Overeating can have both emotional and physical causes, but both produce unwanted results. You gain weight and feel like you are out of control. “Over time, eating too much food can lead to weight gain and increase the risk of developing a chronic condition, such as diabetes or heart disease. While you may be blaming yourself for lacking willpower or not trying hard enough, there could be something else at work. The real reasons why you eat more than you intend may surprise you, and many of them are relatively easy to fix.
Many everyday lifestyle habits tend to undermine a healthy diet. In today’s blog post, we will be discussing lifestyle habits that could cause you to overindulge when it comes to food. Be sure to read the entire post and then choose one or two suggestions to help you learn to monitor your eating habits.
Sleep well. A lack of sleep can make you want to eat more and crave high sugar and fat foods to provide energy for your body. This will make it difficult for your body to digest food efficiently. Go to bed early consistently so you can get at least 7 hours of sleep each night.
Socialize wisely. We tend to eat more when we have company. One evening a few years ago, I was out with a girlfriend. We were pigging out because we had had a hard day at work. Afterward, a huge meal, we realized that we had to be better accountability partners. Because we made it too comfortable for each other to eat unhealthily. I want to encourage you to be especially vigilant when you are enjoying holiday dinners and office parties. Try to find a lunch mate who eats healthy, so you can support each other.
Exercise more. Of course, I couldn’t write a post on getting healthy without mentioning the need to exercise. Physical activity burns calories and helps to fight depression and anxiety, which can lead to overeating. Aim to work out at least 30 minutes a day 3 times a week.
Deal with your feelings. While it is natural to associate food with celebrations and comfort, it is essential to have other ways of managing your emotions. Call a friend or write in your journal.
Speak with your doctor. A slice of cake rarely does much harm, but sometimes there are deeper issues at work. If you binge frequently or feel guilty and ashamed about your eating, talk with your doctor. Effective treatments are available to help you get to the heart of reason or reasons why you turn to food for comfort.
Eating too fast. Eating mindfully throughout the day can save you a lot of calories. Eating while we are busy doing something else makes it easy for us to eat more than we intend to without realizing it. The cure for mindless eating is sitting down while eating, paying attention to what you are eating, learning to enjoy your food, and making mealtimes a pleasurable event instead of watching TV. Also, beware of nibbling while you are preparing meals or lingering at the table after dinner.
Understanding why you overindulge is the first step in finding solutions that enable you to stick to a balanced diet and maintain a healthy weight. Use these tips to control your eating, so you can stay fit and enjoy your food more. The more you are connected to your body, the more you can listen to your body; it is an excellent gauge of what you need, and do not be afraid to speak to a professional if you find that you cannot control your eating.
“Overeating every once in a while is normal. So is eating for emotional reasons. “From the moment we’re born, we’re nurtured with food, rewarded with food, and so emotional connections to food are normal,” says Michelle May, MD, author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat.” If you find that you are eating to make yourself feel better after a bad day or deal with negative emotions, you may need to speak with someone to understand the emotional triggers that cause you to turn to food for comfort. This is especially important to know if you think about food often and feel guilty or upset after overeating. Food is one part of our life that we cannot live without, so we must learn to enjoy it make the most nutritious choices we can for both our physical and emotional health.
With Peace and Love,
Renee
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