lunchtime habits causing weight gain

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SLIDESHOW

You Give Yourself Carte Blanche on "Healthy" Choices

Why it packs on pounds: By now you know that eating an entire avocado in one sitting isn't the smartest choice if you're watching your weight (healthy fats, good. Three hundred-plus calories? Not so great.) But researchers from Cornell University recently found, in a series of studies, that people eat more than the recommended serving sizes of good-for-you foods because they think of "healthy" foods as less filling.

The fix: Before you go for your second helping of quinoa salad or another handful of walnuts, remind yourself of all of the good nutrients in that food. The study researchers found that when people were told about the most nourishing parts of healthy foods, they stopped thinking of them as less filling; and, doing the same may help you stop yourself from eating more.