Tips to Stop Over Eating/ Mindless Eating?

Hello all! I am new to all of this, well kind of, and I'm having a very hard time controlling what I'm eating. I'm not trying to cut out everything bad from my diet, I'm just trying to eat more fresh foods and have smaller portions. What I'm really struggling with is my portion size. I am so used to taking giant portions and then mindlessly eating until it's all gone and that's what I'm doing now and I feel like it is making the workouts I do pointless and then I get discouraged. (sigh)

Now I know as soon as I break this habit I will get used to it and it will be fine and wonderful (I was eating about 1/3 what I am now at one point) but it's just breaking this habit that's very hard for me.

So I'm just wondering if there are any tips on how I can stop myself from eating so much or how I can tell myself I'm full? I mean I think it's pretty common sense- just take smaller portions and stop eating when you're full but when I'm eating I don't even realize I'm full. It's like I just turn into a food zombie and eat and eat and eat

So any tips or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks! :smile:

Replies

  • My0WNinspiration
    My0WNinspiration Posts: 1,146 Member
    Keep your trigger foods out the house.
  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
    Try pre-logging your food for the day so you have a plan you can follow. Use your scale and measuring cups to create the correct portions that you planned for :)
  • vegan4lyfe2012
    vegan4lyfe2012 Posts: 1,241 Member
    Keep your trigger foods out the house.

    ^this - it's like quitting cigarettes. You can't keep any in the house, or the temptation will overwhelm you...then you won't be able to concentrate on anything but that item. I know it's easier said than done, but stick with your guns and don't buy the trigger foods to begin with. I suffer from binges (about 2 per month) and it's always when there's sugary/salty snacks. Remember we're here for you and we will be your cheering section!
  • poseyj88
    poseyj88 Posts: 140 Member
    Use a smaller plate! And fill it with veggies (at least half). Having that full plate will trick your mind into eating less. Another thing that helps is once you serve yourself, and before you eat, box up any leftovers and put them in the fridge so you can't go back for seconds as easily.

    And don't do anything else but eat while you're eating. No computer, no TV, etc. it helps you focus and be more mindful of what's going in your mouth!
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
    Make only what you intend to eat to fit within your calories. (I personally can't make so much food that I will have left overs because I will probably end up eating it all)

    It actually takes 20mins for your stomach to signal your brain that you are full. So try distracting yourself after eating your budgeted calories for every meal.

    And also it's definitely good advice to not buy foods that cause you to overeat. There are just certain foods that I have an unhealthy relationship with and I don't feel comfortable keeping them in the house.
  • I try and keep all that type of food out of the house. If you're not in a position to do that, then I get myself a glass of water and tell myself if I really want it, I'll have it after my water. I've usually talked myself out of it by the time I've stopped drinking the glass of water (:
  • AmIhealthyyet
    AmIhealthyyet Posts: 361 Member
    Eat what you enjoy, don't treat food as 'good' or 'bad'. When you are hungry eat, when it stops tasting great STOP eating knowing that next time your hungry you can have more of what ever you want! We tend to over eat when we feel we can't have more later.
  • kellyskitties
    kellyskitties Posts: 475 Member
    All great advice! Learned some ideas today for me here.

    I have a "mindless" habit sometimes too. I make a rabbit plate - load a plate with low cal veggies - I don't even add dip or dressing. Sometimes I add a little lunchmeat and/or cheese stick for kicks but that's it. Then I let myself munch to my heart's content. I know, it's not chips but I learned that if I'm being mindless it didn't much matter what I had in front of me. I'd eat dirt -

    just kidding.

    I too have to avoid trigger foods. I envy moderation people. I do not have the concept in my abilities. Maybe I will eventually. I can't have any croutons around me. I eat a few "for a snack" then the bag is gone. All at once. Mindlessly eating away until they are gone. Another of mine is starchy sweet treats - like pastry. Banished. Snack mixes - BAM gone. But I am head food shopper and cook and the only other person in the house is on a low carb/whatever I give him plan. His trigger is potato chips. So we don't buy them. His other would be peanut butter crackers. None of these items are necessarily evil, but I can't be left alone with them. It's not them it's me... LOL
  • sassafrascas
    sassafrascas Posts: 191 Member
    I agree! If I buy a family size bag of potato chips it will be gone in less than 48 hours tops. Thus I don't buy the big bag if I want some I can get a small bag at the check out. Cook your dinner take your healthy portion put the rest away in a container in the back of the fridge. If you are digging through the fridge after eating dinner its really not so mindless anymore. Out of sight is out of mind!
  • My0WNinspiration
    My0WNinspiration Posts: 1,146 Member
    Try pre-logging your food for the day so you have a plan you can follow. Use your scale and measuring cups to create the correct portions that you planned for :)

    This works. I do better when I plan ahead.
  • kganc001
    kganc001 Posts: 317
    I'm LAZY. Really lazy. So I portion my meal, take it to wherever I'm going to eat (usually my couch because I'm a bum) and sit down before I eat. I chew everything REALLY well, and take a couple breaths between forkfulls...Not only does it take me longer to eat, but I'm too darn lazy to get back up and get more since I'm already in front of the tv...womp. Haha Kind of embarrassing, but it's true...and it's worked so far.

