1. Practice Self Care
Rest, exercise, and stress management are essential components of a healthy life, and when ignored, it’s easy to turn to foods high in sugar and simple carbohydrates as a way to manage one’s energy and emotions. The fact is, stress increases cortisol, a hormone that increases appetite levels. Therefore, being stressed can lead to increased hunger, overeating, and, ultimately, weight gain. By making a conscious effort to practice self-care by reducing stress, you can help prevent overeating.
Tried and True Tip: Maintain a regular sleep and exercise schedule and find a buddy to keep you accountable. Manage stress by listening to music, gardening, practicing yoga, meditation, exercise, and breathing techniques.
2. Minimize Distractions
From scrolling through your Facebook feed during lunch or eating popcorn while watching your favorite TV show, being distracted during mealtime causes you to overeat. Distracted eating can also cause you to eat more food later in the day because you do not realize or remember what you consumed.
Tried and True Tip: Make an intention to unplug from phones, computers, and other reading materials (aka magazines), so you can tune in to your body and the food you are eating.
3. Understand Your Triggers
Empower yourself for success by understanding what foods or situations might increase your risk to overeat or binge. Once you know your triggers, make a plan of action on how to handle them. Simply by understanding your struggles can help prevent or at least reduce the frequency of overeating episodes. Having a foolproof plan will give you the tools needed to handle the triggers successfully.
Tried and True Tip: Remove temptation from your fridge, pantry, or office stash. Share your goals with someone close to you and make a conscious effort not to bring leftover foods home that are tempting.
4. Journal
Use a food and mood diary to help identify patterns and triggers around overeating. Record what you ate, who you were with, how you felt before you ate, how you felt during the meal, and how you felt after. Over time you can reflect and see what food or situations might trigger a binge episode.
Tried and True Tip: Practice identifying the emotion before eating your feelings. Were you hungry? Anxious? Angry? Lonely? Tired? Bored? Embarrassed? While it can be uncomfortable to sit through and feel your feelings, it can also be powerful to realize the emotions will pass. That food is only a temporary fix to your feelings. What feelings do you want to feel? Call that into your life now instead.
5. Eat on a regular schedule
Avoid the temptation to save up your calories by not eating all day so you can indulge in dinner or party foods. Waiting to eat until you are starving only leads to overeating! Eating well-balanced meals helps stabilize blood sugars and hunger levels, ultimately empowering you to not overeat later in the day.
Tried and True Tip: Aim to fuel and nourish your body throughout the day by incorporating healthy fats, clean protein, and high fiber foods.
If you struggle with overeating, the tips listed above are an excellent place to start. However, they are just the beginning and most people need accountability. Book a free chat with me to see if we’re a good match, and to get started on the best healthy version of yourself, and make your dreams a reality! I’m with you all the way!
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