I live a relatively active life but I struggle with eating too much. I feel like there is no diminishing returns when I eat something. Each chip tastes just as good as the last one. So I will be craving food but know it’s not healthy for me to eat more. I’m trying to find ways to ignore that feeling or dismiss it.
Are there any tips or methods you use to help with that? Impulse control is the hardest thing to work on sometimes.
Distract yourself from eating.
What I mean is: while I was making bank in tech I was on the road to getting married and establish myself as a tech expert, which means dating, networking, getting to know people (I’m an introvert, so it’s rough). I’d spend time on a date with people and not necessarily starve myself, but food took a back seat to taking a walk, starting a chat, just getting to know people. As someone who has always battled his weight I was finally starting to look like I WANTED to look.
But then when I hit a financial snag (a string of bad clients/employers–would NOT recommend this career move) I was basically financially constrained to my house. No going out, not even to a coffee shop. Without the privilege of going out and finding friends/love/acceptance can you guess how I have to find comfort? You guessed it! Even though I stay active I’ve found it’s very hard to keep weight down.
I only say this to make the point: if you can afford it, distract yourself from food.
Stop smoking pot ;)
While there’s some good advice from others, there are moments you want to have a cheat day like once a week.
When you allow it to treat yourself and eat chips, you can choose for some very hot chips. Put it in a small bowl (to limit the snack), take one at the time (to slow yourself down) and suck on each part when you eat it. Before you know you it you’ll drink more and the hotness will slow you down or even lets you stop eating more.
I’ve started OMAD (One Meal A Day) for past month. It seems to work well. It’s basically intermittent fasting - 22-23 hour fast, 1-2 hour eating. You can drink coffee, water and zero sugar drinks during the fasting period but only eat for one period a day.
It’s been working well for me - I realise I don’t feel hungry during the day, I was just bored and habitually eating. I’ve lost weight (which was my main aim) but I find my day no longer revolves around the other mealtimes, and also I actually value my main meal now so I’ve been eating better quality and trying to actually cook. It’s also saved me money not needing to buy breakfast or lunch foods, and no snacks, and my food budget is concentrated into one good meal a day.
It’s been surprisingly easy to stick to.
Obviously it won’t be for everyone and you need to consider the health benefits and potential drawbacks first, but it’s working well for me.
I agree that omad is one of the best diets out there, however it only partly helps with overeating. My personal experience is that I started to develop crazy binge urges a few weeks / months into it to a point that I felt sick ever night and still managed to gain lots of weight. Especially when combined with regular exercise.
Binge eating unfortunately is a different beast caused by numerous other issues so I think they need to be addressed by something other than a diet
Drink a glass of water during your meals. And make sure you eat enough proteins. High protein diets are very effective.
If you’re craving chips, your body is telling you you need carbs. So get them from healthy sources of food instead. If you’re craving something like cheese or meat, your body is telling you you need proteins, so make sure you get them from healthy sources of food as well.
Avoid high carb food that doesn’t have a lot of nutrients. You will probably still feel hungry afterwards. Go for healthy food that makes you feel full and gives your body a good amount of nutrients.
And remember that healthy food can taste just as good. :)
