4 Ways to Stop Overeating

Ever reach for a bag of chips twenty minutes after eating dinner?  It’s a widespread myth that overeating is a typical sign of emotional distress.  Most of the time, you’re simply tempted by your taste buds.  When you’re infatuated with the thought of food, you start tricking yourself into thinking you’re actually hungry.  Then, you overeat.

So how do you tell when you’re actually hungry and when you’re not?  Before you wolf down another plate, maybe these tips can help you.

1. Eat Slower

Unless you’re ingesting something foul, it takes a while for the “fullness” to kick in.  Eating too fast is the chief cause of overeating because you’re stuffing down more food before the leptin released by your fat cells can signal to your brain that you’re full.

Eating slower also means chewing your food more, which is also an excellent way to aid digestion.  For foods of moderate texture, chew at least twenty times before you swallow.

2. Drink a Glass of Water

If you eat a meal and find yourself still hungry, you may in fact just be thirsty.  Have a glass of water, wait ten minutes, and your appetite will usually settle down.

3. It’s Okay to Leave Your Plate Unfinished

Yes, there are starving children in Africa.  Unfortunately, we can’t resuscitate that half-eaten chicken and ship it across the ocean, so there’s no sense in feeling guilty about it.  If you don’t want to be wasteful, just take smaller portions to begin with.

4. Go Do Something

Don’t think about ice cream.  Don’t think about ice cream.  Don’t even dare.

Did you think about ice cream?  Of course you did.  We can’t tell our minds not to think about something, and trying to do so will only make the thoughts clearer.  If you’re constantly telling yourself not to eat that dessert, you’re only going to want it more.  So once you’ve had your share, go start a conversation, read a book, watch TV, just do something to keep your mind occupied.

Photo by sociotard