So, anyone that has sat down and had a proper meal with me may know that I have a bit of an overeating problem. I used to think that this was something that only I struggled with, having grown up with family members that didn’t like to waste food. Because of this, I went from a child with a really small appetite to a woman who literally wouldn’t stop eating until I was miserable.
I found out that not only has a LOT of us grown up with family members like this, but that overeating is something that a fair amount of people deal with regardless of upbringing.
A big part of why myself, and others that I’ve spoken with “suffer” from overeating is because… quite frankly… WE’RE AMERICAN. Overeating is legit an american thing. Our portion sizes are huge compared to most other countries (including other Western countries). That coupled with the instilled guilt of not cleaning your plate, and BOOM… you’ve got an extra 15-1500 pounds and a weak gut 🙂
Why Overeating is Bad for You (and Me!)
If you are an overeater like me, you know that overeating has negative effects on your body the second you’ve finished eating. That misery that soon follows the pleasure inducing last bite. Let’s be real, we started to feel the misery halfway through our plate, but just had to keep on eating!
In the short term, overeating causes significant discomfort. It can also cause excess gas and bloating, further contributing to our discomfort. In the long term, overeating can cause additional weight gain. It can also cause slowed digestion, expand the size of your stomach causing it to push up against other organs, and cause you to fee tired and sluggish (source).
None of these are positive, so that means we are doing away with them
Okay, off of my soapbox and ON WITH THE TIPS!
6 Tips to Stop Overeating
Disclaimer: I would like to preface these tips and tricks with stating that I am not a healthcare professional, and before you began to do anything to lose weight, you should consult you Physician. Your health is more important than your vanity. Also, if you are someone who battles with an eating disorder, please consult your Doctor before trying any dieting tips and remember that you’re beautiful.
1.Drink water before, during, and after your meal
People will often tell you to curb your appetite by drinking more water. But when you’re an overeater, drinking water can sometimes (somehow) make you more hungry. I realized that simply drinking more water is not really that great of advice. What really makes the water more efficient depends on when you drink the water.
I’ve found that drinking a glass of water 5-10 minutes before I eat helps me to gauge if I’m actually hungy. A lot of times, i’ve found that I’m not hungry at all, I was actually thirsty. If 10 minutes later my stomach is yelling at me, then I pour myself another glass of water and indulge in my delicious appropriately portioned meal.
While I am eating, I am then mindful to take small sips of water throughout the duration of my meal. This helps me to accomplish several things:
–it slows down my eating because I am stopping to drink
–it continues to hydrate me
–it fills my stomach up with fluids to help me feel full without having to eat so much food
Once I’ve eaten as much food as I am going to have, I then will either finish water water I still have from my meal, or I will have a nice warm cup of tea. (or both). Drinking water and/or warm fluids helps to curb your urge to go and get a second serving! The warm tea is especially good for this, since the warm sensation can be more satiating. The warm tea will also help to aid in helping to digest your meal, helping to reducing any after meal bloating (score!).
2.Properly Masticate Your Food
I can’t tell you how many people I’ve asked how many times do they chew their food before they swallow it, and they tell me something less than 10 (yes, I’ve actually asked people this question. I’m weird and I’m not ashamed).
I make it a point to chew each bite as many times as needed, but I aim for 25-30 chews. I don’t always actually make it to that number depending on how big the bite is, buts the range that I shoot for. Chewing your food properly will allow slow you down, and allow your stomach to actually register that there is food there and that you are getting full. Proper mastication will also aid in digestion, helping to reduce bloating.
3.Eat Foods that are Hot in Temperature
This one is kind of dangerous, but it has seriously worked wonders for me.
So even if I am drinking water before hand, properly chewing eat bite, and taking regular sips throughout the meal, I find that I am still sometimes eating really quickly ie. still shoveling food into my mouth.
One thing that certainly slows me down is having piping hot food on my plate. There is literally nothing else to do with each bite but stop… and take the time to blow… or suffer third degree burns. This tips is a little risky, but if you like your taste buds, it is certain to work.
4.Smaller Plates to Help with Portion Sizes
Once upon a time at work, I entered a weight loss challenge with my friends (hey Sha-riri and Victoria! 🙂 ) and that was when I finally got the chance to see what proper portions of certain foods looked like. I realized that I was regularly eating 2-3 times the amount of food that I should have been! I was mortified!
Everyone will tell you that a major key to weight/fat loss is portion control. I believe that this is true… but when you don’t really know what a proper portion looks like, things can get a bit sketchy.
I’m someone who genuinely LOVES to eat (and cook!), so the thought of having those little measuring cups and scales to measure out each meal really burned me inside. Once thing that forced me to eat smaller portions was to simply get smaller plates and bowls. I stopped eating most (if not all) of my meals from those super huge dinner plates, and instead opted for a smaller one. This way, even if I filled my plate up to the brim, it was significantly less than I would have had on my larger plate. Then, I would incorporate some of my previous tips and voila! I was actually full from what I put on the smaller plate.
5.Eat with Chopsticks
So this made my best fried die laughing at me when I told her I was going to eat my spaghetti with chopsticks… but hear me out…
Eating with chopsticks allows you to control the portion size of the bites that we are actually able to put in our mouth. We all know that it is suuuppeeerr easy to heap a really big bite onto a spoon or fork. Now try and do the same with chopsticks… things get a little trickier!
Now, it is obviously possible to get huge bites with chopsticks. However, as Westerners especially, we would have a bit of a learning curve. Because of this, using chopsticks slows us down enough to properly masticate and properly digest. Chopsticks also force us to pick up significantly less food at a time, again helping to slow down our eating and allowing our stomach to register as full before we are able to overeat.
AND LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, FOR THE SUPER DUPER DEDICATED
6.Get Rid of Your Microwave
I know, I know, I know.
This one is a bit of a doozy for some, but it is seriously helpful if you are serious about stopping your overeating habit.
A lot of times, I found that I was eating more food, not because I was hungry, but because my meal “tasted great!”, “I don’t think I’m full”, “I’m bored”, so on and so forth.
I was eating more out of impulse and compulsiveness than true hunger. One thing that allowed me to achieve this was my microwave. It made warming up another big ass plate, or those Trader Joe’s microwavables just way too easy.
Once I got rid of my microwave, I found that I actually had to put some thought into my meals, and when I wanted to warm something up it took significantly longer on the stove top. This would cause me to have a glass of water and realize that I’m not actually hungry after all, or procrastinate having to do “all of that work” and get distracted doing something else further staving off my false sense of hunger.
The microwave thing is a bit extreme for some, but truly a game changer.
So, are you an overeater? Have you tried any of these tips (or others)?
-Sea
