Food… it’s a source of pleasure and sustenance, nourishing the senses, spirit, and body. It can also be a double-edged sword, giving one freedom and another pain. A common issue that continues to endure the test of time is overeating. The occasional incident is fine, but when it becomes a habit, things quickly go sour. It affects both physical and mental health and can be very difficult to overcome. However, I have a few suggestions as to what you can do to prevent it. If you or someone you know has a serious problem and it’s affecting your quality of life, I highly suggest you seek professional help as this could be a deeper, psychological problem that a therapist or psychologist can properly address. Otherwise, try these out, and let me know if they help in any way!

To Skip or Not to Skip?

In some cases, skipping meals or even incorporating a form of intermittent fasting when one or multiple meals are skipped is a recipe for disaster. Let me reiterate: this is for some people, not everyone. But for those of you who skip or even forget to eat a meal only to binge later on need to get into the habit of eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If intermittent fasting is becoming too difficult to maintain- especially if you’re pigging out the moment you break the fast- then going back to three square meals might better serve your bio-individuality. On the flip side, for some people, intermittent fasting enables them to tune in to their natural hunger cues; they’ll truly get to know whether they’re eating for entertainment or out of real hunger. I’ll also point out that intermittent fasting isn’t recommended for individuals prone to disordered eating since restricting and binging are part and parcel with those extremes. Maintaining a regular eating schedule sets you on track for creating balanced meals. That way, you’re less likely to overeat after feeling like you’ve been starving for so long. (Again, I am not a professional in these matters, so if you suspect or are dealing with a disorder, please get the proper help.)

Remember to Eat Whole Foods

A lot of times overeating comes from being overstimulated. Specifically, being addicted to highly palatable, calorie-dense foods. As you know, I am not a fan of counting calories. Especially if the foods you eat come from nature rather than a factory. That being said, there’s no denying the fact that many processed foods contain high-calorie counts and are often eaten in quantities that far exceed their recommended serving size. After all, isn’t it easy to polish off an entire bag of chips? Or finish off nearly a pint of ice cream like there’s no tomorrow? That’s because these foods overstimulate our taste buds and tempt us to eat more. These foods aren’t always a single flavor, either. Many times, they’re a combination of either fatty, sweet, crunchy, or salty. In fact, these foods were made by design to make you overeat! Overeating these processed foods directly impacts the pleasure pathways in our brain, artificially causing an instant form of relief and gratification. [1] The more we give in to temptation, the stronger these pathways become. In the end, we end up with an addiction to these processed foods. Luckily, the solution is really quite simple: eat whole foods. Yes, I know, easier said than done. But think about it- habits don’t arise out of thin air, they took time to actually stick. While simply switching to whole foods overnight isn’t the easiest choice to make, by giving it enough time, you’ll start to dull those old pathways and make new ones in which you take pleasure from real, unprocessed foods that are less likely to tempt you to overeat.

Be Present

Speed is an important part of keeping us in control during meal. Ever notice during holiday feasts such as Thanksgiving that people are wolfing down their food while barely going up for air? Many people wind up taking to their food like a fish gasping for water out on dry land! And in these cases, they’re not really in the present moment. Ask yourself this the next time you find yourself tempted to eat more than a generous second or third helping- what does this food actually taste like? How does it make my body feel? Does it make me happy or anxious? Am I using this to distract me from something else? There’s more to meal time than just eating. It should be an experience. Mindfulness whenever you eat anchors you in the moment, helping you to really savor the meal while also getting in touch with your body. And slowing down and chewing, rather than gulping, your food also increases satiety (aka, fullness). In fact, it takes the brain around an average of 20 minutes to trigger signals of fullness. [2] Moreover, research from the North American Association for the Study of Obesity shows that slowing down during meals enabled overweight participants to take in less calories. [3] One final thing to factor in is being distracted. TV-dinners, multitasking on your phone at lunch break, or eating in front of the computer is yet another setup for overeating. Rather than focusing 100% on your food, you’re devoting nearly half or more on the screen. (Not to mention the fact that in doing so you’re less likely to be chewing as efficiently as you should!) More and more people are eating while being distracted by their phones, and this is yet another reason why they’re reaching for more food despite having eaten plenty at the moment. They took themselves out of the moment and disconnected from the natural satiety cues their body naturally makes. So, to sum things up, learn to chew your food and stay in the moment during meals. Turn off all social media and distractions and savor the meal; let it be your entertainment if you have to. But allow your body to talk to you and actually dictate whether you’ve had enough.

Plan Your Meals

One final suggestion is to plan your meals ahead of time. Instead of waiting for your body to feel famished and grabbing everything in plain site without any forethought, either cook ahead or plan your meals when you’re otherwise satisfied. That way, your stomach isn’t going around making outrageous orders. Creating a meal plan also puts your mind in the right direction, helping you to stay disciplined and accustomed to a normal pattern of eating. There’s even research to support this useful habit- in over 40,000 adults, sticking to a meal plan was shown to improve the quality of their diets as well as lower their risk of developing obesity. [4] (By the way, if you’re new to meal planning or need some structure in your life, then consider trying one of my meal plans. Great for beginners as well as those of you who want to your ZGYM training to the next level for optimized results!)

Now over to you- what have you done to prevent overeating? I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface here and can definitely make a part 2 to this topic! Share your experiences in the comments below!

Sources:

[1] https://integrativerd.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Highly-Palatable-Foods-slides.pdf
[2] https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/11/09/we-found-out-if-it-really-takes-20-minutes-to-feel-full_a_21602736/
[3] https://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/features/slow-down-you-eat-too-fast#1
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5288891/