Heather: Hey guys!
This is Heather from healthyeatingstartshere.com.
So today I want to talk about how to stop overeating because it's a huge problem and
there are some really simple things that you can do to get yourself to stop overeating.
But there are also a few things that can get in the way with your plan even if you have
the best intentions and you are really motivated.
There are a few things that I want to talk about quickly first.
So number one is food addictions.
There are certain foods like potatoes chips, like cookies that we can get addicted to and
it's not just the flavor, there are also chemicals, there is salt, there is refined sugar, refined
oils.; these things are all addictive and if you eat those foods, it's going to create
a tendency in your brain to want to eat more of them.
So, really, the best strategy for overcoming foods addictions is to replace those unhealthy
addictions with healthier food.
So if you are addicted something salty, then try having a rice cake with some almond butter
and sprinkle a little bit of salt on top.
Then you get something salty but it's still whole foods and it's not going to be as addictive
as a bag of potato chips.
If you crave something cookies, then go for something sweet.
My favorite is fruit, just plain fruit; apple, orange, sprinkle some cinnamon on some orange
slices, super delicious or banana.
You can blend up a banana with some cocoa powder and make a pudding if you are addicted
to chocolate.
So there are things that you can replace those addictions with and that should help you overtime
not be as addicted to those foods.
Then there is a emotional eating and that is a huge topic that I am not going to get
too much into right now but I just want to say that when you are eating out of emotion,
when you are eating to feel better about yourself, to relief stress, to do something good for
yourself, think about why exactly you are doing that and what you are looking for really
because often, it's not really about the food, and even if, like say you are stressed and
so you eat a bag of cookies, afterward, it often doesn't relieve your stress.
So try to find something instead of a bag of cookies that will, like go for massage,
go to the spa, talk to your friends on the phone or go out for tea or something like
that, find a release for your emotion rather than the food that you are looking for.
And then a lot of us overeat because we have lost touch with how much exactly we should
be eating and what a healthy portion size looks like.
So you can find more info about portion sizes on my site and that's also a really big part
of what I put together in my seven day meal plan was teaching you how to look at portion
sizes and figure out how much you should be eating on a regular basics.
So once you get all of those things taken care of then you can look at specific strategies
to help stop overeating.
I have put a list of ten things on my site that have helped me personally because even
when you are eating healthy foods, you can overeat.
So sometimes I make a recipe and I make full of iron meal that I really-really love, it
tastes awesome and it's got all these healthy foods in it.
So I look at and then I think, oh!
I can eat all of this and I eat more than I need which isn't a huge problem because
I am still getting nutrients and it's healthy foods but it doesn't feel very comfortable
when your belly is like bloated and you just have to lie back on the couch and just lie
there because you cannot even move, you are so stuffed.
So that's not a good things, so some things that I have done to help prevent overeating.
Number one is when you are making a meal, try to make just a few flavors in that meal.
Making a one pot meal where you put everything into one pot is a really great way to do this
because your tongue and your brain want to experience as many different flavors as are
in the meal.
So if you have a meal where you have, like five different dishes, you are going to want
to eat just a little bit of each one of them and your brain needs to have enough of each
of them in order to feel satisfied whereas if your meal only has one or two flavors,
you only need that same amount of each flavor before your brain will feel satisfied.
So that can be one trick to help you stop overeating.
Another one that has really helped me is to slow down and make sure I am chewing properly
and Đ I mean slowing down making sure you are slavering all of the flavors of your meal,
I really enjoy it because you put time and effort into making this meal.
So you might as well enjoy it.
The first few bites are always the best.
So really take time over those.
If you find yourself in the middle of the meal, as I often do, and you realize that
oh!
I haven't even thought about what I am eating, then take a minute, just stop, take a couple
of breathes, and then really enjoy the food that you are eating.
One really interesting thing that I learned on chewing is to make sure that you have swallowed
everything in your mouth before you take another bite.
Now it might sound really simple and you might think oh yeah!
I do that.
But next time you eat something, think about it because I thought, I did that but I don't.
So I have been working on that for the last little while.
Another thing I have been working on is when I was little, I used to always save the best
part of my plate for the last bite because that's the last thing you are going to taste
and I kind of, wanted to wash down some of the things that I didn't like so much with
the things that I do like and that has stuck with me but if you try to reverse that and
eat the best part as a meal first, then you are not motivated to finish as much.
So when I am eating something now, if my last bite is the best tasting bite, I am definitely
going to make sure that I finish my plate.
But if I eat those best parts first, then it might not be quite such a motivation to
eat everything if I am feeling full.
It's not about restricting yourself from eating; it's about making sure that you are actually
listening to your body, that you are eating when you are actually hungry and that you
are able to stop when you are properly full and fully satisfied.
So I hope those tips have helped.
You can again; find lots more over on my site at healthyeatingstartshere.com.
I will post a link with this video to the article that will have a full list of all
of my thoughts on how to stop overeating.
If you guys have any thoughts, feel free to share them in the comments and I will see
you next time.