Hi everyone, Monica Reinagle here with this week's quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous.

And today I want to share with you a few thoughts about unplanned eating, a habit which, if left unchecked, can really wreak havoc on your healthy diet.

So what is unplanned eating?

Well, it's 2 p.m. right now and I have no idea what I'm having for dinner tonight.

But I am planning to eat dinner and I know that I'll probably make something using some of the vegetables I picked

up at the farmers market this weekend.

That isn't unplanned eating.

On the other hand, before sitting down to write this episode, I went into the

kitchen to make a cup of tea, and while I was waiting for the water to boil, I noticed the

apple pie left over from last night's dinner on the counter and I nibbled half a piece.

I didn't go into the kitchen in order to get something to eat, but when I saw the pie I grabbed

a fork and dug in.

That was unplanned eating. Here are some more examples of

unplanned eating. Do any of these sun familiar? You go to the mall to shop for shoes

and you have to walk by the food court and before you know it you've got a

giant cinnamon bun in your hand or you go into a co-worker's office to talk with her and

without even thinking about it you reach for a piece of Halloween candy from the ceramic pumpkin that's sitting at the corner of her desk.

Or how about this one? You're cleaning up from dinner and you find yourself eating the extra mashed potatoes instead of putting them away.

This sort of eating is problematic for a number of reasons.

Number one, unplanned eating is rarely motivated by hunger.

After all, how hungry can you be when you're cleaning up from dinner? You just ate.

Number two, you may not be choosing a particular food because it's nutritious,

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