With spring break around the corner there’s a chance your social life has been thrown into full throttle as you and your friends plan life-long memories. Whether you’re planning a road trip or booking that beach front hotel room, you’re more than likely pushing your way through a buffet line. Humans are social creatures that tend to eat together out of instinct. Feeling pushed to over-eat, indirectly peer pressured to clear a whole plate, or strongly influenced by peers to order dessert at a gathering are better known as social eating. Most social eaters are completely aware that they are disregarding their meal prep or are forcefully finishing the last few bites of that seven layer chocolate cake. Remember that time at the office’s Christmas party when everyone seemed to go through four stacks of paper plates within half an hour? People tend to feel more obligated to finish their plates when placed in a more social environment. Feeling the need to eat more around others than one would in private is a natural human instinct to “keep up” with others. One way to avoid feeling obligated to finish all those finger sandwiches and ginger-bread cookies is to bring along a friend who also is interested in making healthy eating choices. Your friend should be the motivator to remind you not to eat just one more. When friends gather, the first question that’s usually thrown into circulation is “who’s hungry?” A social eater hand would probably be the first to touch the ceiling. Friends tend to indirectly peer pressure each other into playing sports or board games, but they can also tempt each other to try the restaurant newest dessert. Who can resist delicious apple pie or a brownie sundae? People with a sweet tooth cannot waste even the tiniest last bite of a dessert, so to save calories, try splitting a dessert, or even a meal in that case. If everyone is ordering their own half pound blooming onion, you’ll
