By I don’t know anyone that hasn’t found overeating a challenge during their lifetime. We all tend to eat more for various reasons, yet it’s not always something that we are consciously aware of early enough. Usually, by the time we realise, the damage has already been done. During my various phases of overeating, I accumulated body fat and weight over an extended period. But, unfortunately, I only realised my horrible habit when clothes became a lot tighter on me. That’s possibly the most frustrating part of the process. Wanting to kick yourself because “Oops, I did it again!” Looking back, I discovered my trigger to overeating and then turned it around one step at a time. It was overwhelming, but knowing why I began to overeat gave me insight into my food flaws and how to overcome bad habits that are not serving my long-term health and longevity goals. It can be quite confronting to call yourself out as to why you overeat. Perhaps this may bring about memories of trauma, pain and hurt — to name a few. When I asked myself why I constantly did this, I realised that stress and change were part of the problem. My need to please and get it “right” really put a lot of added pressure and anxiety in my body. I found chewing soothing as well as relaxing in times of heightened stress. So now I’ve learnt to eliminate this habit and replace it with something more positive — such as making a warm tea & practising mindfulness when drinking it. Maybe moments like this can push me to get outdoors for a walk and allow the fresh air and sunshine to ease my stress levels. We can all find specific triggers to replace the negative behaviours and make fantastic progress towards self-healing and better health. Here are a few other hacks that helped me along the journey towards eliminating overeating for good.
Six sneaky yet easy methods to end overeating for good
Method One: Know the trigger foods and get rid of them
If you find that having trigger food in your cupboard leads to overindulgence, then it’s best to get rid of it.Eliminate it until you aren’t overwhelmed by its presence. There may be a chance that it will never happen to you. If that’s the case, get rid of it for good until you eat it as a treat. These so-called feel-good treats are indulgences once or twice per week — period. We should spend 80% of our time eating foods that will enhance our health, not diminish it. This is the reality of weight loss, maintenance and good health. Effort and discipline are needed long term. So having a treat once or twice a week won’t do much harm. But, it’s the overindulging of these foods that put a hole in our weight loss efforts. If you manage to eliminate the trigger food having power over you — then well done, you are now the boss of what goes into your body.
Method two: Practice food flexibility
It’s not a good idea to get rid of all the foods you enjoy, but making small manipulated tweaks can help you through the tough times. I have found a method that allows indulgent eating without damaging my health or weight loss goals. Write a list of all the foods you love, and make “healthy” alternatives for them. To give you an example, if you love fried chips, cut up some sweet potato or even eggplant and zucchini in chip form, and use an air fryer instead. They turn out nice and crispy. Then, add salt and some mustard. Trust me; it’s delicious! If you feel like ice cream, how about freezing some bananas, then blitzing them with some protein powder. That makes protein nice cream. Using a bit of creativity can go a long way — and who knows, you might like these so much that they become a very normal part of your food plan!
Method Three: Fill up on veggies first
My best go-to strategy for eliminating snacking is to eat all the veggies on your plate first. Then, fill up on all kinds of colourful veggies — use the season to dictate your choice. Then, in winter, make a veggie soup containing a substantial amount of water, and have that as your starter dish. All of these alternatives contain high levels of water and fibre, which will fill up your tummy!
Method Four: Stress relief is SUPER important
Stress can, again, lead to overeating (as I have discovered time and time again). It may not always be that realistic to eliminate stress, but taking steps towards softening the blow is better than doing nothing at all. How about going for a walk when you are fired up, or perhaps listening to some soothing music, meditation or leaving the office for a gym session. All of these little things can sidetrack the stressful emotion and then relieve it somewhat. I believe we all have to find ways that help us eliminate the overwhelming feelings of stress. I have friends who enjoy a boxing session, a very long run in the morning, and one friend who wanted yoga during lunchtime. These moments are for self-healing, and we are all entitled to spend at least 30 minutes a day doing something just for us.
Method Five: Eat without distractions
It’s so easy to eat in front of your computer, working away and taking phone calls simultaneously. Yes, you can get that extra bit of work done, but it comes at the expense of your precious meal time. Isn’t it just lovely to switch off for 15–20 minutes and have your meal? That’s all the time it takes to enjoy a decent meal and become aware that you’re eating it. But, unfortunately, distractions during mealtime leave us open to eating a lot more than we need, and therefore, increasing our chances of weight gain.
Method Six: Don’t forget your protein.
Although you don’t have to go overboard on protein, you will notice a difference in your satiety levels when you eat it more often. This is because higher protein levels reduce snacking tendencies and keep your blood sugar levels stable during the day. If you find yourself hovering over the biscuit tin or chocolate cupboard at 3 pm, may I suggest having a high protein snack instead? Try eggs, maybe some cheese or perhaps a small yogurt with some almonds. Keep up doing it, and you will notice a difference in your appetite, weight, and energy levels.I have used these strategies endlessly over the years, and even though I don’t find the need to lose weight, I still like to eat well and manipulate my macros. Leading a healthy life involves keeping a close eye on your nutrition and having a bit of freedom now and again to enjoy things outside of your regular menu. Go ahead, give these a try, enjoy the benefits and share some of these tips with friends and family. Perhaps they may benefit from another person perspective.