Most of us have a caloric “set point” of sorts, a level of calories we can consume each day without gaining weight. We tend to gain weight by eating just slightly beyond the caloric set point week after week. For most of us, the solution is to eat enough so that we’re no longer hungry, but not so much that we’re full. Wansink asserts that we can eat about 20 percent more or 20 percent less without really being aware of it. And that 20 percent swing is the difference between losing weight and gaining it.
