How to Combat Overeating

We are ALL guilty of overeating. Bored? Eat. Sad? Eat. Nervous? Eat. As a society we eat until we are full and uncomfortable. Instead of looking at food as a essential way to nourish our vessels, we have turned it into a mindless habit. After a certain point, most of us pass the eating for taste and satisfying our hunger stage, to a stage where we are racing to finish our plate without even tasting what we are consuming.

Food is needed by our bodies to nourish and energize us, so why do we force ourselves to eat past the point of comfortability, to the point of feeling lethargic?

We are conditioned to eat to a point that isn't necessary, our bodies can run off much less than we realize. Focus on your body's signals while you eat and listen to them. Eat to feel satisfied and energized. Full does not equal uncomfortable. I know I am guilty of this but I've learned to minimize the damage. Below are some of my favorite tips on how to not go overboard in general, when those pesky emotions take control or all those other reasons life just makes ya want to eat.

12 TIPS TO HELP PREVENT OVEREATING:

1. Eat slowly. It is recommended to eat over a span of 20 minutes, as this is how long it takes for your brain to realize your are full. Eating faster can cause you to continue to eat past the point of when you are full. If you eat slowly, you have time to realize that you are in fact full and stop before you overeat. The "I'm full, stop eating!" signals from your stomach to your brain are evolutionary for a reason. Say whattt, can't relate. But yes, they do happen. Most of us just eat too fast to notice. When you eat fast, you have time to eat many helpings, maybe even dessert, the whole fridge... before these signals are sent and by then you are stuffed. If you slow down and nurse your meal and give your incredibly designed body the chance to make that signal you will be full, but comfortable. Eating quickly also increases risk for indigestion and acid reflux, so by slowing down you decrease them from occurring!

2. Chopsticks. Get you some. Eating with chopsticks helps you to eat slower (refer above as to why that's important). And you feel all fancy like. WIN WIN.

3. Walk into the kitchen, open the fridge, stand there staring for a couple seconds, then grab a couple grapes and go back about your business. Then repeat approximately four times. Anyone else do this? No? Yeah me either. But I'll give you one word for this. Boredom. When find yourself halfway through a bag of chips with guac and no recollection of how you got there, you know its time for intervention. Instead of reaching for a snack, try to do something that will keep you occupied. Take a walk, read a book, go to the gym, anything to get your mind stimulated or your body moving. You would be surprised how often we eat just out of pure boredom, but once you learn to recognize this it is easy to fix!

4. Apple cider vinegar and cinnamon, both slow down carbohydrates from absorbing in the small intestine, leading you to feel fuller for longer. I like to make a tonic containing these two ingredients first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. You can drink this tonic three times a day, before each meal, but I find just the morning works best for me. Recipe: 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in 8oz of water, a couple shakes of cinnamon and honey to taste.

5. Don't skip meals. You should be eating a meal every four to five hours. When you wait longer between meals your blood sugar drops. This causes ghrelin to be released. Ghrelin is a hormone produced by the stomach that increases appetite. Having not ate for over five hours, the lack of food will cause your ghrelin hormones to create stronger hunger pangs and may in return lead to over-indulging. For example, skipping lunch or just eating a granola bar may result in binge eating for dinner. You're starving so you eat a huge dinner and eat more than normal because your stomach is empty from not eating lunch. You might even chose foods that aren't healthy, such as dessert or chips because dinner didn't fill you up enough. If you notice your hands are shaky or you're just down right grumpy for no reason, it could be due to hunger. Literally drop what you are doing, because food is life, and take a snack break to get those blood sugar levels normal again.

6. Up the protein and fiber, they keep you fuller for longer. The recommended daily value for fiber is 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men. The sad truth is that the average person only eats 15 grams of fiber per day. Fiber is key to promoting healthy and frequent bowel movements and keeping your hunger curbed. Some yummy high fiber foods to add to your diet include: lentils, figs, black beans, flax seeds, chia seeds, pears, avocados, oatmeal. A staple in my diet is chia seed pudding. It's so versatile and full of fiber- a whopping 5 grams per tablespoon. Recipe: 2 cups of nutmilk and 1/2 a cup of chia seeds, soak in the fridge for at least 15 minutes but overnight is preferred. Top with berries or fruit of your choice!

7. De-stress. High cortisol levels are a bodily reaction resulting from stress. Cortisol encourages hunger and overeating and may lead to weight gain overtime. When you feel anxious and notice yourself stress eating, try to work on ways to manage your tension. Yoga, meditation, saying affirmations daily, confiding in a friend, all of these are incredible ways to help reduce your stress levels.

8. Eat enough calories and get a variety of nutrients at each meal. Eat three quality meals a day. Load up on the veggies, healthy carbs, fruits, herbs and don't constrict calories if the food is from the Earth! The quality of your food is key to helping prevent you from over eating. Dense, nutrient packed meals will keep you full and energized for hours. Where as a McDonalds cheeseburger will provide you with none of the essential nutrients you need and will not keep you energized. It's actually proven that fast food, because of the extremely high levels of sodium, causes dehydration. Signs of dehydration and hunger are very similar so your body may be tricked into thinking you are still hungry. This is similar to not eating much to try to lose weight, if you starve yourself of the nutrients your body needs, this might cause you to binge later. Getting the calories you need each meal and for the day is crucial in keeping you healthy and also keeping you satisfied during the day so you don't stray to unneeded snacks.

9. Keep healthy foods in eyesight. Store fruits and veggies on the counter and front and center in the fridge. Cut them up so that they are easy to grab- causing you reach for healthy choices instead of processed foods. A healthy snack of fruit will keep you fuller for longer than a cookie will!

10. Drink water. Next time you’re feeling hunger pangs, try a glass or two of water first. Studies have shown that drinking water before every meal will decrease your chances of overeating!

11. Watch your portions. Two handfuls of food is equivalent to about 2/3rds of your stomach. Eating to this point will make you full, but not stuffed and lethargic. It will allow your stomach to have time to properly digest the food you just ate before your next meal.

12. Growing up, if I ever told my mom I was hungry after just eating she would reply, "Do you want an apple." To which I would reply no. "If you don't want to eat an apple, you are not truly hungry." WHY DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG TO LISTEN. It's the truth though, if I was truly hungry just about anything would sound appealing. A certain food didn't because I was either craving something in particular, such as ice cream, or I was just looking to use food as an emotional crutch. So next time you find yourself in this perdicment, ask yourself; Do I want an apple?