Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 5: Psychological Causes of Overeating
• Part 2 of 5: Eliminating Overeating Habits
• Part 3 of 5: Developing Good Habits
• Part 4 of 5: Overcoming Overeating
• Part 5 of 5: What is overeating

We all happened to overeat at the festive table, after which we reproached ourselves for not being able to refuse the second portion of grandma's delicious pie. However, persistent overeating is a fairly serious and widespread eating disorder. Chronic, rapid consumption of excess food can lead to later regret, embarrassment and feelings of helplessness. What's more, overeating can lead to serious health problems associated with being overweight, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Thus, by overcoming this bad habit, you can lead a healthier and happier life.

Steps

Part 1 of 5: Psychological Causes of Overeating

1. 1 Consult with a psychotherapist, especially if you have psychogenic overeating. In many cases, eating too much food is associated with deep psychological reasons. The help of a trained psychologist can help you identify underlying fears, anxiety, or depression that might be blocking your self-control.
   • There is strong evidence that those diagnosed with psychogenic binge eating also experience mood disorders.
   • Even if you do not have a psychogenic overeating, a therapist can help you if you overeat due to stress. Your doctor will identify the causes of anxiety, stress, discouragement, and other disorders and suggest appropriate ways to overcome them.
   • Show your food diary to the therapist. It will be useful for the doctor to familiarize yourself with it, and, perhaps, he will notice the features and reasons that have escaped your attention.
2. 2 Try to deal with feelings of irritation or sadness. Emotional eaters often try to muffle negative feelings by eating. In this case, by realizing your weakness and learning to deal with negative emotions in healthier ways, you can prevent overeating. If you feel anger, irritation, sadness, or other unpleasant feeling, try to overcome it with healthier methods. Call a close friend, share your feelings in a journal, or pick up a brush - do something useful that can improve your mood. If your irritation and sadness are related to past events, you can do the following:
   • Write a letter to the person who upset you. It is not at all necessary to send this letter. By pouring out the feelings of anger or sadness that are overwhelming you in your letter, you will relieve your soul.
   • Correct your behavior. Stand in front of the mirror and forgive yourself for the wrongs you have committed. By analyzing your feelings and freeing yourself from self-flagellation, you will embark on the path of healing.
3. 3 Refrain from overeating in stressful situations. When you're stressed, don't try to dull it with your favorite foods. Learn to recognize stress and find other ways to deal with it. Try the following activities:
   • Take a walk. Even a short 15-minute walk can release mood-enhancing endorphins in the brain to help manage stress.
   • Play with your pet.Pay attention to your pet and your body's release of oxytocin, often called the love hormone, will improve your mood.
   • Do breathing exercises. If you're feeling unhappy with thoughts, take some time and try to focus on something simple, like your breathing. Scientists have shown that breathing exercises and meditation can reduce stress and anxiety.
   • Do yoga exercises.
   • Learn to meditate. Meditation can help you deal with stress and can be practiced almost anywhere.
4. 4 Learn to listen to your stomach. Asking yourself the question “Am I full?” More often, you can avoid overeating. Often we eat mechanically, not paying attention to the signals given to us by our body. When we are full, we often continue to eat, which leads to overeating. Don't ignore the signals your body is sending you.
   • It is helpful to rate your hunger on a 10-point scale, where one is hunger so severe that you feel dizzy and weak, and 10 is when you feel overwhelmed, which causes painful feelings. Five corresponds to the norm at which you feel neither hunger nor full stomach.
     • Eat when you feel like three or four on this scale, and try not to drop to one or two points.
     • Stop eating when you feel five or six points, that is, you feel full or "pleasantly full."
   • During your meal, stop after eating about a quarter of your serving and ask yourself, "Am I still hungry (hungry)?" If the answer is yes, keep eating. Then, about halfway through the meal, ask yourself that question again. Remember that you don't have to eat everything to the end.
5. 5 Fight boredom. Many people eat too much because they are bored. If you feel like you have a ton of time to fill, do something. Find a hobby. Join the volunteer team. Go to the movies (but stay away from the popcorn buffet). Call a friend or get out of the house and take a walk. There are many fun activities to take your mind off the craving to eat just out of boredom.

