You go to a restaurant with every intention of eating healthily.

But on the menu is something called "Grandma's Special Apple Pie." You know Grandma didn't really make the pie-and who says she'd be a good baker anyway? Still, as soon as you read about Grandma's pie, the desire for a slice hits you like a ton of bricks, and there goes the diet.

What's going on?

Dr. Brian Wansink is the founder and director of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign's Food and Brand Lab. He spends his time figuring out why, when, and in what quantities people eat what they eat.

Although it's obvious that obesity has it's roots in eating too much and exercising too little, understanding the pyschology behind your eating can help you better develop a strategy to drop those unhealthy extra pounds.

It's All in the Name

Dr. Wansink found that when menu items have special names or descriptions-"Grandma's Special Apple Pie" instead of just "apple pie," for example-customers can't resist those foods. Not only that, but people describe the creatively-named apple pie as "tasting better and being more 'special'" than regular pie, says Dr. Wansink.

It turns out your brain is a complicated beast when it comes to food-subtle cues can make you eat too much of the wrong things, without you even realizing why. But there's hope for you, your brain, and your waist:

What To Do

• Avoid fat drinks. If you're served high-calorie liquids in short, wide glasses rather than tall, thin ones, you could be unwittingly drinking yourself fat. Dr. Wansink found that people drink more out of short, wide glasses than tall, thin ones - but think they're drinking less.
  
  What's the best strategy? Order drinks from cans or bottles so you know how much beverage you're getting. Or-if you prefer drafts and don't mind being goofy-ask for your drinks in tall, thin glasses so at least you'll feel like you're getting more.
  
  Alternatively, order low or no-calorie drinks, like water or diet colas, so it won't matter how much you drink, unless you're far from a restroom.
  
  
• Find low-calorie meal extenders. Restaurants with environments that encourage lingering also encourage overeating. Dr. Wansink has found that eating at comfortable restaurants makes you likely to order more appetizers and drinks, both of which can contribute extra calories to a meal. A solution? Try ordering low-calorie meal-lengtheners like green salads, clear soups, hot teas, and diet colas instead of extending your meal with high calorie appetizers and drinks.
  
  
• Put the blinders on your sweet tooth. Dr. Wansink has found that having a dessert menu on the table before you order your meal means you're much more likely to order dessert at the end of your meal. Seeing the dessert display also increases the chances that you'll see your cake and eat it, too. So how to resist these wonderful, but usually incredibly fattening things? Sit at a table where you won't be staring the apple pie in the crust. And for goodness's sake, don't read the menu where the plain old pie is called something absurdly appealing like "Grandma's Special Apple Pie," or you're sunk.