As an athlete, the decisions we make in the dining hall tend to be crucial. The food we eat is fueling us not only to get through our academic day, but also the practices and training that come afterwards. I have always had an interest in food and the way that people approach it. Being on a team for so many years, I have seen the impacts eating has on runners; either in a helpful or very harmful way. Because of this, I was interested in learning about the psychology behind our food decisions.
Based on lots of interesting studies, I learned some hints as to how exactly hit the dining halls. One thing we learned was to go for a smaller plate. Most times, people will eat until the plate is cleared. If you keep piling food onto that plate, it will be more than you need by a long shot. In addition to smaller plates, I also learned that your plate is most times covered by the things you see first in line. So, I know now to start with the vegetables and end with the protein. In addition to those, I also learned that the correct protein size is about the size of your palm. These are all things I will take into consideration as I make my way through the dining halls from now on. This talk was extremely interesting for me and I learned a lot about food and why we make the decisions we make.