You’ve just finished eating and you feel thick as a tick about to pop – & it doesn’t feel good. While you were eating, your mind was elsewhere. It wasn’t until your plate was clear that you realized how full you are. Now, you feel disgusted and frustrated because this diet obviously isn’t working either.
How can you actually stop overeating? Lose weight? Gain the energy and life you want?
There is no cure or quick fix. But what I’m about to share with you some tips and tricks I’ve used and talked about with clients on this very topic.
Why Do You Want To Stop Overeating?
This may be a “duh” question to you, but I want you to really sit and think hard about it. Is it to fit into a pair of jeans again? To feel better in your own skin? So that you don’t feel out of breath when you play with your kids? Because you’ve seen your family members get diagnoses of type II diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, etc and you know you want to avoid it?
This is what you need to use as fuel when you’re feeling down. Grab a journal and write this in big letters on the first page (or put it in your phone where you’ll see it). Then, when you’re feeling off, you can come back to it.
Next – and this is the most important part – you have to have faith in yourself. You’ve got to be able to look at your future self and see yourself not overeating. You mind has to be resilient. If you’re already telling yourself you can’t do it, you’re right. You won’t do it. But if you get that mindset shift and confidence, no matter how many “failed” attempts you had in the past (although I like to call them lessons), you CAN do it. This isn’t an unrealistic goal. Others are doing it right now, so you can too.
Why Are You Overeating?
In America, our food has hidden sugars in them everywhere you turn. Combine that with processed foods and lack of exercise, then, Houston, we have a problem. But overeating can be a little more complex than you eat too much. The question that needs to be asked is “Why are you eating more?”
Your brain could be cued to eat in certain situations.
Do you sit down to watch TV and need a snack? This is an example of your brain going “hey! I’m use to snackin’ here!” I use to struggle with this and a bedtime snack. My body would tell me when 8 o’clock hit because I’d start craving a chocolatey treat. So, I’d walk my happy butt into the kitchen and grab something, even if I didn’t really want or need it.
You’re eating foods that don’t fill you up.
Ever chowed down on the beautiful food that is pasta, just to find yourself hungry soon after? Foods that are made from refined flours & sugars (refined = stripped of nutrients) can cause a blood sugar spike then crash, leaving you feeling hungry soon after eating. Sugar also had an addictive quality that keeps the brain wanting more, even if you’re full.
You’re not eating regularly
American work life tends to do like this: eat breakfast (maybe), get to work, plan for lunch at 11:00, work your tail off, get some more work in during lunch, then *bam* it’s 3pm and you never ate lunch. Whether or not you’re trying to lose weight, this isn’t healthy or effective. You need to eat an intervals so that your body stays fueled. When you go that long without eating, you tend not put nutrient dense food back into the tank..you grab whatever is closest and easiest to digest.
You’re stressed.
This tends to affect women more than men (not fair), but when you’re stressed, those chopped up veggies don’t really hit the spot. No you need the ‘good’ stuff, greasy, salty, sweet, or whatever you can get your hands on. These tend to make the pleasure centers of the brain go off more. And when you’re stressed, that’s just what your body wants – something ‘good’.
You’ve got too much on your plate.
Portion sizes in the United States are HUGE. This is especially true if you eat out often. Large meals are served on large plates. Although you maybe excited you’re getting a bang for your buck, this isn’t a bang for your health. When you have more food in front of you, you eat more. Just like at Thanksgiving supper when all that food is sittin’ round the kitchen and you’re grazing even though you just filled up on a meal. Using smaller plates & not keeping the food in view while eating (i.e. on the kitchen table in front of you) may help you.
You don’t pay attention to your food.
Remember TV try days? Those little tables you sat up in front of the couch then watched TV while you ate supper? Well, that ain’t good for you! Being distracted while you eat means you miss the cues that your body is full. This includes when you’re at work and eating lunch at your desk while you work. Take the 30 minutes you get, slow down, & pay attention to your food.
Make An Action Plan
Now go through that list above and write down what you’re doing. The next time you overeat or want to, write down what are you doing, how are you feeling, and if you actually hungry. If journaling or writing it down in your phone isn’t an option, maybe try the app Ate. I’ve had a few clients use this app and love it. 
Now that you can see your triggers, do something about it! Some things that I have done with clients are:
- Acknowledge your emotions
- If you’re feeling tired, overwhelmed, or stressed then feel the need to eat. Pause. Say to yourself “This is what stress feels like”. Then go from there. Usually taking this one, simple step can take you out of the emotion or simmer it down.
- Journal
- Write down what happened, why you’re wanting to eat, and how you WANT to move forward. But, write it as though it is happening in the present tense. See yourself walking away or whatever it is that you want to do. Heck, even open the notes app on your phone to write this down.
- Chew your food without distractions
- Sit at the kitchen table without your phone, a TV, or tablet propped up in front of you. Chew your food and just reflect on it. How does it taste? Is it hot or cold? This will slow down your eating and allow your stomach to signal to your brain when it’s full. To help yourself stop overeating, you have to be intuitive with your body.
- Go for a walk
- If you know you’re not hungry (I’m lookin’ at you pumpkin pie after Thanksgiving supper), go move your body. A gentle walk outside can do the trick if you’re needing to release some stress. Still wanting food after your walk? Maybe one of these snack ideas will do the trick!
Lookin’ for a lil extra support? Check this out.
If you liked this post, let me know and share it with a friend! You’re not alone in this journey and I hope this helps you.
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