Eating Habits: The Better and the Worse
Alex Ripley
Santa Clara University
Eating patterns take on many levels, and thus cannot be simply defined. They cannot be classified as just “good” or “bad”, but rather they can be seen as a combination of many descriptors to paint a picture of how an individual eats. For instance, I cannot claim that I “eat healthy”, or I “don’t eat healthy”. Statements so simple would be inadequate in regarding the multiple levels that food habits always encompass. I have found that my eating habits must be broken down into two separate categories: those that are considered positive, and those that are considered negative.
Before discussing my positive eating habits, I must first reflect on a couple of the healthy food choices that I make. For breakfast, I always make myself a bowl of oatmeal. This is a healthy choice because it provides me with a substantial amount of carbohydrates at the start of my day. I often have long days, so my morning oatmeal delivers an energy boost early on, making it a vital part of my day.
I also make healthy choices in regards to my liquid consumption. It is not uncommon for many teenagers to consume a lot of drinks that are high in sugar and caffeine. Although I drink a Sprite occasionally, I am an avid supporter of drinking water. Being from Alaska, I have become accustomed to temperatures that are particularly low. Now, living in California, I have been forced to adjust my lifestyle to meet the new climate that I now live in. One of these adjustments has been increasing the amount of water I typically consume. Living in a higher temperature, I have found that I am thirsty more often, thus leading me to drink more water than I ever did before. Along with my five or six bottles of water, I also drink a good amount of milk in a given day. Not only does milk keep me hydrated, it also provides me with a substantial amount of my daily calcium. I always keep a carton of milk in my fridge, and I go through a few glasses each day. With my main liquids of water and milk, I hold a healthy lifestyle in regards to my liquid consumption.
Now that I have discussed two of my healthy food choices, I will bring up the positive traits of my actual habits. One such trait is my tendency to eat alone. Although this may not immediately seem like a positive eating habit, studies have shown that eating with others can cause a person to overeat. According to Brian Wansink (author of Mindless Eating), a person consumes almost 40 percent more than usual if they are with one friend, and almost two times more than usual if they are with seven or more friends. This may be the case because people often share their food, or because people might tend to order more around others. Regardless of the reason, studies have proven that people overeat when with others. I typically eat my food in my room while studying. This has helped me to prevent overeating, thus allowing me to avoid the infamous “freshman fifteen”.
Another positive habit that influences my eating is having a trashcan nearby. Although this idea may seem abstract, it is nonetheless relevant to my life in the dorms. Say, for instance, that I eat two cupcakes in the morning. The wrappers of those cupcakes go on the top of the trashcan, and they stay there as a constant reminder throughout the day. If I want a cookie later, those cupcake wrappers are still there, and they influence me in deciding not to have another dessert. Wansink has proven that “visible evidence” does influence a consumer into eating differently. In a study, Wansink provided Buffalo wings to a room of people, but only cleared away the finished bones from half of the room as they ate. After the study, Wansink showed that the people with a continual pile of bones ate less than the consumers with no evidence of what they had eaten. This proves that people eat less when they are able to see how much they have already eaten. This is directly applicable to my trashcan theory, in which I take visual clues to remind myself what I had already eaten. With wrappers of unhealthy foods on the top of the pile, the trashcan will influence me to avoid consuming more junk food.
Now that I have discussed several characteristics of my positive eating habits, I must also discuss those habits that are negative. In regards to the actual foods I eat, there are several foods I eat that may not be the healthiest choices. My lunches typically consist of some form of Mexican food or a meal with French fries. In a given week, I will typically have a Taco Salad, Chicken Quesadilla, Bronco Burger, or Chicken Strips for every lunch. Although there are worse choices, there are also better choices that I could be making. I am in charge of these meal choices, but there is ultimately a higher power above my choices. That higher power is the Santa Clara University itself. The University selects the food which is to be sold, and therefore is in control of what I am going to have for lunch each day. Of course they offer choices that I can make, but these options go only so far. According to Brian Wansink, the “gatekeeper” (grocery buyer) of a given household controls 72 percent of their family’s food choices. If Santa Clara University is my gatekeeper, I do not have as much control over my food choices as it would seem. Regardless of influence, my daily lunch choices can only be considered subpar in regards to level of healthiness.
