Slim By Design

Forget willpower%E2%80%94losing weight and living a healthier lifestyle can be as simple as rethinking your environment. So posits eating behavior expert Wansink (Mindless Eating), who cites research stating that 80% of the calories we consume are consumed or purchased within five miles of where we live%E2%80%94what he terms the "food radius." Wansink concisely breaks down this comprehensive eating zone into five parts (home, restaurant, supermarket, office and school), and offers tiny, "mindless" tweaks for each that will lead to decreased caloric intake and increased consumption of higher-quality foods. "We're all mindless eaters," he says. "Each of us makes more than 200 nearly subconscious food choices every day." Wansink provides a 100-point scorecard for every section of the food radius discussed, from the kitchen, to grocery shopping, to at-your-desk food choices, to outside-the-home dining approaches and school lunches. He even provides tips on encouraging others %E2%80%93 such as local restaurant owners, employers, and school administrators%E2%80%93 to practice improved mindless eating as well. Backed by 25 years of research and buoyed by its simplicity and no-cost implementation, Wansink's book may well be the healthy lifestyle Holy Grail for which many are searching. (Sept.)