Your friends may be your diet's worst enemies!

When eating with others, we lose track of how much we munch


! When we eat with friends, we eat about 35 percent more than we would if we dined alone.

A recent study showed that overweight people are more likely to have overweight friends. That makes sense in a "birds of a feather" kind of way.

We like to spend time with people who are like us. Similar people make us feel comfortable. A person with a weight problem may not enjoy hanging out with a thin person or a friend on a diet. The chubbier, nondieting friend may feel pressured to lose weight or be inhibited about enjoying certain foods.

As it turns out, not only does your diet influence which friends you pick, your friends influence your diet.

It can be a great joy to share food with friends. But when we dine with people we like, it's easy to lose track of how much we eat. In the excitement of conversation, we don't notice how many rolls we've eaten, if we're on our second serving — or perhaps third — of pasta.

Among friends, we also tend to eat for a longer period of time than when alone. We are having fun, and we want to hear or tell a funny story.

Eating is like shopping

Besides, it's just good manners to wait until everyone is done eating until we push off from the table . And eating is like shopping: the longer you stay at the mall, the more you buy. The longer you stay at the table, the more you tend to eat.

tendency to chow down among friends is so strong that it is almost mathematically predictable, according to John de Castro, psychologist at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.

On average, if you dine with one other person you will eat about 35 percent more than if you were alone. (Spouses don't have this effect because couples tend to get into a regular eating pattern and consume about the same amount.)

If you eat with a party of seven or more, you will gobble up 96 percent more, or nearly twice as much. Sound like Thanksgiving? And if you get a table for four, you will end up right in the middle, eating about 75 percent more calories than if you dined alone.

This may be one reason why close friends and family tend to weigh about the same. Some families are skinny and some families are not. If there are a majority of overweight people in a family, it is more difficult to lose weight because the frequency, quantity and time spent eating puts more pressure on the person who is trying to diet.

Enjoy alone time

But don't worry; this doesn't mean you have to choose between having friends and having a waistline. Just model yourself off of the right friends.

If you’re trying to lose weight, go to lunch with your Atkins-approved pals, not the group who usually ends up wolfing down pizza at midnight.

Also, sit next to slow eaters who can help you pace your eating, not the speed eaters who eat like they grew up in a family of 12.

And if you're going out to dinner with a few chums, follow the "rule of two." Limit yourself to two items in addition to the entrée. That could be a small appetizer and dessert, or two pieces of bread. But you can't have more than two.

If you follow these simple strategies, you won't feel deprived, you'll be less likely to overeat and you can still be popular.

Advice from Brian Wansink, Ph.D.:

Control your consumption

Decide how much you're going to eat before the meal instead of during it. Some other suggestions:

— Try to be the last person to start eating.
— Pace yourself with the slowest eater at the table
— Avoid the “just one more helping” request (and temptation) by always leaving some food on your plate, as if you are still eating.
— Preregulate consumption by deciding how much to eat prior to the meal instead of during the meal.
Source: "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think" by Brian Wansink

Via msnbc.msn.com

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6 Diets you better avoid

When it comes to losing weight, everyone's in search of a magic bullet. But don't fall for the hype. Unfortunately, there's no short-term fix for long lasting weight loss.

So learn to identify these six red flags ...

1. Diets that promote or promise drastic weight loss. When you start a diet, you can potentially drop a lot of weight during the first two weeks (some of which will be water weight). However, if you lose more than two pounds per week in the weeks that follow, you run the risk of losing "muscle mass," and your metabolism will slow down in response. That's why true health experts advocate losing weight slowly and gradually -- so you melt away fat while sparing precious muscle.

2. Diets that claim to work because of special supplements, creams, or potions -- no diet or exercise required! Or diets that make you buy MEGA supplements in order to follow the program. If it sounds too good to be true, it is!

3. Diets that differ entirely from the way you currently eat (or like to eat). If a plan is incompatible with your lifestyle, chances are slim you'll stick with it.

4. Diets that are less than 1,000 calories. Too difficult to sustain and can often leave you cranky, irritable, and with a bad headache. Not to mention hungry and lethargic.

5. Diets that claim they are effortless. There's no such animal. Losing weight takes focus and effort. Period.

6. Diets that cut out entire food groups, or focus on only a few foods. Not realistic for the long haul ... the sign of a plan you're soon to go off.

Via www.health.yahoo.com

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Packing Healthful School Lunches

Do your kids eat healthful foods at school? Too often, students bypass a well-balanced lunch for soda and chips from a vending machine, or choose school-provided hot lunches high in fat, sodium or other bad substances.

Parents can take charge of their child’s nutrition by packing a lunch, at least a few days each week.

To build a nutritious lunch, experts urge you to simply remember “ABC.” Foods rich in vitamins A, B and C should be part of every meal. The “C” in ABC also stands for calcium, another important nutrient.

Foods rich in these nutrients also tend to contain healthy amounts of other important substances, such as vitamin D, iron, protein and carbohydrates.

Certain foods are especially good sources of these nutrients. They include:

Vitamin A. Deep yellow and deep orange fruits and vegetables. These include carrots, apricots and cantaloupes.


Vitamin B. Whole grains, meat, nuts and seeds.


Vitamin C. Citrus fruits and juices.


Calcium. Low-fat milk, cheese and yogurt. As a bonus, foods rich in calcium also tend to provide protein and vitamin D to the diet.
Generally, it is better to prepare and bake your own foods rather than rely on prepackaged lunches, which tend to be less nutritious and more expensive.

Getting Your Child Involved

Despite a parent’s best efforts, some children balk at eating healthful lunches. Your children are more likely to eat a nutrient-packed lunch if they are involved in the process of choosing the food.

Ask about preferred meals and snacks. If your child loves peanut butter and jelly, make it a lunch mainstay. Encourage your child to suggest favorite fruits, soups, vegetables and other foods.

In some cases, you may need to make compromises. For a child who refuses to eat turkey sandwiches without mayonnaise, agree to add a thin swath of low-fat mayo to the sandwich bread.

If your child will absolutely D-I-E without dessert, bake something relatively healthful – such as oatmeal cookies with raisins and sunflower seeds.

Play It Safe

Ironically, the decision to pack a healthful lunch can actually make a child sick if you forget to remember food safety. Taking necessary precautions can help reduce the risk of exposing your child to harmful bacteria.

During preparation, use clean utensils and cutting boards washed with hot, soapy water. Do not slice meats and other unlike items (such as vegetables and breads) on the same cutting board unless you wash it between items.

When packing a lunch, remember to keep items requiring refrigeration cold and hot foods insulated. Cold packs and small coolers can be used to store meats, salad, yogurt and other foods cool. Encourage your child to put cold items in a school refrigerator if it is available.

Meanwhile, use a thermos to keep soup, chili, stew and other foods hot. For extra protection, fill the thermos with boiling water and let it stand for a few minutes before emptying it. Then, immediately fill with the hot food and seal the container until lunchtime.

Items that generally do not require refrigeration or heating include:

Breads
Canned meat and fish
Chips
Crackers
Fruits
Hard cheeses
Jelly
Mustard
Peanut butter
Pickles
Vegetables

If your child uses a lunch box, make sure to wash it in soapy water after each use. Do not use paper bags more than once. A soft-sided, reusable lunch bag is a better alternative.

Finally, encourage your children to watch their hands before and after eating. Providing moist towelettes may make them more likely to wash up.

Via healthysteps.health.ivillage.com

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