Part 2 of 5: Eliminating Overeating Habits

1. 1 Eat slowly. Rapid absorption of food often leads to overeating. Try to eat slowly, paying attention to the food (its taste, temperature, and so on) - this way you will feel in time that you have satisfied your hunger and avoid overeating. This well-known method of “thoughtful” food intake is recommended by physicians as well as by various celebrities and chefs.
   • Do not eat while walking, in your car, or while busy with anything else. When taking food, distance yourself from all other affairs and sit down at the table. Try to avoid situations where you need to “intercept something on the fly”.
   • With another piece in your mouth, put a fork in.
   • Chew the piece thoroughly and swallow it before picking up the fork again.
   • Try to feel the taste of food, enjoy its appearance and aroma.
2. 2 Turn off the TV. You may not overeat because of stress and negative emotions, but simply because you are distracted while eating, not listening to the signals from your body. Do not be distracted while eating - turn off the TV, computer, put aside the book and focus on food and your feelings. The researchers found that watching TV with meals leads to a change in diet, with fewer vegetables and fruits and an increase in junk food, soda, and unhealthy sweets.
3. 3 Change your environment. We are all, to some extent, slaves to our habits. An unusual plate or eating in a new place can knock you off and you won't stop in time to continue eating after you are full.As one nutritionist noted, little things, such as changing meal times or reducing portion sizes, can develop into new habits over time.

Part 3 of 5: Developing Good Habits

1. 1 Get exercise. Shake yourself and start moving more. Exercise is known to have a beneficial effect on mood. Exercise lowers stress hormones, energizes and improves mood. Try to devote 20-30 minutes to moderate workouts daily. The following exercises work well to lift your mood:
   • Yoga
   • Swimming
   • Bicycle riding
2. 2 Remove temptations. Empty your kitchen cabinet and refrigerator of any foods you have been consuming to cheer yourself up. This way you will get rid of the temptation. After starting a food diary and finding out what types of food you tend to overuse, use that knowledge when shopping for food. For example, if you have a weakness for cookies and chips, try to stay away from the shelves of these foods in the supermarket.
   • Stay close to the edge of the hall when visiting the supermarket. Typically, sweets, chips, sodas and other unhealthy foods are in the center of the room, while vegetables and fruits, fresh meats and seafood are located at the edges.
3. 3 Refrain from fast food. Resist the temptation to drop by after work at your favorite fast food restaurant. After a busy day at work, you will be drawn to fatty foods and high-sugar treats. If you succumb to the temptation and still go to a fast food restaurant, instead of fatty and sugary foods, order healthier food, such as a salad or some kind of low-calorie dish.

Part 4 of 5: Overcoming Overeating

1. 1 Forgive yourself for temporary weaknesses. It's okay if you sometimes don't resist the temptation. Habits developed over the years cannot evaporate in one day. Be patient and don't beat yourself up for small weaknesses.
2. 2 Let go of your guilt. Shame, anger, and sadness will only lead to a vicious cycle that encourages further overeating. Give vent to discontent without seeking salvation in food. This can be done in the following ways:
   • Say goodbye to the past. Everything that you did earlier is left behind. Remind yourself that the past cannot be changed, while the future is up to you. It is necessary, taking into account your past mistakes, to move on.
   • Think about exactly when you turned off the right path. Analyzing your past behavior and its causes (weakness for certain foods, specific emotions, and the like) will help you get rid of guilt and focus on overcoming bad habits.
   • Think good things often. You can overcome feelings of guilt by remembering positive changes more often. Install an application on your computer that occasionally spits out positive messages that will cheer you up.
3. 3 Seek help if necessary. Overcoming overeating on your own can be tricky. Finding people with similar problems will make your task a lot easier. There are various organizations and societies dedicated to the problems of proper nutrition. If you need to urgently discuss your problems with someone, you can do it using the Internet, by going to any specialized site or forum, or by joining the relevant Internet community. Here are just some of the resources available:
   • Glutton Anonymous
   • National Association of Dietitians and Nutritionists (NADN, Russia)
   • Healthy Food Academy
   • Healthy eating and lifestyle forums
   • Health chat

