Best tips to avoid overeating?

[NorthernEnclosure]

Hey friends,

 

I'm Tyler and I'm a glutton. I eat too much. Now, it's good food — real food! But too much of a good thing is still a bad thing.  If I'm not tracking my food intake, I default to eating twice as much as I should. So I'm asking: What are the best strategies you've used to help limit portion sizes, track your food intake, and not just destroy everything in your fridge?

[alexis88]

use side plates instead of full size?

[Mythical]

I work at an amazing restaurant where staff meals are provided and any left over buffet food is left for the staff at the end of the night, we have an awesome staff snack zone, AND we're allowed soft drinks from the bar any time we need one.
PLUS I'm a Guide leader (like Girl Scouts) and we have biscuits and cordial available for the Guides all the time during the meeting.

I'm also prone to overeating at home, if there's any good food there.

 

What stops me from overeating is to remind myself that this stuff is not limited - there will be more roast potatoes available on my next shift, there will be more biscuits out next week, there will be more snacks in the snack zone tomorrow.  I don't NEED to shovel them all into my face right now.

[SkyeRose]

Side plates are my life saver! 

Drink plenty of water

Leave half of your food and walk away, come back if your hungry

Only serve up a small amount and if your still hungry - carrots! You have to be really hungry to eat raw carrots!

 

These are my favourites and how I manage my cravings for tasty, unhealthy foods. 

[Zahirah]

I am trying to cultivate mindfulness in regards to my food intake.  I love food, and I am a walking garbage disposal.  And like you, a lot of what I eat is good, healthy food, but sometimes it's just too much. 

 

For this challenge, I am keeping a food journal every day in order to cultivate the practice of staying mindful about what I am eating.  Just a small moleskin notebook that I keep with my planner.  I have publicly committed to donating $100 to an anti-LGBT group if I fail this quest.  It's pretty significant motivation.

I chew a TON of gum.  I also am an emotional/bored eater, and sometimes I just need to be chewing something, so I keep gum with me pretty much always.

 

Protein powder, to cut down on the hunger.

 

At least 2 liters of water a day.

I am also trying my best to ask myself before I eat, "How will eating this make me feel?  Do I really need this?"  I think just explicitly cultivating a practice of mindfulness around food is really helping me.

[Igaduma]

1 hour ago, Zahirah said:

<snip>

I have publicly committed to donating $100 to an anti-LGBT group if I fail this quest.  It's pretty significant motivation.
<snip>
I chew a TON of gum.  I also am an emotional/bored eater, and sometimes I just need to be chewing something, so I keep gum with me pretty much always.

<snip>

I misunderstood the donation thing at first and was a bit dismayed

Then I read it again... It's hilarious.  I can imagine it working really well as motivation.

 

Chewing a ton of gum...  That might cause issues.  If you chew stuff, the rest of your digestive system starts preparing for food, that in the end never comes.  And some of the stuff your body pours in to your stomach, for example, is pretty agressive  Depending on how well your body can handle that (or not) that might be an issue

[Zahirah]

1 hour ago, Igaduma said:

I misunderstood the donation thing at first and was a bit dismayed

Then I read it again... It's hilarious.  I can imagine it working really well as motivation.

 

Chewing a ton of gum...  That might cause issues.  If you chew stuff, the rest of your digestive system starts preparing for food, that in the end never comes.  And some of the stuff your body pours in to your stomach, for example, is pretty agressive  Depending on how well your body can handle that (or not) that might be an issue

 

Huh, I just learned something new!

I don't seem to have any issues, thankfully, but good to keep in mind

[Norgaard]

eat when you eat.

 

avoid eating whille doing other things like using the computer, watching tv or so.

 

just sit down and eat, taste the food. 
you tend to eat less when you are not distracted

[Evicious]

"I am not a dog; food is not a reward." <-- I developed the problem of feeling like I "earned" more food when I worked out, or passed over food options I really wanted but knew were absolutely horrible for me. What's helped in addition to that mantra has been hot tea. Anything with cinnamon in it (which I looooove) tends to taste sweet without any kind of sweetener being added; I make it hot because that also gives the illusion of feeling full from drinking it. If I absolutely must have something savory (re: food) rather than sweet, I'll make broth. I just microwave a cup of water until it's almost boiling (usually 2-3 minutes), add a bullion cube, and stir.

 

I've also found that I overeat most often when I'm tired. If it's within an hour of my bedtime, and I find I can't stop thinking about what's in the fridge even though I know I've eaten plenty, I take myself to bed. And if that still doesn't help and I cannot sleep because I cannot stop thinking about eating, I get up and make myself a large mug of warm milk. I've never had a continuation of the issue after that! (Although I do usually have to pee about half an hour later, just as I start to fall asleep.)

[Zahirah]

6 hours ago, Evicious said:

 

 

I've also found that I overeat most often when I'm tired. If it's within an hour of my bedtime, and I find I can't stop thinking about what's in the fridge even though I know I've eaten plenty, I take myself to bed. And if that still doesn't help and I cannot sleep because I cannot stop thinking about eating, I get up and make myself a large mug of warm milk. I've never had a continuation of the issue after that! (Although I do usually have to pee about half an hour later, just as I start to fall asleep.)

This, also.  If I haven't gotten 7-8 hours of sleep, it screws me up big time in terms of my diet.  I am hungrier the following day and I eat more because I need the energy.  I am pretty anal about my bed time during the week for this reason.

[ArgSki77]

I am a big follower of the stay hydrated motto. I tend to feel far less cravings if I am constantly sipping water at my desk. Feel like it gives me less spikes in hunger levels throughout the day and makes me only get hungry when I actually need to eat something.

 

I also track everything on MyFitnessPal. I make all my work meals(breakfast, lunch, pre-workout) on the weekend and put them all in tupperware containers. It makes my meal decisions as difficult as grabbing 3 containers out of the fridge each morning. I know that the food in each container fits my calorie and macro goals for that meal.

[H-Texas]

There are a lot of good tips given so far. 

 

You say you are eating real food.  If you are sticking to vegetables and good quality meat, its hard to overeat.  I would advise to increase the amount of vegetables you eat.  They are very low in calories and are very filling.  So over eating them is hard.  Also meal planning and keep a food journal has been very, very important to any success I have had in controlling what I eat.  And it helps me make sure my macros protein, fats, and carbs are where I need them. 

 

Are you overeating because: it tastes so good you cannot stop.  you are bored.  still feeling hungry but never feel full.  

You need to step back and be honest with yourself as to why you are doing this, because you cannot fix a problem if you do not know what you are fixing.  I go back to the food plans and its cousin, the food journal.  Look back over it and see if certain foods cause you to over eat more than others, then be honest with yourself and think if maybe cutting them out and only have them on occasion is best for you.  I personally know I cannot control myself around pizza and chocolate chip cookies.  So I must keep myself away from them completely.  I am not a person that understands moderation when it comes to those foods.  Via my food journal I can see other foods that cause cravings after I eat them.  It can also be good to write down how you feel after you eat a meal, so you can see how this tracks over time and see reoccurring patterns.   

 

Try different things, and see what works. 

 

Sorry I have gone on so much, I wish the best to you and just keep at it.