Beyond the unhealthy food choices, I also have several negative habits in regards to eating. One such habit is my tendency to snack when I am stressed. When I have a lot of studying to do, I typically find myself snacking a good amount. After reading Wansink’s Mindless Eating, I now recognize that I may not even be hungry in these stressful situations. Wansink claims that I may have an emotional hunger, rather than a physical hunger. While stressing, I will often cause my brain to go into overdrive, causing it to run high on all kinds of emotions. Most often, I will try to calm these elevated emotions with satisfaction in food form. Thus, this pointless snacking does not serve its typical purpose (to eliminate hunger), rather, it attempts to settle my raised emotions (and usually fails). This emotional eating can be either beneficial or detrimental to a person’s health. If a person snacks on carrots and celery, their snacking will not harm them. But if their snacking is unhealthy (like many people), then there will be visible effects over time. In my case, this snacking is not beneficial. I always snack on whatever food is available, and most often, this food is something processed and unhealthy. Processed food is easy to store, and does not go bad, making it an easy thing to keep in my dorm. So in the end, when study time rolls around, it is processed food that I snack on to quench my emotional hunger.
Another negative food habit is my struggle with the “mindless margin”. Wansink claims that a person can mindlessly lose weight by cutting out 100 calories every day. Over time, the cut calories will add up and result in weight loss. Unfortunately, this mindless margin can also have the opposite influence. If a person eats 100 extra calories per day, they will mindlessly gain weight over time. With my tendency to snack, I am sure that I often fall victim to the mindless margin. Whether I snack on chocolate covered raisins or cheez-its, I most likely consume an additional 100 calories through snacking each day.
My eating habits are also negatively affected by the idea of convenience. Whenever a food is easily available, a person will eat more of that given food. This may seem like common sense, but it can even be regarded in terms of slight details. Wansink conducted a study in which he set a dish of candy in secretaries’ offices. He alternated the placement of the dishes between three locations: on the desk, in the desk, and six feet from the desk. Even with these small changes, Wansink found that the more accessible the chocolates were, the more the secretaries would eat them. They averaged nine candies per day with the dishes on their desks, six when they were in their desks, and four when the dishes were six feet away. If these slight changes made an impact, than obviously the convenience of food has an impact on me. If I were required to walk to Benson every time I wanted food, I would end up eating much less. But this is not the case. I have snacks in my dorm, and on my desk, and they are extremely accessible. Due to this convenience, I end up snacking more often, thus consuming extra calories in the process.
After observing my positive and negative eating habits, it can be seen that I am doing several things right, but doing other things wrong. If I were to go about changing my eating habits, there would be a few things that I would change. First, I would try to be more mindful of the mindless margin. Although oxymoronic, being mindful of the extra calories I consume could keep me from snacking too much, providing me with a healthier lifestyle. Along with this awareness, I would also like to be more consistent in caloric intake from day to day. According to my food journal, I ranged from 1420 to 2970 calories on given days over the two weeks. If I were to be more consistent, I could prevent days of overeating or under-eating, ultimately providing a more balanced diet. Lastly, I would try to step outside the control of my “gatekeeper”. Santa Clara University is my current gatekeeper, but I can make efforts to influence my eating options. I can eat off campus more, or buy my own groceries. Realistically, there are many ways to expand my dining options.
Overall, my eating habits cannot be classified as “good” or “bad”. Doing so would be like asking if Pride and Prejudice is about pride or prejudice. Rather than being one or the other, my eating habits are a combination of both traits. From healthy food (like oatmeal and milk) to unhealthy food (like burgers and French fries), the foods in my diet encompass a wide variety of areas. Along with healthy and unhealthy food, I also have eating habits that can be considered positive and negative. Habits such as eating alone and having “visible evidence” nearby have benefited me, while emotional hunger, the mindless margin, and convenience foods have harmed me. Keeping all of these facts in mind, I now allow myself to question whether I should change my eating habits, and whether I will be able to do so if I try.
References
Wansink, B. (2010). Mindless Eating. New York City, New York: Bantam Books.