Part 5 of 5: What is overeating

1. 1 Keep a food diary. Happiness doesn't always mean ignorance.By writing down everything you eat in a diary, you may learn a lot about your diet, as most people tend to underestimate the amount of food they eat. In addition, recordings can help you identify problem areas and times of day when you tend to overeat. With the help of the diary, you will also find out which foods you tend to abuse.
   • When entering data in a diary, be sure to indicate the time, food and its amount. In addition, you should write down what you did before eating, what your mood was, and in what environment you ate.
   • Keep a food diary on your cell phone, or carry a notebook and pen with you. Don't rely on your memory - most people underestimate the amount of food they eat, and you are also not immune to these mistakes. You can also forget about small snacks such as a handful of candy, ice cream, or a small cake (all of which should be logged).
   • Carefully write down portion sizes and non-main meals (salads, etc.) in a journal.
   • Sample food diaries can be easily found on the Internet.
2. 2 Examine your food diary for certain patterns. By writing down details such as your mood and your surroundings, you can discover some patterns and factors that lead to overeating. For example, you may find that you often overeat when you are stressed and upset about something, either when visiting with your parents or after interacting with certain people. This phenomenon is called stressful, or emotional overeating.
   • You should also pay attention to factors such as taking too long breaks between meals (which leads to overeating when you finally you get before meals), eating on the go (for example, in the car or while doing other things), in front of the TV or computer (people eat more when something distracts them from eating).
   • Pay attention to what the food looks like and how it smells. Perhaps, thanks to your diary, you will find out that on the way home you can not resist from going into a nearby bakery, from which a seductive aroma is constantly coming out. The smell of freshly baked bread can awaken the appetite of a well-fed person.
3. 3 Learn more about emotional overeating. Through your food diary, you may find that you often resort to food to deal with negative emotions, or simply out of boredom. Do you try to eat something every time you feel sad, stressed, angry, anxious, lonely, bored, or tired? You can try to suppress negative emotions with food. However, food has nothing to do with the causes of these emotions, and therefore it only leads to short-term relief, after which you feel bad again.
   • When you are stressed, your body releases cortisol, also called the “stress hormone,” which triggers a fight-or-flight response. This reaction can lead to increased appetite and cravings for tasty, but unhealthy foods (usually high-calorie foods, high in sugar), allowing the body to quickly obtain the energy required for such a reaction. If you experience chronic stress from school, work, family, or the environment, you have an increased risk of persistent emotional overeating.
4. 4 Understand the difference between physiological and psychological hunger. From habit, it can be difficult to determine when you are really hungry, and when the desire to eat is due to psychological reasons. Before reaching for a cookie or bag of chips, ask yourself the following questions:
   • Did you suddenly feel hungry? Physiological hunger develops gradually, while psychological hunger is felt unexpectedly and quite sharply.
   • Do you feel that you urgently need to eat something? As a rule, in case of physiological hunger, you can wait. If hunger is caused by emotional reasons, the person feels that he needs to eat right now.
   • Do you want to eat something specific? If you are ready to grab any of the wide range of meals, you are most likely physiologically hungry. However, if you need a specific product and only this product, you probably have psychological hunger.
   • Do you continue to eat after you are full? If you feel like your stomach is full but still hungry, it is likely that your hunger is emotional rather than physiological, as physiological hunger goes away with satiety.
   • Are you experiencing guilt, shame, helplessness, or embarrassment? If you experience any of these feelings after eating, chances are you ate to satisfy psychological rather than physiological hunger.
5. 5 Look for signs of psychogenic overeating. Emotional overeating does not necessarily mean you have this particular disorder. Nonetheless, psychogenic overeating is a fairly common eating disorder. Sometimes it takes on rather serious forms and even poses a threat to life, but at the same time it is treatable. Only a qualified specialist can diagnose psychogenic overeating, so if you suspect that you have this particular type of disorder, see your doctor. It is accompanied by the following symptoms:
   • More rapid absorption of food than usual, eating an abnormally large amount of food in a relatively short period of time (usually no more than two hours).
   • Loss of self-control while eating.
   • Eating alone due to the feeling of shame caused by the large amount of food consumed.
   • Eating large amounts of food without feeling hungry.
   • Feelings of shame, guilt, depression, or disgust caused by eating too much food.
   • Insufficient cleansing of the body after overeating, that is, overeating is not accompanied by vomiting or increased physical activity, which helps burn excess energy.
   • Overeating happens at least once a week for three months.
   • Please note that there is no clear connection between psychogenic overeating and body weight. You may be within the normal weight range, or you may be mild, moderate, or severely obese. It is important to remember that not every overweight person is prone to overeating or psychogenic overeating.