It’s common for us all to overeat periodically, and it even happens naturally! When you overeat sometimes, it is not a big deal. But, if you become aware that you frequently overeat, you may need to discover ways to reduce it.
Regular overeating may make you physically ill and further alienate you from your needs and aspirations. It can also mean that you still need to work out how to engage in balanced, nutritious eating in a way that suits you.
Are you trying to stop overeating? Follow these three steps.
Step 1: Keep a journal for introspection
Maintaining a daily note to reflect on your eating habits is one of the first measures to reduce chronic overeating. The idea that people only overeat because they lack self-control or have a sweet tooth is a widespread one. Keeping track of your eating preferences and patterns is crucial since it may enable you to determine why you tend to overeat.
You could track how you usually feel on the days you overeat, what you eat before overeating, etc. For example, you could overeat due to stress or even joy. Or, you could also overeat on a particular day because your diet the day before was not adequate or balanced.
When you note all your eating habits regularly, you will notice a pattern that might help you find a way to deal with overeating regularly.
Step 2: Examine your eating habits in further depth.
You will start recognizing the patterns around overeating after maintaining a regular reflective notebook of your eating habits. Doing so will help you identify the underlying issue. In addition, you can focus on carefully arranging your meals to help you avoid these circumstances if you are aware of what makes you overeat.
Here are a few typical explanations for why most individuals frequently overeat. To find out if any of them are common in your life, you can include these in your regular reflective journaling:
Distractions
One of the main reasons most people end up overeating is that they are often distracted while eating. When you get distracted while eating, you fail to enjoy your food and realize your hunger levels.
Most people watch TV, scroll the internet, or do other work while eating. You can fully appreciate your cuisine when you take your time to enjoy dining and eliminate any outside influences. When you do not eat mindlessly, you also realize when your hunger satiates and how you feel before or after eating a meal. So, avoiding distractions while eating is one of the essential steps to stop overeating in our daily life.
Emotional Eating
Emotional eating is another common reason why people tend to overeat regularly. The emotions of boredom and tension are ones that many individuals frequently feel. Many people also turn to eating as a coping mechanism which could manifest as picking up snacks while watching TV in the evening or feeling compelled to consume comfort food when they arrive home from a demanding day at work.
Feelings like sadness, frustration, anger, irritation, loneliness, and worry can also influence emotional eating.
Environmental Triggers
Overeating may also be encouraged by your surroundings. Environmental triggers are particular circumstances or locations that cause the urge to overeat.
Some examples of this may be going to a movie and getting popcorn, grabbing a few candies from the bowl outside the workplace break room, or just eating out. These circumstances and places may be trying to tell you to eat. It can be difficult sometimes for people to remember to check in with themselves from time to time and determine whether or not they are hungry or whether other variables are controlling their eating.
Your meals need to be balanced enough.
Another common reason most people overeat is that they do not have a balanced diet. For example, we frequently continue to overeat if we adopt a diet regularly deficient in the nutrients such as protein or fat that make us feel satisfied. Or you may have blood sugar surges due to an improper macronutrient balance on your plate, which may make you feel hungry even after a quick meal.
Since each macronutrient has a particular role, following our Foundational Five system is critical to avoiding overeating.
Sleep deprivation
The body may refill, reenergize, and recover from the previous day with a good night’s sleep. A single restless night will not do much harm, but a consistent sleepless period can cause severe body damage.
The appetite and satiety hormones can become out of balance when a person is sleep deprived. Over time, this may lead to excessive desires, hunger signals, and increased appetite.
You skipped meals for too long.
Skipping meals for too long is also a common cause of overeating regularly. When we put off eating for a long time, our hunger cues finally take control, and we end up overeating.
After a long time of no food, our hunger cues increase when we see or smell food, and our bodies search for anything and everything to consume. Unfortunately, this frequently results in overeating to make up for hours without food.
Above are some common reasons why most people tend to overeat regularly. You can refer to your daily eating journal to check if any of these reasons cause you to overeat.
Step 3: Decide What Actions You Need to Take to Stop Overeating
You need to decide what steps you need to take to stop overeating now that you are aware of your eating habits and the underlying causes of overeating. One of the most common strategies individuals employ to avoid overeating is restriction.
You may conclude that you overindulge in chocolate because you lack self-control. Hence, to stop this, you should stop consuming chocolate altogether or stop buying a lot of it so that you do not have an opportunity to overeat it.
However, it is essential to realize that stopping yourself from eating or avoiding situations that will lead you to overeat will not help you. On the contrary, restricting yourself from eating something could result in heightened overeating in the long run, as limiting yourself could make you feel more stressed or sad. Thus, you might eat even more when exposed to that particular food.
The most crucial thing is to find and support the leading cause of overeating. This way, you won’t feel constrained and can maintain healthy eating.
Since each of us is so distinct, how we address our overeating problem will look different for each person. The secret is identifying the activities that will address the underlying issue and feel incredibly helpful and in line with your life.
