Once we understand the reasons that drive us to overeat, we can develop strategies to stop it. The goal is to change our bad eating habits, listen more to our body and give answers that are in line with our nutritional needs. Let’s consider which type of overeating we would classify ourselves as and take some good advice on countermeasures.
If we belong to the “stress eater” type
1. Let’s improve our sleep quality, increase our sleep time
When we live a stressful life, we usually sleep poorly and not enough. However, lack of sleep increases the so-called the production of the hormone ghrelin, which causes a feeling of hunger. Therefore, it is definitely advisable to sleep 7-8 hours a day. Sufficient quality, long enough sleep allows us to be in better shape during the day and ready to engage in physical activity. It is useful to make ourselves aware that endorphin (happiness) hormones are produced in our body as a result of sport/exercise. This stimulatory substance not only provides a better feeling of well-being, but also calms you down, helps you get rid of stress and achieve better sleep.
2. We raise our serotonin levels
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that promotes, among other things, feelings of calmness, security and satisfaction, reducing anxiety and relieving stress (e.g. antidepressants can increase the level of serotonin in the brain). For the synthesis of serotonin, the brain needs a substance called tryptophan (an essential amino acid), which must be obtained from an external source. There are plenty of foods such as meat, fish, eggs, dairy products… That is why it is recommended to eat them at every meal. It is advisable to supplement these with carbohydrates that have a low glycemic index (GI = blood sugar of a food lifting capacity) These are e.g. whole grain products, legumes, fruits and vegetables, by which the blood sugar level falls more slowly and the appetite does not increase. In this way, you can also avoid the compulsive desire for sweet products.
3. We can use EFT (healing “tapping exercises”)
There are many relaxation techniques (meditation, yoga, sophrology) that are proven to be effective against stress. Among them is the lesser-known EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique, which it does not require special knowledge, it is simple and can be easily applied at any time. It uses human energy to relieve our negative emotions and stress and anxiety. Its essence is that it stimulates well-defined meridian (energy line) points (or acupuncture points) on the body without acupuncture, by tapping the given end points with our fingers.
If we eat unnecessarily or too much out of boredom
4. Let’s rediscover the feeling of hunger and satiety
When we eat to pass the time or to postpone a task that we don’t feel like doing at all, we don’t take into account the energy and nutritional needs of our body. The first rule of good nutrition is to eat only when you feel hungry and stop eating when you feel full. This is not always easy when we have not had a real connection with our body’s messages for many years. Therefore, we have to find them again, e.g. waiting for the signals that indicate physical hunger before meals (e.g. our stomach rumbles; we feel empty; we are tired because we haven’t eaten, etc.). Let’s also try to hit the moment when the feeling of fullness appears.
5. Let’s take stock of our pleasant activities
All those who are “boredom eaters” should look for pleasant activities that provide a little “endorphin splash” in the body. This could be spending some time in a warm, fragrant bath, reading a good book, going to the cinema, talking with a close friend or relative, dancing, listening to music, etc. Each of us may have different sources of joyful activities – it is important to identify ours and summarize these activities within ourselves. Thus, when we feel the urge to eat out of boredom, we can draw from this list for a more appropriate response.
6. Let’s eat consciously
It is important not to be distracted while eating, to pay full attention to your nutrition. In such cases, do not look at e.g. no screens (TV, mobile, computer, etc.) so that we can pay attention to our feelings of hunger and satiety. Mindful eating simply means using all your senses to focus on enjoying the food and nothing else. What colors shine on our plate? What is the smell, texture and taste of the given food? Do we eat food “noisily”, crunching? If we pay attention to the latter, it is particularly useful as it can stop us from eating various crisps, e.g. sitting in front of the tv. Many people snack and drink while watching TV because they are not really interested in what they are seeing, but neither are they interested in what they are eating.
If “overeating” stems from our bad eating habits
7. Keep a food diary
Keeping track of your daily diet with the help of a food diary for 1-2 weeks can be useful in curbing overeating. The principle is to write down when and what we consumed. It is also recommended to write down if some emotion (anger, excitement, boredom) was associated with it, and that made us eat more. You can also indicate, on a scale of ten, the degree to which you were hungry before eating, as well as the magnitude of the feeling of fullness after eating, also from 1 to 10. This can be a good practice to pay attention again to our body’s true nutritional needs.
8. Eat a balanced diet
It is right to pay attention to our feelings of hunger and fullness, but it is also important to be aware of the basics of a balanced diet. Accordingly, it is recommended that after the soup or appetizer, one third of the main course should consist of vegetables, one third of starchy foods (e.g. whole grains, potatoes fried in no fat), one third of proteins (meat, fish, eggs, tofu), and for dessert choose fruit and/ or natural dairy products. If we take this base into account every day, we can afford a little “detour” from time to time (cake, ice cream, etc.).
9. Let’s review our eating habits
Which does not mean overturning our entire diet, our previous habits, even less following a diet that contains a list of permitted and strictly prohibited foods. Once we have identified our bad eating habits, we should gradually change them from one meal to the next. A sudden, simultaneous change would not be sustainable in the long term. Let’s gently and slowly implement our new, balanced diet. First, e.g. put more vegetables on your plate regularly, then continue with the other ingredients necessary for a balanced diet. Thus, we should eat fruit more often after and between meals, or appreciate the lunch/dinner eaten in hospitality, but do not take (again) from all the food that is put in front of us.
Source: Galen
Source: www.patikamagazin.hu
