Study participants at the University at Buffalo who used the word "meals" instead of "snacks" to describe the food they ate between lunch and dinner consumed 87 percent fewer calories at dinnertime. Apparently the word swap made people more apt to choose real food options such as a cup of soup or a turkey and cheese roll-up instead of cookies or chips. What term do you use for midday eating? Have you noticed that you ate less after using the term "meals" vs. "snacks?"

This is really interesting that just how we describe a meal or snack can have an influence on what and how much we choose to eat. I often don't sit down during the day to an actual "meal", but I eat foods that I wouldn't call snack foods, either. For example, today I ate a mini-bagel with peanut butter, then a couple of hours later an apple and a slice of string cheese, and in another two hours leftover chicken enchiladas. I guess because we don't keep much snack food in the house that I find myself grazing on more "meal" types of foods.