Overeating: Caught with Your Hand in the Cookie Jar
Remember as a kid you’d sneak over to the cookie jar when your mom wasn’t looking and keep digging your hand in for as long as you could before you heard her walking in your direction? That’s how most people are with food these days without even knowing it. Overeating is one of the largest contributors to becoming overweight and eventually causes obesity if not controlled. So, how can we fix the issue of overeating so we don’t fall victim to all the negative health consequences that can follow?
In this article, I want to touch on some common errors people make and how to fix them so they don’t go down a rabbit hole that they can’t find their way back out of.
1. Eating out of the packaging
Have you ever grabbed a bag of chips, popcorn, or fill this example in with your favorite snack food that comes in a package, and sat down on the couch to watch a little television at night? Sure, we all have. And I’m willing to bet when you do this, you end up looking into the packaging and you quickly get that deer in headlights look in shock with how much you ate without realizing it. You’re not alone.
The last thing you want to do is eat directly out of any packaging. You’ll lose count, stop paying attention, get distracted, and that food will become either a comfort food for you or something you pick at to break up the boredom you may be facing.
The best way to solve this issue is to portion out how much you want to eat (according to the serving size) in a bowl or on a plate and then go put the package back in the refrigerator or pantry.
2. Not understanding portion control
It’s hard to understand how much of something you should be eating without tracking your calories and getting a visual on what quantity equates to a certain volume on your plate or bowl. While I would strongly suggest you track your calories if you truly want to lose weight, you can “eyeball it” somewhat.
The problem many people face is when they start piling food on their plate without knowing how many calories they are truly consuming. This leads to overeating and when done consistently can pack on the pounds quite quickly. There is a better way to plan a meal without tracking and it deals with “portioning” various macronutrients to align with your goals.
How this can be accomplished and reduce the risk of overeating is by first splitting your plate in half. On one side I want you to fill the plate with healthy vegetables. Vegetables tend to be lower in calories (assuming they are smothered in oil or butter) and are extremely micronutrient dense. Next, with the second half of the plate, I want you to split that half into halves. So now you are left with two more sections to be filled on your plate. In one of those sections (or both if you wish), I want you to fill it with a healthy protein source. The final section of your plate is your freebie. Maybe it’s a dinner roll? Maybe it’s a “not so healthy” carb or fat source? Whatever you want. But the idea is to only take a little bit – enough to subside the craving to have the item.
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