how did you stop overeating

amyoliver85

Hi there, I saw that you said you've only been overeating for the past couple of weeks, so I assume that it happens in cycles while you're working to lose weight. So, I want to pose some questions that you can ask yourself to figure out what's happening.

1- You are holding a rather new infant in your arms in your profile photo. Are you breast feeding? Breast feeding is commonly known to cause an increase in hunger.

2- When you start overeating, on what day of your menstrual cycle are you? Premenstrual bingeing can begin 7 or more days before your period and may last through your period. So consider that aspect of your biology.

3- How are you sleeping? Sleep and hunger are scientifically proven to go together. I have personally found that if I get more than 7 hours of sleep each night, my body controls my hunger on its own. The better I sleep, the less likely I am to overeat, too.

4- Are you drinking enough water? The 8-8 ounce glasses of water per day rule is actually incorrect. Water intake is based on your personal biology. I have found that I do better with sleep, food, mood, and energy when I drink at least 80 ounces of water per day (outside of what I drink while working out). Additionally, when I feel like I need to eat, I drink a glass of water and wait 10 minutes. If I still feel hungry, then I eat.

5- What is your eating hygiene? Do you put the fork down inbetween bites? How many times do you chew before you swallow? How fast are you eating? If it takes you less than 10 minutes to eat a hamburger and fries, you might want to concentrate there.

6- What types of food are you eating? It's a lot less horrific for your weight loss plan to eat a pound of carrots than a pound of chocolate. Eating the right balance of foods is also important. There's room for some fat amongst the healthy protein and health carbs.

7- Are you being reasonable with your goals and are you practicing "safe" weight loss? If you are eating less than 1200 calories net (after exercise) then you're not eating enough. This puts your body in starvation mode, and then your body eventually fights back. I personally have set my daily calories to 1200. Then, if I exercise, the calories I burn I require myself to eat for fuel. Imagine if I ate 1200 calories and then burned 600? That's a net of only 600 calories. The human body can't sustain that.

Otherwise, I think everyone else has covered the other possibilities, like stress, etc.

PrincessPoquilaPie

I've struggled with my weight my entire life, and this time around has been th most successful ever, and I did it by learning more about myself in addition to the basics.
Here are the things I've learned about myself, personally...
I am most likely to overeat when I eat a "trigger food" aka something I REALLY like. The biggest ones for me are ham, pizza, and cheese. If I get a little taste, I'm going to keep eating and eating. So, I save those for "rare and appropriate" occasions.

I HAVE to meal prep. I just spent an hour cutting up and cooking 5 lbs of chicken and 2 cups of rice. It sucks and I complain and whine about it, but if I don't do it I stray andndnd screw myself over.

LOG LOG LOG! The things I eat every day, I don't always log. But if I have ANYTHING else, I'll think back and log everything eaten that day so I know what's going on.

Also, water. This one is tough for some people, as my MIL, husband, and one of my sons HATE water. However, myself and two of our sons love it and drink almost exclusively water. I have a giant 32oz cup from when I gave birth to our youngest and I fill it to the top 3+ times per day and sip on it CONSTANTLY so I know for a fact that when I'm hungry, I am indeed hungry.

I have to stick with "I like it, but don't love it" on the average day. My basic every day meals are 1) chicken, rice, 2 servings of a vegetable, and then I rotate between general Tso sauce, ranch, and honey mustard to keep it from getting TOO old. I have this twice per day. 2) Yogurt with an alternating 1/4c trail mix, granola, fruit and nut mix. 3) an additional snack of the trail mix, granola, or fruit and nut mix. 4) two slices of whole wheat toast with extra crunchy peanut butter.

I also have several hobbies that keep me busy. Crochet being the main one. It definitely helps to crochet while "watching" Netflix as a distraction.

Sooo, now that I've rambled and rambled, basically, try to be hyper aware of what is going on when you overeat, and try to think of possible solutions that suit YOU!

GottaBurnEmAll

kommodevaran wrote: »

If you are overeating because you are undereating, stop the undereating.

If you are overeating because of bad habits, get better habits. A good meal plan/structure, sitting down to eat, not eating in front of the TV etc, can help.

If you are overeating emotionally, work on better ways to meet your emotions.

If you are overeating because you feel deprived ("healthy eating" is often the cause), make sure you are eating food you like.

If you are overeating because you eat poorly, eat a more balanced diet, and get in more variety and fresh food.

If you are overeating because you have no handle on proper portions, weigh and log your food, at least for a couple of weeks.

All of this.

You want to know a funny coincidence about this post? Right now while I'm reading this, Meatloaf's "You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth" is playing on the radio in the background.

brandi8484

• Focused on protein goal
• Log & measure & weigh everything
• Walking

(it actually takes my stress away. Stress caused me to go to Pizza Hut or Mcdonalds before)

Tracyramos1220

If you like to eat often during the day (like I do), I will eat smaller meals 6 times a day. Make sure your portions are small. Then even if you get hungry, after an hour or so, you know you can eat in another hour or two. I also make sure to eat the right types of foods. Somehow, for me, if I know I can eat every couple of hours, I can get through a small bit of time feeling hungry. This will also keep your metabolism working all day. I also make sure I get at least a gallon of water in. Hope that helps.

ahoy_m8

kommodevaran wrote: »

If you are overeating because you are undereating, stop the undereating.

If you are overeating because of bad habits, get better habits. A good meal plan/structure, sitting down to eat, not eating in front of the TV etc, can help.

If you are overeating emotionally, work on better ways to meet your emotions.

If you are overeating because you feel deprived ("healthy eating" is often the cause), make sure you are eating food you like.

If you are overeating because you eat poorly, eat a more balanced diet, and get in more variety and fresh food.

If you are overeating because you have no handle on proper portions, weigh and log your food, at least for a couple of weeks.

wow... this is so good! The first one (under eating due to deficit too aggressive or poor planning) and the third one (emotional eating) nail it for me.

One thing that helps: it is much easier to resist unplanned snacking if I have planned (and am looking forward to) foods I truly, genuinely enjoy. That is essentially the same as the 4th point above except for the trigger. IOW, planning meals I really like is strong prevention for me even though feeling deprived isn't a trigger for me.

Shanel0916

There is really no answer for this, you have to decide you are ready to stop that cycle and commit to eating less. I spent 4 years in that cycle, once I was truly fed up with myself I finally became consistent and had real weight loss success. Its all a mind thing.

Reaverie

Started eating more protein. I went from 1800 cal a day weekly average to 1400 cal a day weekly average.