I had a random craving for tea today, so I ended up buying two boxes of tea while grocery shopping. I find the craving “random” since it had not occurred before…
Anyway, lately I have been reading the book Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink, Ph.D. I had been meaning to read this book for the past two years since I kept reading reviews/excerpts about it through all my health magazines. After finally getting the chance to crack the book open, I find it to be an interesting and somewhat startling read. A lot of the information I had already known before from the two years of healthy habits I have been practicing (watch portion sizes, put away tempting snacks from visible view, etc.). Yet, there have also been other facts/tidbits that I did not know about until I read it in the book.
For example, today I finished reading a portion about how iced water actually helps the human body burn calories due to the body working harder to regulate the iced water when it enters into the body. Hm! I decided today that I would start drinking more iced water in my apartment. More calorie burn, the better.
And I finally have figured out the term to use when it comes to “organic foods” or any “organic/healthy” restaurants out there: the “healthy halo” effect. So very true: seems most people automatically assume that just because a place serves supposedly healthy foods that they can pile up on the food inside and still stay “healthy”. It may be true to an extent, but not when these people end up piling on other not-so-healthy items on their foods (i.e., cream dressings, etc.).
After I finish the book, I hope to use the re-engineering strategies inside to change a few bad habits in my lifestyle.