How to Avoid Mindlessly Overeating
Mindless overeating can happen all too easily. Here’s how to avoid overeating so you can stay healthy and balanced in your body.
Ever opened a bag of chips and then suddenly realize you’re halfway through the bag before you even come up for one breath?
Or you grab a spoon for a bite or two of ice cream, and next thing you know the whole container is gone?
Overeating.
It can be a problem.
It can be a problem you’re not even aware you’re doing.
Nobody sets out to overeat, but many people do.
Overeating can lead to weight gain and other health issues, as well as feelings of shame and regret.
Paying attention to a few important things can help you avoid mindlessly overeating.
Here are some ways to avoid overeating so you can feel good in your mind and body.
How to Avoid Overeating
Have a Plan
Having a plan and regular eating schedule can go a long way in helping you feel good about the quantities you’re consuming.
I always work with my health coaching clients on setting up a good schedule to prep their meals. That includes taking time to decide what to eat, when to eat, and prepping ingredients in advance.
Having a framework around your meals and your mealtime helps to avoid any binge eating you may want to do later when you’re over-hungry.
When you know what you’re eating and when, you’re less likely to get into a spot where you’re desperate for food and may overindulge, and overindulge in food that slows you down.
Balance Your Meals
If you want to avoid overeating, make sure you’re consuming balanced meals.
Having the right ingredients at each meal will help you feel full and satisfied.
Ensure that your meals contain a combination of fat, fiber, and protein. You can read more about these important macronutrients and how they contribute to balanced blood sugar.
When your blood sugar is balanced, you’re less likely to have cravings and want to overeat.
Including the right amount of healthy fat, filling fiber, and clean protein will leave you feeling satiated and complete after your meals.
On the flip side, if you consume a lot of sugar and processed carbs, you’re likely going to be enticed to continue eating them. Since they’re pretty empty calories, they don’t fill you up, hence your ability to eat a bag of potato chips in one sitting.
Plate your food
Always put your food on a plate or in a dish. Then take that dish and sit down and eat it.
Eating directly from the container often leads to overeating. You can quickly lose track of how much you’ve consumed.
The same goes for eating while standing. You might think you’re just going to pick at a few things from the fridge or the cupboard, but all that picking can quickly turn into a whole meal, between a meal.
You can manage your portion sizes better when you plate your food.
Often we don’t realize how much we’re eating when we consume directly from the bag or while standing and picking, so that’s why it’s a good idea to decide in advance how much you’re going to eat and stick with it.
Studies also show that most people stop enjoying something after a few bites anyway, so avoid the shame and regret later by deciding in advance how much you want to eat.
If you do decide to indulge in a treat, pick a small amount that you’re going to truly enjoy. Then enjoy without shame or guilt, which would really defeat the purpose of having it at all!
Slow Down and Breathe
The simple act of slowing down will help a lot in reducing overeating.
Sometimes we just get on a roll and hypnotically start eating. Then we barely remember having finished a container of something, let alone, if we enjoyed it or not.
Before you begin eating anything, take a deep breath.
Breathing is a good way to get into your body and out of any stress you might be experiencing. Stress can cause weight gain since cortisol increases with stress and can increase your appetite.
Take deep breaths and give gratitude for the food you’re about to consume. Thank the people who helped get it to you and then take your first bite.
Thoroughly chew your food.
Place your utensils down between bites to ensure that you’re not using a shoveling technique for eating food.
Eating slowly, mindfully, and breathing between bites will not only allow you to digest your food better, but it’ll also enable you to enjoy your food more, tasting all the flavors.
This slowing down at mealtime will also allow you to be more aware of when you’re full. Since there can be some lag time for the message to reach your brain that you’re full, you can avoid overeating by moving at a more gradual pace.
Remove Distractions
When you eat, try and be distraction-free.
What are some possible distractions that could lead to overeating?
Watching or reading the news.
Working
Reading
TV watching
Listening in on a work call
All of these activities can lead to distraction and overeating.
This can be especially true if you’re hearing or taking in negative news. Eating can be a way to try and calm yourself down.
Studies have shown that people overeat when distracted. Obviously, if you’re distracted, you’re not paying attention to the thing you’re actually doing – eating!
So take a break at mealtime. Slow down. Breathe. And enjoy your meal.
Pick Alternate Behaviors
If you feel an urge to overeat coming on, try and pick another activity to do before you indulge.
Call a friend. Take a walk around the block. Dance it out. Go outside. Basically, distract your monkey mind which may be agitated and want something to make it feel better.
Time with a friend is also bound to produce a longer, more positive feeling than overeating chocolate, which often brings on a lot of shame that can stay with you a while.
Connect with someone else or move your body for a longer-term happier and healthier outcome.
Practice Healthy Living
Practicing positive, healthy living principles in all parts of your life will help you to avoid overeating.
It’s kind of like when you start going to the gym, you begin caring more about what you’re consuming. If you’re getting stronger in your body, you’re usually less interested in binge eating a box of cookies before bed.
You can read more about my healthy living principles but know that when you’re getting good sleep, feeling connected to your purpose, and feeding yourself positive thoughts, you’re going to be a lot less interested in overeating. Your focus will be on keeping your energy high for all that you want to do.
Get help
If you’re wanting to feel healthier and more balanced in your mind and body, it can be helpful to have a guide.
It can be overwhelming to know where to start on the road to healthy eating and living.
As a women’s health coach, I can help you create new behaviors so you can have more energy, feel great in your clothes, and peaceful in your mind.
If you’d like to learn more, visit my Coaching page and apply to start the process.