Why do we overeat? What's your plan?

Russellb97

Ok we can admit we like to overeat which is why we are obese or overweight.

The first question is, why do you overeat?
2nd question is, what's your plan to deal with the foods we generally overeat?

We have 3 choices
1. Eliminate the foods we typically overeat
2. Have them but try to eat those foods in moderation
3. Have a day off to eat what you want and as much as you want while keeping a weekly caloric deficit.

1. If you when you diet you eliminate the foods you generally overeat on are you able to remove those foods forever? Or do you plan on adding them back in moderation after you hit your goal?

2. Can you limit those foods daily to stay in "moderation"?

3. Can you keep them to one day a week?

I'm all about the big picture and long-term results and I think we need to not only ask ourselves these questions and have a plan to deal with these foods.

crzycatlady1

I was overweight because I didn't understand how CICO worked. Figured that out, lost the extra weight and have been maintaining for years now. I still eat the foods I like and haven't made any drastic changes to my diet. I just adhere to portion sizes and stay within my calorie goals.

Russellb97

crzycatlady1 wrote: »

I was overweight because I didn't understand how CICO worked. Figured that out, lost the extra weight and have been maintaining for years now. I still eat the foods I like and haven't made any drastic changes to my diet. I just adhere to portion sizes and stay within my calorie goals.

Awesome! I personally struggle with the "you can't have just one mentality" How do you stop yourself from overeating once "pandora's box" is open?

SunflowerSandra

Lays chips, the sea-salt light version (it's more crunchy than regular), I eat an entire bag in one go (~ 800 cals).
However, I wasn't overweight, I just looked in the mirror and didn't like what I saw one day.
On maintenance now and I still overeat some days, but with the lower days it averages out nicely.
Chips I simply don't buy unless I plan to eat them all in one sitting. With a glass or 2 of wine.
I have done this maybe once in the last three months.

Other than that I eat everything in moderation (except when I spent a weekend with all my girlfriends, which is rare these days, so all bets are off). I generally eat more on special occasions, fit in some treats, on weekends a slice of cake might replace some fruit and a protein bar, I don't always log these days, it works for me and it keeps me happy and sane

Russellb97

SunflowerSandra wrote: »

Lays chips, the sea-salt light version (it's more crunchy than regular), I eat an entire bag in one go (~ 800 cals).
However, I wasn't overweight, I just looked in the mirror and didn't like what I saw one day.
On maintenance now and I still overeat some days, but with the lower days it averages out nicely.
Chips I simply don't buy unless I plan to eat them all in one sitting. With a glass or 2 of wine.
I have done this maybe once in the last three months.

Other than that I eat everything in moderation (except when I spent a weekend with all my girlfriends, which is rare these days, so all bets are off). I generally eat more on special occasions, fit in some treats, on weekends a slice of cake might replace some fruit and a protein bar, I don't always log these days, it works for me and it keeps me happy and sane

That's pretty much much what I do. I know I can overeat a few days and be just fine for maintenance. However to lose weight I had to keep it to one day a week. I'm very curious as to others do it?

lemurcat12

I am not currently overweight, but I was.

Russellb97 wrote: »

The first question is, why do you overeat?

The reasons I have come up with:

I'm small (5'3), so unless I am active it's quite easy to. I think I originally started gaining when I was depressed and became rather abruptly sedentary and eating around 2000 calories (which had been fine when I was active).

I like food.

My social life and (to a lesser extent) work life involve going to interesting restaurants and I like to take advantage of that (and it's easy to think of a restaurant as a special occasion when really it's not).

I like to cook and to try out interesting recipe ideas, which may not be low cal. I spent a lot of time learning to do a good pie crust, for example, although luckily I got burned out on baking before deciding to lose weight, so not wanting to eat the results is a good reason to defer desserts to others, for the most part.

Eating for emotional reasons/self comfort (working on this).

