Ten things about weight loss: Part 6

The next lesson from the TV programme is that.......

7. The wider the choice the more you eat

Sounds fairly obvious, but in fact, this desire to eat more when offered more choice is actually hot-wired into our brains for sound, evolutionary reasons. Over millenia, it has assisted mankind to survive against the odds. Think about it - early man would have had a moderately varied diet consisting of meat, fish, berries and nuts. Together, these foods provide all the nutrients we need to keep the body going. Those who ate a more limited diet were more vulnerable to disease and malnutrition - as continues to be the case today. So the brain automatially responds to seeing a wide choice of food by sending out 'eat me' signals around the body.

In an experiment, two bowls of sweets were left out for people to pick. The two bowls were actually identical, except for one thing. One bowl contained all-purple sweets and the other contained multi-coloured sweets (they tasted the same, were the same size and shape). In the event, the multi-coloured sweets were eaten much more quickly than the purple ones. We cannot resist choice! This explains why, when we go to a buffet, we tend to eat much more than we really need. In fact, we are likely to eat 30% more when given lots of choice than if we are faced with a more limited range of options.

The lesson from this for weight watchers, is to limit choice - choice is dangerous!! Choice triggers our instincts to try a bit of everything. So, if you want to lose weight - keep it simple!