How many times have you caught yourself sitting in front on the television with a bag of empty chips. The aftermath of mindless eating fills you with guilt. Before you know it, you’ve grabbed a bowl of ice cream and said to heck with healthy eating!

Before you allow yourself to be tossed off the track, give some thought to keeping yourself safe from such misadventures. A bit of forethought and planning might save you from the guilt monster and those extra pounds on your hips.

In our hurried lives it’s easy to plop down in front of the television with a tv tray and have dinner. Eating in front of the computer screen is not too uncommon, either. We are a society of multitaskers. We are a society of tired, overweight multitaskers. It’s easy to slip into mindless eating when we aren’t paying attention to what is going into our mouths.

Make eating an occasion to stop and smell the grilled chicken… so to speak. Clean off that kitchen table and use the thing for something besides storing your mail and unwanted catalogs. Take in the site and smell of what you are eating. Appreciate the time to slow down. If you make the tv and computer off limits for eating, you’ll begin to notice a difference in how much it takes before you feel satisfied.

Oh, I hear you whining. We all like a snack when we are deep into some horror film. Plan ahead. That’s right. Instead of getting into the opening credits and running to the kitchen to grab anything in sight, plan your snack ahead of time. Choose some carrot sticks if you feel the need to crunch. Some fruit slices are great if you feel you need something sweet. Prefer salty? How about some popcorn with just a touch of salt? The key here is planning a healthy snack to enjoy with your film.

Taking the time to pay attention to our food at one time and our favorite television show at another time can save us from adding on extra weight that we would rather not.