How You Can Stop Overeating
By Madhusudhan Tammisetti
For a healthy body, you should eat what you need and not what you want. It's OK to overeat once in a while but not good for health if it becomes a norm. Eating more than you need in one sitting or eating more calories in a day than required is a common habit.
Over time, overeating may result in weight gain, and the risk of developing chronic conditions, such as heart disease or diabetes, increases.
Whether it's an eating disorder or not, it's a challenging task to break the cycle of overeating. Before moving on to some techniques that can help reduce overeating, you should know the difference between overeating and binge eating disorder.
Overeating, as the word says, is the overconsumption of food. It involves taking an extra serving or eating more dessert than usual. It happens periodically, and you've a sense of control of what you're eating. Whereas in binge eating, you don't have control over what you're eating. It happens frequently. Some of the binge eating disorder characteristics are taking large meals, followed by regret, self-loathing, and immense guilt. Binge eaters often eat alone for fear of being judged for taking large portions of meals in one sitting.
Let's look at some useful tips that can help overcome overeating.
Get Rid of Distractions
One of the common reasons to overeat is distractions. Whether you're hungry or not, you get your hands on what's available in the kitchen or eatery and start eating. This happens when you're talking on the phone, watching TV, working on your desk, driving, or feeling zoned out.
When you slow down and stop getting distracted, you start paying attention to what you're eating and how much you're eating. The key here is to eat without any distractions so that you're fully conscious when you're eating.
Emotional Eating
It's another common reason for overeating. People go through emotions, such as stress and boredom, regularly. Some of them struggle to deal with these emotions. They tend to reach for snacks when they get bored and have nothing to do but watch TV for long hours or eat comfort foods after a long and exhausting day at the office. Other emotions, such as grief, may occur less frequently but can trigger emotional eating.
The best way to stop or lessen emotional eating is to keep the snacks out of sight. One good suggestion is to stop storing them in the freezer. The harder the access to the snacks, the lesser the chances of overeating that food.
Instead of eating unhealthy snack foods, such as chips, cookies, candy, and crackers, opt for satisfying foods. Stay away from cheese, chocolate, and milkshakes, as they contain more calories for a little volume. Opt for food that has more fiber, protein, and water content.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Tucson, Ariz.