Mindless eating (including cooking overly large or overly caloric portions just from not being thoughtful). In addition to portion size, this includes eating stuff between meals just because it's there and looks kind of tasty (or because if it appeared at my office, well, that's a sign I should eat it.) (This general category has been an important and relatively easy change that has helped with weight loss.)

2nd question is, what's your plan to deal with the foods we generally overeat?

I don't have specific foods I overeat and those I don't.

I do have some things (like Indian food or Ethiopian food) that I find hard to moderate when I go out for them, and so I eat them less frequently and on a day when I can splurge or have lots of exercise calories.

We have 3 choices
1. Eliminate the foods we typically overeat

Again, this assumes that overeating is a matter of specific foods, which is not my experience.

2. Have them but try to eat those foods in moderation

I suppose I do this, but like I said I can't really split foods into those I overeat and those I don't. Some things that people might consider tough not to overeat I find easy to eat in a reasonable portion (ice cream), whereas other things I just have rarely when I have enough calories to eat what I want (Indian, sometimes pizza, etc.).

3. Have a day off to eat what you want and as much as you want while keeping a weekly caloric deficit.

Every once in a while, but I don't do this weekly. I do tend to have long workout days on the weekend which make it easy enough to fit in what I want without thinking too much about it, at least in maintenance.

1. If you when you diet you eliminate the foods you generally overeat on are you able to remove those foods forever? Or do you plan on adding them back in moderation after you hit your goal?

My feeling is that if a food is something you normally overeat (like Indian for me), it must be something you really enjoy, so why eliminate it? Just have it more rarely.

2. Can you limit those foods daily to stay in "moderation"?

I don't feel a need to eat anything daily. There are "treat" type foods that I could have daily and can moderate (like ice cream).

3. Can you keep them to one day a week?

If this was a strategy that worked for me, sure. I think it's a legitimate strategy, if there are specific foods harder to fit in, but for me there are too many items I like to eat them once a week.

I'm all about the big picture and long-term results and I think we need to not only ask ourselves these questions and have a plan to deal with these foods.

What I find is that if I eat only at meals, eat balanced meals with lots of vegetables and adequate protein, and watch portion size and higher cal additions (nothing wrong with cheese and olive oil, but know they are high cal), that I tend to have some room for some kind of "treat" in sensible portion. This might mean a higher cal main dish (pizza, pulled pork, prime rib, whatever), it might mean some cheese as an after dinner treat or some ice cream, it might mean eating a little more sparingly throughout the week for a planned restaurant meal that I know will be high cal on the weekend, stuff like that.

endlessfall16

OP, I like your thinking. In a way, you're like me, like to analyze or at least wonder about issues. You are on your way to good things!

To answer your questions, IMO we overeat due to many things: lifelong conditioning, boring lifestyle, a bit of weak willpower, low tolerance for pain, lack of discipline and knowledge. It would be completely opposite if we reconditioned our eating behavior and time, found equal/more fun filling our time with other activities (hiking, movie, sleeping, traveling...); understood the body better and accepted some discomfort from not being full or having delay meal time;

You don't need to eliminate, moderate or have a day off for anything. What you need is knowledge to work out the equation of amount of activities you do (energy expenditure) and amount of food you can consume, and some knowledge to manipulate your body effectively and a bit of willpower in the form of willing to work. Like, I don't wanna get up at 7am everyday to go to work, but I make myself to. Cheers.

grayblackmfp

I overeat for emotional reasons and when really tired
My weaknesses are chocolate and sweets. Don't have a problem eating reasonable sized healthy meals. So I know that to keep on track I can have some chocolate, but I have to buy the actual size that fits my calories. I can't buy a big one or multi packs because I don't have much willpower in this are.

