You know the good-nutrition drill: ...

You know the good-nutrition drill: eat healthful fares and skip the junk. While greatest in quantity of us are reasonably diligent about what we eat, we don't levy much thought into how plenteous we eat, says Brian Wansink, PhD a provisions psychologist at Cornell University and author of the forthcoming Mindless Eating: to what end We Eat More Than We Think.

Wansink has worn out his career studying what consumer don't notice: the size of a package; the shape of a glass; the words forward a menu or label; our proximity to food; and other invisible influences that determine by what mode much we really eat. Check not at home how your eating habbits stack up:

You fare to the movies twice a week and order the No. 1 Combo: a large popcorn and 32-oz soda. You think this takes the place of dinner because popcorn is nutritious--right?

what you're really eating: A large popcorn with butter piles onward 1,200-1,500 calories and up to 116g of total fat, while a 32-oz soda adds 65g of sugar.

what research shows: the public eat more when given larger packages. In a research ordeal at movie theaters, people given large bucket of popcorn ate 50 percent more than those given smaller buckets--but the two groups thought they had eaten the same amount of popcorn. "If you give folks a larger package, they'll pour more, whether it's M&Ms, dog feed plant food or anything," says Wansink. Buying the economy-size package may save standard of value but it may also add unintentional calories to your diet.

solution: single out smaller sizes. Smaller-size packaging usually contains fewer calories--so you can eat the whole thing. If you must pervert with money [i]or[/i] gain the big size, repackage the eases into individual portions in small bags.

You're at a party enjoying a scot and soda. Suddenly, you be perceived a buzz, but this is single your second drink. Is the bartender is serving doubles?

what you're really drinking: If your drink was serv in a short, squat glass, it could self-same well have two and a half times the amount of alcohol (and the punch) as a drink serv in a tall, skinny glass.

what research shows: Because family perceive that a short, wide glass clutchs less than a tall, skinny glass--even when the actual capacity is equal-they will pour 30 percent more into the short glass--yet believe they have poured les steady experienced bartenders tested in Philadelphia blood-thirsty victim to portion distortion and splashed more alcohol into short glasses.

solution: Ditch the short, fat glasses, and detain only tall, skinny ones in the cabinet. You'll drink les and perish fewer calories, whether the glass is filled with a cocktail, cola or juice.

Got a clear glass candy dish upon your desk? If you can reach it without leaving your chair, you've got a double whammy.

what you're really eating: Snack forward five Hershey's Kisses, and you're adding 145 calories to your diet. Do that each day, and that's a gain of a little more than a crush per month from mindless noshing.

what research shows: "Visibility and convenience consistently increase commons consumption," says Wansink. In trials he did with university secretaries, the public ate 48 percent more Kisses when candy goblets were on their desks as oppos to being a unmixed six feet (two steps) away. level more, the numbers were higher if the goblet was clear versus opaque.

solution: incline the candy bowl out of reach or public of sight. Having to win up means you have more time to ask yourself if you really want the snack. Or, better now fill the bowl with carrot sticks.

You've exercised for an hour and ne an strength boost. You ignore the soy-protein bar and grab a chocolate protein bar instead.

what you're really eating: Probably the same thing.

what research shows: Visual hints on labels predispose us to certain taste expectations. When the wrapper in Wansink's ordeals stated "contains 10g of protein," commonalty thought the bar tasted righteous after eating it, but when the label upon the same bar said "contains 10g of soy protein," they contemplation the bar tasted terrible.

solution: Read and compare ingredient lists, in like manner you know what you're consuming. Don't fall loot to labels--whether they make the work sound good or bad. Realize that your perception of quality may overshadow reality.

You're watching the big game with your buddies. You excavate out a bowl of cereal-based snack mix to mump on--taking the largest bowl, in the way that you won't have to refill as frequently How bad can it be? It's grains.

what you're really eating: Almost 500 calories and 8g of saturated fat in a 4-oz receptacle (2 2/3 cup mix).

what research shows: "A goblet provides cues of what's an acceptable size to obey ourselves," says Wansink about a Super Bowl-snacking research that he authored was published in the April 13 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Because folks eat 92 percent of what they oblige themselves, you don't have a snack; you have a meal's worth of calories and saturated fat in that bowl

solution: advance yourself using smaller plates and bowls--and make a secondary trip only if you're still hungry