Where You Sit in a Restaurant Affects How Much You Eat

Admittedly I don't go out to eat much.  Most of the time Husbando and I cook at home. Or we get delivery, every now and then.  Maybe... twice a month?  Well, anyway, my Dad decided to take me out to breakfast this past weekend (I had Eggs Benedict. I'm sure you were dying to know), and it got me to thinking about how we eat differently at home versus a restaurant.

According to a recent study out of Cornell, where you sit in a restaurant can actually affect how much you EAT. Researchers observed people at 27 different restaurants across the country.  Here are four things that can subconsciously make you eat LESS, and eat healthier.

1.  Pick a table that's well lit.  It's not clear why, but they noticed that if you sit in a dark section of a restaurant, you tend to eat more.  Possibly because being in the dark makes you less self-conscious, and you know people can't see you pigging out.

2.  Sit close to the door.  For whatever reason, people who sat the farthest from the door ate the fewest salads.  And they were 73% more likely to order dessert than the average customer.

3.  Sit at a table, not a booth.  People who sat at booths ordered fattier foods and ate more.  Meanwhile, people who sat at high-top tables were more likely to start with a salad and SKIP dessert.

4.  Don't sit facing a television.  Just like when you're at home, watching TV can cause mindless eating.  And the researchers found that the closer someone was to a TV, the more they ate.

Will you try these out and see if they work?  Do you think you eat differently at a restaurant than you do at home?

Benedcitingly yours,

Behka