RoxieDawn

SunflowerSandra wrote: »

Lays chips, the sea-salt light version (it's more crunchy than regular), I eat an entire bag in one go (~ 800 cals).
However, I wasn't overweight, I just looked in the mirror and didn't like what I saw one day.
On maintenance now and I still overeat some days, but with the lower days it averages out nicely.
Chips I simply don't buy unless I plan to eat them all in one sitting. With a glass or 2 of wine.
I have done this maybe once in the last three months.

Other than that I eat everything in moderation (except when I spent a weekend with all my girlfriends, which is rare these days, so all bets are off). I generally eat more on special occasions, fit in some treats, on weekends a slice of cake might replace some fruit and a protein bar, I don't always log these days, it works for me and it keeps me happy and sane

Well I guess I can echo just about all of this... My potato chips of choice is def Lays Sour Cream and Onion, and Ruffles with sour cream and onion dip... I think I really like sour cream and onion..

I def eat a lot more on special occasions and holidays... that's not gonna change.. My plan is to keep up with my calories in and continue to exercise till I can't exercise anymore.

GottaBurnEmAll

I'm another one who's no longer overweight.

]Ok we can admit we like to overeat which is why we are obese or overweight.

The first question is, why do you overeat?

Many reasons, stemming first back to childhood trauma and eventually coming down to just becoming habit. I became an emotional eater, but I grew accustomed to large portions of food as well. I am a short person and I was sedentary for my whole life.

2nd question is, what's your plan to deal with the foods we generally overeat?

We have 3 choices
1. Eliminate the foods we typically overeat

I do this to some extent, but rather than eliminate them entirely, I limit my access to these foods. I either buy them in single servings or only buy them infrequently.

2. Have them but try to eat those foods in moderation

I do this most of the time.

. Have a day off to eat what you want and as much as you want while keeping a weekly caloric deficit.

Not so much a day off, but a planned maintenance day within my goals? Yup.

The only foods I've eliminated completely from my diet are those which I've need to due to food intolerances. I've already lost most of the weight I need to lose, I'm just pushing for maybe another 5 vanity pounds. I plan to enjoy everything I love, in moderation. For me, that's not necessarily every day, though it might be in maintenance when I have more calories. I'm just as happy with a piece of fruit as I am with a cookie, for example. I don't "need" the treats to not feel deprived. But when I want them, I have them.

Evamutt

One of the main reasons i overate was because i only ate twice a day, so by lunch i was really hungry & had too much. Now I eat several times a day so don't let myself get really hungry. #2 I love Lays potato chips. I do still eat them but not every day & eat one ounce along with a meal, not by themselves. #3 I love sausage and some kind of yummy sauce over rice. I've had sausage a few times but with plenty of veggies & a microwave potato & ate it real slow.

lightenup2016

I guess I just enjoy food. And PMS really increases my appetite for about 5-7 days each cycle. There are several foods I've found tend to make me eat too much. Since beginning losing weight about 3 months ago, I haven't taken any foods off the table, but there are definitely foods that I try to keep out of the house because I know that I will eat too much of it. For instance, I don't buy bags of chips except for tortilla chips for planned meals which will be split by our family of five. Also, if I buy ice cream as a treat for my family, I will buy the flavors I do not like so that my family will eat it and I won't. If there's cookies and cream ice cream in the house all bets are off! But mint chocolate chip I can leave in there for 20 years and never touch. I will still eat potato chips if we are somewhere like a party but then there usually are so many different foods that I can keep it to one serving of chips.

I have had a problem with over eating when I make some of our favorite dinner dishes. Recently I've been using the MFP recipe builder and trying to figure out servings better. I've found that by knowing more precisely how many calories are in each serving, I'm more careful about how much I eat. When I'm unsure of the calories, I just have an "I don't care" attitude and I'll eat more.

Another food I can eat way too much of us butter with bread or potatoes. So I just try not to have in the house many of the things I would normally put butter on. Overall our family has cut back on bread. Every once in a while we'll have "breakfast for dinner", and I will have butter on my pancake. But only after I've had already had eggs and sausage, so that I'm already beginning to get full.

