Dear friends! It's that time of the month again—Kat to mix things up a bit with our meeting.
This time, please feel free to bring some snacks for yourself or to share (if you're not ordering food), as we shall do a couple of... "food for thought" experiments?
Some say that we have our days revolve around our three meals. Few things impact us as much as food or our eating habits do. We are, after all, what we eat. But just what do we eat, and why do we eat what we eat? Quite a mouthful there! Let's share some latest science and our own experience on food and eating "rituals"—through the lens of psychology.
I read years back a book, "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think" by Professor Brian Wansink, the Director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab. He had the fun job of doing all sorts of experiments on just what makes people eat more—or less. He had tried to answer questions like these:
• Can the size of your plate really influence your appetite?
• Why do you eat more when you dine with friends?
• What “hidden persuaders” are used by restaurants and supermarkets to get us to overeat?
• How does music or the color of the room influence how much—and how fast—we eat?
• How can we “mindlessly” lose—instead of gain—up to twenty pounds in the coming year?
(from Amazon)
We'll go over some of his fascinating findings—and they just might help us with our next meal.
Extra reading / listening if you have more time than food on your hands: 
➤ 13 Science-Backed Tips to Stop Mindless Eating (Healthline.com)
➤ Hungry, Hungry Hippocampus: The Psychology Of How We Eat (NPR Hidden Brian Podcast / 27 mins)
➤ Book Summary of "Mindless Reading" (What You Will Learn)
➤ The Psychology of Eating (Cleveland Clinic)
Also, the ways we eat and serve our meals are linked to our culture, with its deep psychological impact:
➤ What These 5 Mealtime Traditions From Around The World Can Teach Us About Bonding (Huffpost)
Or maybe the super short videos are more appetizing: ➤ Brian Wansink on Mindless Eating (Vitalsmarts Video / 3 mins)
(This is more about the "biology of food")
➤ How the food you eat affects your brain (TED-Ed / 5 mins)
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As usual at a meeting with me, we'll try various activities aimed for fun and effective discussions. While we're on food, here're some great food expressions to "chew on":
• Have bigger fish To fry
• A lot on one’s plate
• An acquired taste
• Bite off more than one can chew
• Bottom of the barrel
• Cherry-pick
• In a nutshell
• Not mince words
• Take the cake
• Cream of the crop
• Egg someone on
• Souped up
• Spice things up
Now I really need to grab a bite!
Agenda:
3:45 ~ 4:00pm Greetings & Free Talk / Ordering Beverage or Meal / Getting Newcomer’s Information
4:00 ~ 4:10pm Opening Remarks / Newcomer’s Self-introduction / Grouping
(Session I)
4:10 ~ 4:50pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
4:50 ~ 5:10pm Summarization (20 mins)
5:10 ~ 5:15pm Regrouping / Instruction Giving / Taking a 10 Minutes Break (Intermission)
(Session II)
5:15 ~ 5:55pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
6:00 ~ 6:20pm Summarization (20 mins)
6:20 ~ 6:30pm Concluding Remarks / Announcements
Meeting Date: As shown on the Subject Line
Meeting Time: 4:00pm – 6:30pm
Meeting Venue: 丹堤咖啡 Dante Coffee (Minimum Order $80)
Address: 台北市濟南路三段25號[MAP]-捷運忠孝新生站3號出口步行3分鐘
Important Notes:
1. We advise participants to print out the discussion questions and bring them to the meeting for reference. As for the supporting articles, feel free to print them out, as well, according to your preference.
2. We suggest that participants read the articles and think about the questions in advance.
3. Newcomers should prepare a two-to-three minute self-introduction in English to deliver when called upon by the host before the start of the discussion. The host may also ask you to give brief feedback about the meeting at the conclusion of the meeting.
4. We conduct the entire meeting in English. All participants should have at least moderate English-conversation skills and be able to articulate your ideas for each discussion question.
5. We welcome newcomers and other guests to attend the meetings and join the discussion freely for three times. After that, we hope you will consider becoming a YoYo English Club member. We charge a NT$1000 lifetime membership fee.
