Excessive eating can be a bad habit or a sign of a disorder. Overeating can lead to sudden weight gain and eventually increase the risk of developing a chronic condition, such as diabetes or heart disease.
Fortunately, there are ways that have been proven effective to help people manage food consumption. It mainly requires simple lifestyle changes to return to eating normal portions. Read on below to know the best ways to stop yourself from overeating.
Keep some of your favourite foods
When people try to change the foods they eat for weight loss or eating disorder, they commonly start avoiding their favourite foods.
But experts suggest making room for an occasional treat.
Highly restrictive diets could make people feel deprived, which increases their risk of binging on forbidden treats, according to Healthline. Eating ice cream, a slice of pizza or a piece of chocolate can be healthy if properly managed.
Prioritise whole, unprocessed foods and control your consumption of your favourite foods to stay healthy.
Manage trigger foods
Observe which food triggers your overeating. Keep unhealthy foods that may encourage you to eat more, such as ice cream, cake, candy and cookies, out of sight.
Making it harder to access trigger foods may help cut your temptations.
Avoid distractions
Eating while browsing the web, texting a friend or watching your favourite TV show can contribute to overeating. Distracted eating can cause people to eat more calories and more foods later in the day, according to a review of 24 studies.
Avoid foods in containers
Any food consumed from the bag, carton or box can lead to consuming more than you should. To avoid overeating, put a single serving size on a plate or in a bowl based on your needed calories.
Measuring tools can also help reduce or limit consumption.
Add more fibre, protein to meals
Fruits, vegetables, beans and oats are good sources of fibre. They can help you feel fuller after a meal, leading to lower risk of overeating.
Protein could also help decrease the desire to overeat. Like fibre-rich foods, protein makes the body feel full throughout the day, leading to reduced hunger and snacking.
Eat slow
Faster eaters are more likely to consume more food and become at risk of weight gain. Experts recommend taking time to thoroughly chew food. Slower-paced eating has been linked to increased fullness and decreased hunger during the day.
Manage stress
Stress has long been linked to overeating. People eat too much food during stressful times to divert their attention.
Chronic stress increases the hormone called cortisol in the body, which plays a role in appetite. Studies showed that the increase could lead to binge eating, overeating, increased hunger and weight gain.
