#13 Brain Bite - The Google 15

Free snacks, clear jars, and oversized plates were quietly reshaping a tech giant’s waistline—until a few smart tweaks rewired the cafeteria and the choices inside it. We break down how Google used nudge theory to cut millions of calories without killing morale, then show how to use the same environmental design to upgrade your food, focus, and phone habits at home.

We start with the behavioral science: small changes in visibility, reach, and defaults can shift behavior while preserving choice. You’ll hear the specific moves—candy in opaque containers, healthy snacks at eye level, water framed behind clear glass, sodas lowered and frosted, smaller plates framed by a simple sign, and color-coded foods that reduce decision fatigue. The numbers tell the story: water intake up, soda calories down, candy consumption falling, and not a single complaint. From there, we connect the dots to everyday life and the energy-hungry brain that makes convenience king.

You’ll get a one-nudge challenge you can start today: pre-fill a water bottle before work, charge your phone in another room to cut late-night scrolling, place a book on your pillow to make reading the default, and stage healthy snacks where you actually reach. We also share a candid look at our own workspace setup and how proximity to food and water shapes whether we fuel or fade. The takeaway is simple and powerful: willpower is the backup generator; environment is the grid. Make the good choice the easy choice, and let your context carry you toward an unshakeable brain.

I hope you're loving these Brain Bite episodes as much as I do. If so, I'd honored if you shared this on your social media and even left a review so others can find it too. Together, we can create Unshakeable Brains.

Note: This podcast episode is sponsored by Dr. Rewire's Brain DNA test. Learn more at Unshakeablebrain.ai. If you're a practitioner and you're interested in adding this at-home lab test to your toolkit, go to Unshakeablebrain.ai/expert.

I, Dr. Kylie, no longer work with clients in any endeavor. If you'd like more support for your health, I recommend working with the physicians at the EllieMD telemedicine platform. To get started, go to https://elliemd.com/?bp=drkylie. For health and wellness experts looking to provide this resource to your clients, get started at https://elliemd.com/join-us/?bp=drkylie.

Thank you for joining the Unshakeable Brain community. Dr. Kylie

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:04):
Welcome to Brain Bites, your quick dose of
science and strategies for anunshakeable brain.
I'm your host, Dr.
Kylie, and in the next fewminutes, you'll get a sharp
insight to feed your brain.
Alright, let's dig in.
Google had a problem.
Their employees were gainingweight.
So much that they startedcalling it the Google 15, just

(00:28):
like the freshman 15.
Free food everywhere, unlimitedMMs and clear dispensers, sodas
at eye level, giant plates.
It was a perk, but that wasbackfiring.

Here's the thing (00:41):
taking away free food would crush morale.
So what did they do?
They used something called nudgetheory, a concept from Nobel
Prize winner Richard Thaler thatchanged everything.
A nudge is simple.
It's any tweak to yourenvironment that changes
behavior without taking awaychoices or adding penalties.

(01:06):
Google didn't remove a singleMM.
Instead, they moved them fromclear containers to opaque ones
and put them higher up, harderto reach.
Then they placed healthy snacks,pistachios, dried figs, etc., in
clear jars at eye level.
The results, in just sevenweeks, employees consumed 3.1

(01:29):
million fewer calories.
Candy consumption dropped 9% inweek one alone.
Then they tackled drinks.
Water went to eye level behindclear glass.
Sodas dropped to bottom shelvesbehind frosted glass.
Water consumption jumped 47%.
Soda calories fell 7%.

And here's the kicker (01:51):
zero complaints.
They tested plate sizes next.
Small plate usage increased 50%just by posting a sign that said
people with bigger plates tendto eat more.
They color coded foods, greenfor eat freely, yellow for
moderate, red for limityourself.

(02:13):
Desserts moved to the far cornerand were capped at three bytes
max.
The salad bar became the firstthing you saw when you walked
in.
Let me say that one more time.
They color-coded foods.
Green for eat freely, yellow formoderate, and red for limit
yourself.
So why does this matter for yourbrain?

(02:35):
Because your brain isn't makingdecisions in a vacuum.
Your environment is constantlynudging you for better or worse.
The snack drawer you pass on theway to your desk, the phone that
sits face up next to your bed,the clutter on your workspace,
these aren't justinconveniences.
They're architectural choicesthat shape your behavior every

(02:57):
single day.
The beauty of nudge theory isthis: you don't need willpower
when your environment is doingthe work for you.
Google proved that.
Small strategic changes,friction for bad habits, ease
for good ones can create massiveresults.
Your challenge this week, I wantyou to design one nudge in your

(03:21):
own life.
Just one.
Pick one habit you want tochange and adjust your
environment to make the betterchoice easier.
Want to drink more water?
Put a full glass on your deskevery morning before you start
work.
I will tell you that if I'mgoing to drink water, I need to
fill up a 32-ounce water bottlebefore I exit my house into the

(03:44):
office space.
Otherwise, I won't drink all daylong.
That said, my husband hasstarted to notice that both he
and I, while we're out hereworking in our offices that
we've built in our backyard, wedon't eat and we don't drink.
So part of our near future planis to add in like a kitchenette

(04:04):
in between our office spaces sothat we can have some food and
some drinks nearby us.
Otherwise, we start work and wejust go throughout our day.
And by the end of the day, wehaven't drink, we haven't eaten.
And in our previous one of ourprevious episodes about your
brain's budget crisis, well, ourbrain is in a budget crisis.

(04:28):
Is yours.
Another example, want to scrollless, charge your phone in
another room at night.
Want to read more?
Put a book on your pillow beforeyou leave for the day.
Make the good choice, the easychoice.
That's how you build anunshakable brain.
Our fun fact for the day is yourbrain uses 20% of your body's

(04:51):
total energy despite being only2% of your body weight.
That's like a small laptoprunning a data center.
Your unshakable brain is themost energy hungry organ you can
have.
Feed it and feed it.
Ferrari engine type fuel.
I'll teach you how to free feedit the Ferrari engine type fuel

(05:16):
inside the unshakable brainbook.
Pug it now on Amazon and learnto read your labs like your
brain depends upon it because itdoes.
I'm Dr.
Kylie.
Until next time.