How to avoid overeating
#1 Identify your eating triggers – try writing down what you eat, how much, when, and how you feel at that time. This can be a very useful exercise in helping you understand what triggers you emotionally, and will help you develop a plan to avoid/deal with these triggers in the future.
#2 Eat a balanced diet. Remember that if you don’t eat enough to meet your energy requirements, you may be more likely to give in to emotional eating.
#3 Eat regularly – and don’t skip meals. This will help you to avoid binging on unhealthy foods due to adverse hunger.
#4 Aim to eat foods that are nutrient rich. Unhealthy binge foods rarely provide your body with any nutritional goodness. Choose whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean sources of protein.
#5 Don’t keep unhealthy food in your home – instead stock your house with healthy food and snacks; also try not to shop when you’re feeling down or hungry.
#6 Learn to eat slowly – sit at the table, place your knife and fork down between mouthfuls, and enjoy each bite.
#7 Tune into your body and become aware of how hungry you feel (using the hunger scale), and when it’s time to stop eating.
#8 Refocus your attention – read a good book or magazine, listen to music, go for a walk, take a bath, do pilates, or deep breathing exercises, call up a friend, do some housework, or wash the car. Try making a list of activities that you enjoy, and refer to this when you want to focus on something other than food.
Please remember emotional eating is something most people have done at some time in their lives. However, the problem comes when this behaviour gets out of control, rather than being in moderation.
If you do find yourself overeating, try not to dwell on the experience. Instead ask yourself “What can I learn from this?” and make a plan of action, based on what you’ve learned, so that you can better deal with it in the future.
Check out my latest post on emotional eating, or this one on mood and eating.
Have you battled with overeating? Do you have any tips for the other readers? We’d love to hear from you!
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
My favorite ‘binge food’ is a salad with Costco Rotissere Chicken – some apple cider vinegar, chili oil and a few pine nuts and my hunger goes away rather well.
Having lost 50 pounds, I now find myself really resisting chowing down on past comfort foods. (unless I’m sick…then anything goes.
).
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach’s last blog post..Is YOUR wordpress blog open and inviting thieves? Hat tip to Nicky510
This is definitely something I need help with as well. I would suggest that your hunger scale should have fewer items though, need to make it really simple to remember.
John’s Weight Loss Blog’s last blog post..Goals For The Week of 7/21/08
Hi Barbara,
Well done on losing so much weight! Do you have more weight to lose?
You can’t go far wrong with a healthy salad and a little lean protein as your “binge food,” as long as the dressing is healthy, as yours is…sounds delicious!
Hi John,
Thanks for your suggestion. Do you think the scale would be more readable in table format?
I tend to eat when I’m at home and I’m bored. I think that identifying what emotion causes you to eat, what you eat, and when you do it. I know that when I get bored at home I snack on bad food. It took me a while to notice it, but now that I know, I find that I will catch myself before I start snacking. I still do tend to eat junk food when I’m bored, but I am improving because I have identified exactly what the problem is.
I never used to think there was a pattern. Sad or happy, or bored. NOTHING. Then one day it clicked.
I eat when i want satisfaction. Minds out of the gutter here I mean…
* say someone promised to meet me for dinner and didnt show. In order to make myself happy with them I’d eat.
* When i get poor results in tests or the gym, i replace satisfaction with eating
* When i get dissapointed in people, eat, esp myself
I’m glad i’ve identified these, it makes it so much easier to combat. I still have a way to go, but I’ve been a few days pretty much binge free (well compared to before)
Hey guys! I am soo sick of being 90 pounds overweight!!! I want to look and feel great! But what is holding me back is the emotional eating. I don’t know if these tips listed above will be able to help. Can anyone give me some motivational things such as quotes, sayings, etc. please? Thank you. I have seriously tried dieting or eating right 100 times or more. I don’t know why I give up all together for a while and then I go back to dieting or eating right. It’s like a yo-yo. =( Please help me gain some perpective! I want my life back!
Hey Julie,
I’m so glad you left a comment! It’s not easy, but getting support is a big factor.
I’ve just posted 12 Weight Loss Tips, which I hope you’ll find useful.
The other thing is I’ve recently written a free ebook, really with people just like you in mind. It’s a step-by-step guide to help you break old habits that have held you back for years.
It also contains a few motivation quotes etc as you mentioned!
Anyway, I’d love to hear from you again.
Best wishes!
hi Julie
I have the same problem.
Melanie
Your article are very good. I need to learn to apply some of them.
Grandma Bunny
Hi Grandma Bunny,
I’m glad the article was useful!
Emotional eating is the biggest problem for me – usually do so when I’m not able to do the things I really want to do. For example – I have to do housework, or get certain jobs done around home, or do a boring activity at work. Eating a chocolate bar is the easy, and at the time, satisfying option, as it is simply not possible to go for a walk, read a book, have a sleep, watch a movie etc – the things I’d really like to be doing.
Hi Kerry,
It can be really difficult to overcome, but it certainly is possible. Is it possible for you to avoid keeping the tempting foods in your home?
Hey Guys!!!! this is it…..I am ready to make a change…..I just happened upon this site….How can we form a group that we all check in with each other weekly? Daily? Whatever we need….I DESPERATELY NEED THE SUPPORT AND none of my friends seem to have this issue and THEY ARE THIN.
help!!!!! looking for a support group!!!
cyn
Hey cyn,
A support group would be a great idea. What would the theme be – weight loss, emotional eating etc?
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