7 Effective Strategies to Overcome Overeating

Most people overeat at some point. Maybe the food is just too delicious, or you are starving and can’t help eating more than your fill. It happens, but when overeating becomes a habit with or without reason, it is cause for concern.

Over time, eating too much will negatively affect your health, leading to serious health problems like diabetes and obesity.

For some, it’s a matter of stopping, but for many, overeating is hard to control once the habit sticks.

If you have been struggling with overeating and want to stop but don’t know how, we’ve got you covered.

Try these effective strategies to overcome overeating:

1. Learn Your Portion Size

If you don’t know how much food you need to eat to your fill without overdoing it, start with observing your portions. Finding the right plate size will help when serving yourself. 

You don’t want a plate that is too small that you end up unsatisfied or too big that it tempts you to finish your serving.

Once you know the proper portion you need, make it difficult to go back for a second helping. It could mean putting away the extra food or sitting further away from the kitchen.

1. Remove Easy Access

You are unlikely to consume excess healthy meals or eat too often if you have to cook.

Junk food and snacks are usually easy food options. Consider removing them and leaving food in your fridge that demands a lengthy preparation.

Try to avoid take-outs and cook your meals at home. That will limit the frequency of eating at mealtimes. It would also be a good idea to prepare just enough to serve you once.

1. Stick to Meal Times

One of the reasons you may be eating more than you should is skipping meals or delaying them. Doing that can lead to intense hunger, which makes it difficult to control eating. 

Try sticking to regular meal times to ensure you are never too hungry to control your food intake.

If you tend to get hungry before meals, you can try healthy snacks to relieve hunger.

1. Eat a Fiber-Rich Diet

While considering the amount of calories you consume, consider the types of food that leave you full. You may eat the right amount of calories but never feel satisfied. That may lead to eating more calories than your body needs because you want to feel full.

Make your diet fiber-rich, as fiber can make you feel full quickly while eating less. A good example of fiber is vegetables. Eat more veggies at meal times to curb overeating. 

Besides, vegetables are perfect for your health as they contain essential vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, and other nutrients.

1. Eat a Protein Breakfast

You probably already know the importance of having proteins in your diet. But did you know that a protein diet, especially at breakfast, can help you feel full for much longer?

Research shows that a breakfast rich in proteins and carbohydrates can lower ghrelin levels, a hormone that controls hunger.

1. Refrain from Stress Eating

Overeating is common for people who stress eat because they are not eating out of hunger but emotional disturbance. One study showed that participants were likely to eat more when experiencing chronic stress.

If you feel the need to eat for comfort when you are overwhelmed, you will likely get into the habit of stress eating, which may be difficult to break.

The best way to avoid stress eating is to find healthier ways of managing stress. Outdoor activities, exercising, and meditation are some of the most popular stress outlets you can try.

1. Try Cannabis

You may have heard that cannabis increases appetite. But one thing about weed is that it can result in opposite outcomes depending on factors like strain and dosage.

Some strains with low THC but high CBD/THCV levels can suppress appetite. Marijuana lacks adverse effects, which makes it a better alternative for reducing appetite than medications.

However, the lack of adverse effects doesn’t mean you can’t overdo marijuana and feel terrible. Edibles are particularly easy to overdose, but there are things you can do to recover fast. 

Final Thoughts

Overeating can become a habit before you realize it. But it’s a habit you can drop and build healthier eating habits if you commit to making changes. These strategies can help you start working towards eating better.