Basically I'm just trying to figure out ways to moderate. I know I'll still overeat at times (like last night's PMS-induced mashed-potato-and-butter fest!), but over time, and with the help of MFP and Happy Scale, I'm slowly figuring out how to balance those overage days with lighter eating days. And knowing I can do all of this helps me to think I just might be able to handle maintenance this time around, and not get derailed by a few high calorie days!

Machka9

Russellb97 wrote: »

Ok we can admit we like to overeat which is why we are obese or overweight.

The first question is, why do you overeat?
2nd question is, what's your plan to deal with the foods we generally overeat?

We have 3 choices
1. Eliminate the foods we typically overeat
2. Have them but try to eat those foods in moderation
3. Have a day off to eat what you want and as much as you want while keeping a weekly caloric deficit.

1. If you when you diet you eliminate the foods you generally overeat on are you able to remove those foods forever? Or do you plan on adding them back in moderation after you hit your goal?

2. Can you limit those foods daily to stay in "moderation"?

3. Can you keep them to one day a week?

I'm all about the big picture and long-term results and I think we need to not only ask ourselves these questions and have a plan to deal with these foods.

I was overweight because I travelled the world for about 8 months, and there's a lot of really good food out there.

I lost the weight when I settled down and started eating normally again.

goldthistime

lightenup2016 wrote: »

I know I'll still overeat at times (like last night's PMS-induced mashed-potato-and-butter fest!), but over time, and with the help of MFP and Happy Scale, I'm slowly figuring out how to balance those overage days with lighter eating days. And knowing I can do all of this helps me to think I just might be able to handle maintenance this time around, and not get derailed by a few high calorie days!

Me too (except for the Happy Scale part, I don't know what that is). We just hosted a cottage full of people for Cdn Thanksgiving and I didn't log and ate pretty much whatever I wanted. I've done this kind of thing enough times in the past that I'm confident that I'll get back on track this week.

Back to the OP's original question "Why do you overeat?" I have many answers: comfort, boredom, inattentiveness, etc. Typically I overeat starchy or sugary carbs, often in conjunction with fats. If I can keep the protein, fruits and vegetables at the forefront, I don't overeat. So, in a way, my answer still falls into the category of mostly avoiding the most decadent treats (like cake and chocolate bars) and moderating bread, rice and desserts. I don't have weekly cheat days, although sometimes I loosen up on weekends. So D. All of the above.

lightenup2016

goldthistime wrote: »

lightenup2016 wrote: »

I know I'll still overeat at times (like last night's PMS-induced mashed-potato-and-butter fest!), but over time, and with the help of MFP and Happy Scale, I'm slowly figuring out how to balance those overage days with lighter eating days. And knowing I can do all of this helps me to think I just might be able to handle maintenance this time around, and not get derailed by a few high calorie days!

Me too (except for the Happy Scale part, I don't know what that is). We just hosted a cottage full of people for Cdn Thanksgiving and I didn't log and ate pretty much whatever I wanted. I've done this kind of thing enough times in the past that I'm confident that I'll get back on track this week.

Back to the OP's original question "Why do you overeat?" I have many answers: comfort, boredom, inattentiveness, etc. Typically I overeat starchy or sugary carbs, often in conjunction with fats. If I can keep the protein, fruits and vegetables at the forefront, I don't overeat. So, in a way, my answer still falls into the category of mostly avoiding the most decadent treats (like cake and chocolate bars) and moderating bread, rice and desserts. I don't have weekly cheat days, although sometimes I loosen up on weekends. So D. All of the above.

Happy Scale is an app that you enter your daily weight into and it gives you a moving average of your weight. This gives you a much smoother line, so you can more easily see your overall progress without the jagged line and outliers. I like it because one high point on the scale doesn't affect your average much, so it's less discouraging. Yes, I'm one of those weigh-everyday people. I'm not sure if it works if you're not putting in daily entries.