It’s pretty hard losing weight when you don’t not how not to overeat isn’t it?
There’s loads of reasons why you might be eating too much, and in this article I’m going to give you 4 things you can use to know how not to overeat
What Do You Want Instead?
So you know you’re eating too much. What do you want instead? And don’t say – not to be eating too much!
You have to decide what it is you want, and think about it in way that makes you feel happy. Because when you feel happy about it, you want to go there, and then obstacles (like eating more than you need) become easier to get over.
I hate it when my house is a tip (liken to hating being overweight). If I stood in the middle of the mess and complained about it, and moaned about how much I hated housework (compare with trying to not overeat), not much would change. Instead I think about what I want, a nice clean house, and that thought makes me happy. It also motivates me to clean the mess up!
So when it comes to your health and weight – what do you what? This is the most important bit when it comes to stopping eating too much.
Eat With Awareness
If you’re an experienced driver you can get in your car, know where you’re going, and arrive there with having little memory of the journey you’ve just taken. That’s because you’ve been on auto pilot and your mind has been somewhere else.
If you allow your mind to switch to auto pilot while eating (e.g. eating while watching TV), it’s a great recipe for eating too much. Your que to stop might be your empty plate, rather than the full signal from your stomach 5 minutes ago.
If you know you eat too much, take away distractions for a time while you’re eating. Remain awake and conscious of what you’re doing. Enjoy your food, and become aware of when your stomach is telling you you’ve had enough.
Reduce Refined and Processed Food
Reduce your intake of food that isn’t really food.
When it comes to weight problems the worst offenders are the white things – sugar, white flour, right rice, etc.
Because they aren’t in their natural form anymore they don’t have great effects on your body. In a nutshell they increase your appetite beyond what you need.
Choose food in its whole form instead.
Do Other Healthy Things
The more things you do to nurture your health the better, because they tend to snowball and add to each other.
For example, if you’re making healthier choices regarding your activity, you’re less likely to want to mess all your effort up by eating too much. If you’re making an effort to give yourself enough time in bed to get the amount of sleep you need, you’re less likely to drink too much alcohol or loads of caffeine.
How Not To Overeat
So there’s 4 pretty straight forward things you can try to see how much they help you discover how not to overeat.
Perhaps pick one that you’re not doing yet, and do it for the next 4 weeks to see what effect it has on your intake. And then let me know!
Have a great week!
Dr Julie
