice anything. Long term - you are 20 lbs lighter in two years. He runs a food and brand lab at... Cornell (or m More...
Whatever. The author's basic idea is that there are little changes you can make to add or subtract a couple hundred calories from your diet each day. Short term - you don't notice anything. Long term - you are 20 lbs lighter in two years. He runs a food and brand lab at... Cornell (or m More...
Aug 20, 2011
Jenlyjen
rated it:
A fantastic read. The author works at a food lab in Cornell, and not only is he knowledgeable, he’s very amusing. The story about their experiment involving “bottomless bowls of soup” alone is worth the read.
This is not a diet book or really even a weight loss tips book (in fact, I wish it didn’t provide many weight loss tips, as they were the weakest part of the book – a lot of the suggestions were like, “duh”. Keep bowls of fruit around? Don’t have candy on your desk at work? Gee, I More...
This is not a diet book or really even a weight loss tips book (in fact, I wish it didn’t provide many weight loss tips, as they were the weakest part of the book – a lot of the suggestions were like, “duh”. Keep bowls of fruit around? Don’t have candy on your desk at work? Gee, I More...
