Overeating is a huge problem. There are some really simple things that you can do to get yourself to stop it.
There are also a few things that can get in the way of your plan even if you have the best intentions and you are really motivated.
Here are a few things that you can do to stop overeating or binge eating.
#1 Food addictions.
There are certain foods like potatoes chips, like cookies that we can get addicted to. It’s not just the flavour. There are also chemicals, there is salt, there is refined sugar, refined oils.
These things are all addictive. If you eat those foods, it’s going to create a tendency in your brain to want to eat more of them.
The best strategy for overcoming foods addictions is to replace those unhealthy addictions with healthier food.
If you are addicted something salty, then try having a rice cake with some almond butter and sprinkle a little bit of salt on top.
Then you get something salty but it’s still whole foods and it’s not going to be as addictive as a bag of potato chips.
If you crave something cookies, then go for something sweet. You can eat fruit, just plain fruit; apple, orange, sprinkle some cinnamon on some orange slices, super delicious or banana.
You can blend up a banana with some cocoa powder and make a pudding if you are addicted to chocolate. So there are things that you can replace those addictions with.
This should help you overtime not be as addicted to those foods.
#2 Stop emotional eating.
When you are eating out of emotion, when you are eating to feel better about yourself, to relieve stress, to do something good for yourself, think about why exactly you are doing that and what you are looking for.
It’s not really about the food, and even if, like say you are stressed you eat a bag of cookies, afterwards, it often doesn’t relieve your stress.
So try to find something instead of a bag of cookies that will, like go for a massage, go to the spa, talk to your friends on the phone or go out for tea or something like that. Find a release for your emotion rather than the food that you are looking for.
#3 Count your calories.
A lot of us overeat because we have lost touch with how much exactly we should be eating and what a healthy portion size looks like.
Maybe you started a healthy diet plan. You were eating a healthy diet and suddenly one day you ate something unhealthy and never came back on track.
Have a track of your diet and see what works best for you.
So once you get all of those things taken care of then you can look at specific strategies to help stop overeating.
#4 Even when you are eating healthy foods, you can overeat.
Sometimes you make a recipe full of nutrients, it tastes awesome and it’s got all these healthy foods in it.
You’re still getting nutrients and it’s healthy foods but it doesn’t feel very comfortable when your belly is bloated and you just have to lie back on the couch and just lie there because you cannot even move, you are so stuffed.
So that’s not a good thing.
#5 Try to make a few flavours.
Number one is when you are making a meal, try to make just a few flavours in that meal.
Making a one-pot meal where you put everything into one pot is a really great way to do this because your tongue and your brain want to experience as many different flavours as are in the meal.
So if you have a meal where you have, like 5 different dishes, you are going to want to eat just a little bit of each one of them and your brain needs to have enough of each of them in order to feel satisfied.
If your meal only has one or two flavours, you only need that same amount of each flavour before your brain will feel satisfied. So that can be one trick to help you stop overeating.
#6 Chew your food properly.
Make sure you’re chewing properly and slowing down making sure you are slavering all of the flavours of your meal.
If you put time and effort into making this meal. So you might as well enjoy it. The first few bites are always the best. So really take time over those.
If you find yourself in the middle of the meal, and you realize that oh! I haven’t even thought about what I am eating, then take a minute, just stop, take a couple of breaths, and then really enjoy the food that you are eating.
Make sure that you have swallowed everything in your mouth before you take another bite.
Now it might sound really simple and you might think oh yeah! I do that. But next time you eat something, think about it because I thought, I did that but I don’t.
#7 Eat the best part of the meal first.
One thing that a lot of people do is they always save the best part of their plate for the last bite because that’s the last thing you are going to taste.
If you try to reverse that and eat the best part of a meal first, then you are not motivated to finish as much.
So when you’re eating something now, if your last bite is the best tasting bite, you’re definitely going to make sure that I finish my plate.
But if you eat those best parts first, then it might not be quite such a motivation to eat everything if you’re feeling full.
It’s not about restricting yourself from eating. It’s about making sure that you are actually listening to your body.
Make sure you are eating when you are actually hungry and that you are able to stop when you are properly full and fully satisfied.
