Eating While Watching TV Can Cause Overweight

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Have you ever snacked or eaten while watching TV or movies in theaters? At this time, you might experience "mindless eating" Eating while doing something we often do and usually we do not realize what is eaten and how much. In fact, you sometimes forget that you have eaten and finally you eat again. This is not good because it can cause you to gain weight and can lead to obesity.

What is that mindless eating?

Mindless eating first introduced by a psychologist Prof. Brian Wansink. When you eat but you are not aware of how much food goes into your stomach, this is when you experience it mindless eating. When you eat without thinking, you also don't realize whether you are really hungry while eating or really full after eating. You are more able to respond to cues from the environment than the signals from your own body at this time. Habits mindless eating then it can cause you to gain weight.

Wansink's research shows that your eyes can better determine how much food you will compare to your stomach. "Many people measure their level of satiety with empty plates, rather than a full stomach," said Wansink. So, the size of your plate while eating also affects how much food you eat.

Mindless eating can be caused by various factors, especially when you eat while working on other activities. Eating while doing other things is a habit that we often do, for example eating while watching TV or snacking in theaters. Or, you can also eat while working during the day because you have a lot of work.

Why eat while watching can make fat?

Eating while doing other things makes it difficult for your body to feel full. Research also shows that eating while doing other things can make you less satisfied, so in the end you will eat more at another time.

When you eat while doing other things, your mind and body become unconscious of how much food you eat. You only focus on whether the food you eat is up or not, not focus on whether your stomach is full. Right now, your eyes determine more about how much food you eat, not your stomach that determines you are full or not, as Wansink said.

You also usually do eating activities only because of social encouragement. Today, spending time with friends in various restaurants is a very fun activity. In fact, you might be able to spend hours with friends in one restaurant. To be able to spend time lingering in the restaurant, maybe you will order a lot of food without your knowing it. Eating while exchanging stories with friends can also make you forget how much food you eat.

The trick is to overcome it for those of you who usually eat while watching

Eat with small plates. Because the size of a plate or bowl can affect the amount of food you eat, then try to eat with smaller plates so that you eat less.
Focus while eating. Make sure you always eat at the dinner table and not while doing any activities, so you are more focused when eating.
Get rid of foods that are not healthy from your view. This is done so that you do not want to eat the food

To better control your intake, you should also pay close attention to everything you eat. Look at your plate before you start eating and remember what you've eaten before.

Make sure you are really hungry when you eat, not fake hunger. You can drink a glass of water before you eat. If a few minutes later you don't feel hungry, maybe your hunger is fake.

You also have to remember that you need about 20 minutes after eating to feel full. Therefore, you should stop eating before you really feel full.

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