Slim by Design: Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday Life – Food Psychology and Behavioral Economics from Cornell University

Like many individuals I read reviews and don't rely on all positive ones to make a decision, always have to read some negative. I *almost* did not buy this book because of that. What a mistake that would have been. Perhaps it factored into me not reading Slim by Design immediately. Darn, I wish I had (read it sooner)! Loved Dr. Wansink's first book, Mindless Eating, and quote from it regularly in work I do. Yes, that book may have been more relevant to individuals. And yes Slim by Design goes beyond the individual. That's what makes it an excellent book. Some reviewers say it was a rehash of the first book. There were discussions of studies from Mindless Eating however, it was that research - plus the continued research Wansink and his lab performs - that lead to this book.As a registered dietitian nutritionist and health coach working with clients on a daily basis, I see how environment plays a factor in health and weight management. Wansink identifies our food radius and five food zones where we likely spend the majority of our time eating or obtaining food: home, work, restaurants, grocery stores, and schools. Slim by Design outlines each area with in-depth discussion on the challenges and solutions. Each section ends with a scorecard - a way for the reader to complete a self-assessment. If I were looking at this book solely as a way to help me, the book would not be too relevant. I work from home (so the workplace section is not very helpful), don't have kids (ditto the school lunch room), and rarely eat out (since it's an occasional indulgence, I eat what I want). However, that's not why I bought the book. There's a much greater picture and Wansink outlines it beautifully. This is a book every registered dietitian nutritionist and health practitioner should own - especially if they're working in weight management.I also want to make note of Wansink's writing style. Some people take issue with his humor and light banter. Get over it. I love it. It keeps the book entertaining while being informative and educational. It was over five years ago when I heard Dr. Wansink speak at a conference. So many points I still remember because of his humor and style of speaking. That's what makes points stick...and why so many can remember so much from his writings.It's not about will power, it's about managing the environment...the many environments we face on a day-to-day basis. Be an advocate...for yourself, your clients/patients and others. Great tools in this book to help you do that.

I loved Wansink's first book Mindless Eating and was looking forward to this one.While this had good information most of the book was focused on how to get your supermarket, local restaurant or school cafeteria to make changes that discourage mindless eating. I'm really not going to go talk to my local Trader Joe's or neighborhood cafe about this book. If I worked there it might be helpful I'm sure but I'm really not the person who goes into a business and tells them how to run it.In the end I was disappointed because I felt I didn't learn anything new that I hadn't learned in his first book and I would up skimming or skipping 3/4 of the book because it was about the restaurants, cafeterias and stores. I'd definitely recommend this book if that's your business but if you are looking for personal tips and information you're better off with his first book, Mindless Eating.

This book will give you some great ideas how to "mindlessly" eat less in your daily life. Some of it focuses on activism (eg writing to your local restaurant and asking them to change their offerings), but the suggestions are simple and make sense (the restaurants will make more money by giving customers less food for less money). And even if you aren't ready for those steps, the rest will give you much food for thought. (Sorry, couldn't help myself!)

I have scores of books on cooking and diets and various ways to eat healthier. But there has never been a book that from page one stopped me in my tracks and made me rethink the whole behavior of eating and living and how environment shapes that behavior.Using scores of his research reports based on real world evidence - think a “freakonomics” approach to food - Dr. Wansink explores the various environments where you live and work AND may not always be living a healthy lifestyle. Be it your kitchen - put the healthier items at eye level in the refrigerator and not the sweets; or your workplace - replace your candy dish with a paper clip dish; or your grocery store - fill your cart with more than the normal 25% of fruits and vegetables — say how about 50%?; or your fave restaurants - scope out the buffet line before you being working down the line and avoid most of the white food items, or your children’s schools - cut and ready to eat fruit at food lines and at the checkout stand and not whole fruit hidden away from normal traffic flow, Wansink offers tips and techniques to reshape these environments for your betterment.And these are changes that can work for all parties involved - producers and consumers. The opening chapter talks about Dr. Wansink’s visit to a leading snack producer where the idea emerged for a 100 calorie packaging strategy for snacks. The executives had no real interest in selling smaller packages of their food. But, fast forward a few months and one executive, who had moved to a competing company, brought back Dr. Wansink and the outcome - check your grocery stores for the mini-packs or 100 calorie snacks - validated the research.The theme for the book was set in its opening pages - becoming slim by design works better than becoming slim by willpower.Page after page are ideas to reshape your environment and thus remake your lifestyle.

