How to end impulse eating: cheer up, Bridget! You can lose 10 pounds by making just a few changes--no diet or exercise required. A guide from food researcher Brian Wansink, Ph.D.

Good Housekeeping, November, 2006

Be honest: Have you ever taken the last piece of pumpkin pie just because it was there? Or finished off a dish of candied yams even though they were cold and soggy? Most of us have committed these diet sins, and there's a reason: At almost every meal, there are triggers that cause us to overindulge, even when we're no longer hungry.

As the director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab and author of the new book Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, I've discovered in my research that the smallest things can lure you into impulse eating: the size of a popcorn bucket at the movie theater, the level of light in your dining room, or the number of people at your Thanksgiving dinner. And over time, that extra bite (or three, or five) at each...