7 Mental Tricks That Shed Pounds

What a Bargain!

THE LOGIC: Sure, I'll take the jumbo-size Coke -- it's only 25 cents more!

Call it the "Costco effect": An item you didn't especially want or need suddenly becomes appealing when you can get twice as much for half the price. Unfortunately, getting 16 more ounces of soda for just a quarter more ups your calorie total as well -- by 182. And don't count on making the larger serving last longer: In one study, Wansink found that people ate 92 percent more cookies each day when they had an especially large supply stockpiled in their cupboards. In fact, you're liable to keep munching away even after your monster-size snack loses its appeal, says Wansink. He found that people given larger buckets of free popcorn ate significantly more, even when it was 14 days old and stale!

Change your mind: Adopt a "pay less, weigh less" attitude. Sure, it may be a better value to buy 100 cookies for $5 than it is to buy 10 cookies for $3. But by choosing the smaller package, you'll actually spend $2 less -- and save hundreds of calories.

This concept works at restaurants, too. Order an appetizer portion of your dish even if you have to pay the full entree price. You're not wasting money; your meal costs the same either way. You're simply choosing to buy fewer calories with your money.