Wansink clearly illustrates how our eating habits are very much influenced by the environment where we eat. His research based solutions are interesting and very doable for anyone who wants to move their eating habits in a more healthy direction with minimal effort. Full of very practical ideas and evidence that free will can only take us so far, and re-designing our eating environment will take us a lot further. I loved this book and recommend it for anyone wishing to change their eating habits, and for anyone interested in the practical side of behavioral economics.

Must read for anyone. Brain Wansink is a genius :)

I really enjoyed this book. The author has done a great job of presenting research results in easy to understand language and am amusing tone, making this a really interesting read. I learnt so much about how we make unconcious choices and the simple changes we can implement to help us eat healthier without feeling coerced. Great insight into human nature.

Ein sehr spannendes Buch, wie man mit einfach, quasi nicht einschränkenden Tipps "automatisch" abnimmt. Einige der Sachen kannte ich bereits, z.B. von kleinen Tellern essen, anderen fand ich verblüffend und habe sie selbst ausprobiert. Da die Tipps wissenschaftlich in Studien nachgewisen wurden, hat man nicht das Gefühl nur eine Einzelmeinung zu lesen. Ich fand es sehr erhellend, dass selbst kleine Dinge nach einiger Zeit eine große Auswirkung haben.

Dr. Wansink is a very clever researcher that has uncovered some amazing weight loss “life hacks” that have helped me to lose and MAINTAIN a 200 pound weight loss.After over a decade of working with people to help them lose weight, I have come to the conclusion that almost no one wants to lose weight. That said, it is also true that almost everyone wants to weigh less but, I’ve never met anyone who is excited about what they need to do in order to get there.While on the surface, the problem seems simple. If you could just eat less and exercise more, you would be skinny. Most people already know that and yet they remain overweight and frustrated. The real problem is that the human mind, programmed by habits and driven by emotion does not always respond the way we want and this is particularly true for food.Dr. Wansink is the only person to consider the question, “Is there a way to lose weight without even thinking about it?” Amazingly, he discovered, there is and it’s literally all around you. While it makes sense that our environment has an effect on what and how much we eat nobody ever took the time to discover how to use that bit of common sense to actually help people weigh less Dr. Wansink has.Slim by design expands on the “weight loss life hacks” uncovered in Mindless Eating by organizing your food environment in five separate areas: 1. Your Kitchen, 2. Your Workplace, 3. Your Grocery Store, 4. Your Favorite Restaurant and 5. Your Kids School.In the book, Dr. Wansink provides real tools for you to begin re-engineering each of these areas for maximum weight loss and health. By dividing the book up in this way, he gives the reader permission to focus on just one are which avoids overwhelm.I noticed that some of the reviews in this book were not that positive. Frankly, I am confused. One reader said, “I ordered this book based on an article that said it would give information about how to design a kitchen with slimming principles. That topic was covered in one brief chapter.” For me, it’s the fact that you could simply re-tool your kitchen for weight loss with the information in one brief chapter that's so amazing. My question to the reader is, did you take the assessments? Did you try the ideas? I did and, I actually lost a few pounds. I am a weight loss expert and I did not know the stuff in this book. The catch is you have to actually do some of it.Each section is jam packed with cool tips and assessment tools to get you started in your own life as well as some ideas for you to begin to raise awareness in your community as well. The fact is that, like it or not, we really do have an obesity crisis in this country and this book gives you really simple tools you can use to help you and your neighbors lose weight without the torture associated with weight loss.Listen, I grew as a fat kid. I was unmercifully bullied as the “fat kid” and, moreover, my early life choices were limited by my massive size. I wish my community, my school and my parents knew half of what Brian talks about in this book. All you need to do is make a few of these changes and you could change a lot of lives . . . including your own.

great book