Now you see it, now you don't!

We are powerless to ignore the clarion call of the candy jar, the beckoning of the buffet, the summons of the snack cupboard.

In one experiment, Wansink placed candy jars of chocolate in office workers' cubicles for a month. Simply having the candy closer meant the office workers ate five more candies a day. That adds up to 125 calories a day, or 12 pounds a year.

Whether or not we'd like to admit it, Brian Wansink, author of "Mindless Eating," has hit the nail right on the head. As he explains in this CNN article, we are "powerless" to the food that erks nearby.

I can testify to that.

Just last night, while my roommate and I studied through the night for our endless number of midterms, we reached our breaking point (I think it was somewhere between the third pot of coffee and the last Twizzzler). We took a break, only to regroup with some added company: a box of those iced animal crackers, a big bag of peanut butter M&Ms, and two bags of Sour Patch Kids.

These are a-bombs to my (somewhat) healthy eating patterns. I, for one, had not been craving any of those things--until, they were sitting right in front of me. Casually and subconsciously, my hand kept reaching into the bag of M&Ms. Within an hour, we looked at each other astonished (and half-disgusted)--everything was gone. Mr. Wansink, we would be great candidates for your next experiment.

Wansink's solution: Surrender. Accept that you will give in to temptation.

My solution: Keep all volatile items (ie. chocolate, candy, cookies, and ice cream) away from stressed, tired college students!