    Also, I don't purchase foods I'm notorious for mindlessly overeating. If I do purchase them, it's always for my fiancé, so I use his money and I feel guilty if I eat them because it wasn't my money I used to buy it. Haha

    If you buy big bags of snacks, portion them out in ziploc bags (i.e. set aside 5 ziploc bags with portions for 'grab and go') :)

    I always log my food before I eat it. If I don't like how it looks, I don't eat whatever I'm craving. Log the larger portion and see how it makes you feel before you indulge. :)
  • emilym123
    emilym123 Posts: 8
    Thank you so very much everybody! All the responses are much appreciated. I'm currently living with my family and my mom shops for the food so it's hard to not have bad foods in the house because I have younger siblings who refuse to eat healthy. But thankfully I am moving into an apartment this weekend so I will be buying my own food and I will definitely not be buying cheese-its lol. But I'm really diggin' the smaller plate idea.

    Thanks everybody!!! :flowerforyou: :smile:
  • emilym123
    emilym123 Posts: 8
    I'm LAZY. Really lazy. So I portion my meal, take it to wherever I'm going to eat (usually my couch because I'm a bum) and sit down before I eat. I chew everything REALLY well, and take a couple breaths between forkfulls...Not only does it take me longer to eat, but I'm too darn lazy to get back up and get more since I'm already in front of the tv...womp. Haha Kind of embarrassing, but it's true...and it's worked so far.

    Also, I don't purchase foods I'm notorious for mindlessly overeating. If I do purchase them, it's always for my fiancé, so I use his money and I feel guilty if I eat them because it wasn't my money I used to buy it. Haha

    If you buy big bags of snacks, portion them out in ziploc bags (i.e. set aside 5 ziploc bags with portions for 'grab and go') :)

    I always log my food before I eat it. If I don't like how it looks, I don't eat whatever I'm craving. Log the larger portion and see how it makes you feel before you indulge. :)

    I lol'd at the first part! Definitely something I would (and probably will) do haha

    I just have trouble using the food log. It's a hassel for me to enter and find foods... Bad attitude I know. I guess I just have to suck it up and start using it because when I do actually log all my foods for the day it does help me stop myself from having an extra biscotti lol.
  • jessspurr
    jessspurr Posts: 258 Member
    What I do is very expensive and inconvienent... I actually stop at a gas station store on the way home from work and buy single serving deserts. If I have a box of something at home there is literally no stopping me. If I only have one of something then there is no way I can eat more than what I have budgeted in. I really really enjoy eating a sweet treat at night after dinner and I look for packages that have multiples of things (like a bag of little cookies or a package of two twinkies) so I can feel like I'm eating more than just one thing. Yeah, that isn't addressing my issue of why do I have to eat more than one thing, but it works for me!
  • crose0056
    crose0056 Posts: 105 Member
    I always plan ahead, know exactly what I am going to eat before I eat it. I always measure everything every time, in no guessing here.
  • sparkle814
    sparkle814 Posts: 78 Member
    I lol'd at the first part! Definitely something I would (and probably will) do haha

    I just have trouble using the food log. It's a hassel for me to enter and find foods... Bad attitude I know. I guess I just have to suck it up and start using it because when I do actually log all my foods for the day it does help me stop myself from having an extra biscotti lol.

    Yes, log. Log log log. If you eat it, log it. Not only will you then see how many calories are in whatever you crammed in your mouth (like the time I ate a pint of Ben & Jerry's and logged it...omg...never again), but also, BECAUSE it's a pain to log stuff, you may find yourself only eating foods that are worth logging! haha! Once you log for a while it becomes a habit and way easier. Things you eat frequently will show up in your frequent tab and you don't have to search for them, etc. MFP has helped a lot of people - give the logging a try!

    I always try to log my food before I eat it so I know if I have enough calories, and how many calories I'll have left afterwards, etc.
  • jdm_taco
    jdm_taco Posts: 999 Member
    develop self control. This is a conscious effort that may require time.