WILLPOWER: Not eating when you're not hungry

ReneeLynnC

I am not trying to condone eating disorders or something, but I just believe that if one isn't hungry, one shouldn't eat. I think that eating small tidbits of food throughout the day is ideal, but I sometimes find myself in a binging craze.

Any advice to stop eating excessively? I just over-think food too much to a point to where I eat it a lot. I can't help myself.

jwdieter

Maybe think about meal timing. Perhaps snacking is not for you. Maybe fewer, larger meals might work better.

Also, if you're doing the 1200 thing, maybe your body is telling you to eat a little more. Dunno. Just throwing ideas out there.

nomeejerome

Set reasonable goals.

ldula88

I used to have the same problem. I found that if I was hanging out at home, I was more likely to snack when I wasn't hungry if I was closer to the kitchen. I stopped reading, watching TV, etc. in my living room and now hang out primarily in my room on the upper floor. I also started pre-logging if I have time during the day. Knowing I have a meal plan for the rest of the day makes it easier to tell myself that the snack doesn't fit in my day. It also helps to know that I only have a set amount of time until my next meal when I plan my day out. If I really do get hungry, I can always add it to the log, but I rarely do get hungry between meals now.

michellekicks

Your body is a complex mechanism. If you aren't putting an adequate amount of fuel in it, it will compel you to do so one way or the other. The only way - in my experience - to maintain a caloric deficit over a long period of time in order to lose fat (if that's the goal) is to be mindful to keep your deficit small and eat regularly. For the longest time I'd try and save calories for my evening snacking but the more I tried to save the worse the evening snacking got. I have found if I'm deliberate about using up my calories during the day at regular intervals (and being deliberate about getting plenty of protein) the less I even want to eat at night.

cmeiron

Binging or plain old overeating can sometimes be the end result of excessive caloric restriction - if you aren't getting enough fuel, eventually your body is going to scream "ENOUGH" and demand to be fed. Another contributing factor can be overly restrictive food selection - people who cut too many things out of their diets (including sweets/treats) often end up caving in because it's psychologically very difficult to constantly be denying yourself something you want. So, in my opinion, it's better to allow yourself to eat whatever you like, as long as it fits in your calorie/nutrient goals for the day (IIFYM). Obviously, aim for mostly whole foods, but save 10-20% for things you might otherwise consider "treats". Also, eating only when you're hungry sounds good in theory, but our hunger signals aren't always the best indicator of our bodies' true needs, especially if one has been on a VLC for a while - the body adapts and stops signalling the way it usually would. Not eating enough over the course of the day might not just mean excessive caloric deficits, it could also result in nutrient insufficiencies. My advice would be to aim to hit your goal regardless of how hungry you feel. Add in some calorie-dense foods, things that have fats, for example (avocado, nut butters, nuts) - small amounts of these can help you reach your goal without getting over-full. I do understand that it can be hard to make yourself eat when you don't feel like it - I'm bulking right now and there are some days I just don't feel like eating anymore, but in order to reach my goals AND fuel my body and workouts properly, I need to put my big girl panties on and do it. Just my two cents.
(edited for typo)

Austinetc

Web site:

http://m.wikihow.com/Avoid-Eating-When-You're-Bored

I'm thinking of buying gum.