Proven Tips to Stop Overeating: Reduce your cravings

Have you become aware that you eat more than you should? These proven tips to stop overeating will be helpful.

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When you’ve gotten used to overeating, it can be pretty challenging to break that pattern. However, it is never too late to improve your eating habits.

It is easy to eat too much and not realize it. Most of the meals you eat away from home are not only unhealthy but come in large portions.

Other times you can eat distracted, and you are not even aware of the number of calories you eat in one sitting.

It is also possible that stress, depression, and other emotional issues lead you to seek comfort in the worst kind of food.

However, you should pay close attention to your eating patterns and identify the causes and reasons that lead you to overeat.

A study has shown that long-term weight gain can be the result of just a month of overeating. (1)

Maintaining a consistent pattern of overeating can cause overweight and obesity, which in turn will lead you to chronic health problems, such as cancer and diabetes. (2)

Let’s see below some of the proven tips to stop overeating.

 

Become aware of the trigger foods

The first thing to do is be aware of the foods that trigger your anxiety and induce you to overeat.

A simple cupcake or a sugary soda can lead to a downward spiral of overfeeding.

Generally, sweets, bread, baked goods, and refined carbohydrates of all kinds are great triggers of anxiety to eat more and more.

Trigger foods are highly addictive, high in empty calories, and ultra-processed. Its frequent consumption is hugely detrimental to your general health.

Also, high glycemic index foods like bread and sweets will cause your blood sugar levels to rise and drop rapidly. 

The rapid fluctuation in blood sugar levels makes you feel hungrier and induces you to overeat these harmful foods. (3)

Even artificial sweeteners can have the same unwanted effect of raising blood sugar levels and making you anxious about the wrong food.

 

Cut out the processed stuff and eat real whole food.

You need to start focusing on the right kind of food your body needs to stay strong and healthy.

Unprocessed, healthy food dramatically reduces your risk of chronic disease as well as resetting your brain and appetite.

It is advisable to start meals with low-calorie and high fiber foods, as this makes you feel full faster and can help you eat less.

Below is a list of high-nutrient foods to target.

• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Nuts
• Whole grains
• Beans
• Seeds
• Olive oil

Organic free-range or grass-fed animal products like:

• Poultry
• Lamb
• Beef
• Pork
• Eggs

Wild fish like:

• Salmon
• Sardines

These are some of the processed foods that you should avoid

• Sausages
• Sweetened breakfast cereals
• Coke
• Pastries
• Frozen dinners
• Flavored potato chips
• White bread
• Frappuccino
• Energy drinks

 

Be prepared to eat healthy.

One of the best tips to avoid overeating is to prepare ahead of time to eat healthy and nutritious food in the right amount.

In this sense, the meal prep technique can be handy since it prevents you from depending exclusively on your willpower at mealtime.

Preparing your meals in advance reduces your stress since you don’t have to cook on the run when hungry.

It can also help you control your weight since you decide the ingredients and portions of your meals in advance.

Even if you are not inclined to prepare a whole week’s food in one day, you can cook and refrigerate, for example, only proteins such as chicken and salmon. Healthy snacks should not be missing in your pantry and refrigerator, either.

The truth is that the more prepared you are to eat healthy, the less the risk of overeating.

 

Eat mindfully

You must take your time to eat without haste and thoroughly chew your food.

Our stomach takes 20 minutes to tell the brain that we are full, so we overeat when eating too fast.

Get rid of distractions while eating. This advice is critical since many people consume too many calories directly because they are not paying attention.

Scientific evidence indicates that practicing mindful eating can influence weight loss and maintenance without counting calories. (4)

 

Moderate or eliminate alcohol

Alcohol release your inhibitions, which is why restaurants offer you a drink at the beginning of a meal.

Eliminating or reducing the intake of alcoholic beverages can be very beneficial to save you the sugars of alcohol and prevent you from overeating.

 

Keep a journal

Researchers suggest that keeping a food journal can be a great way, to be honest, and accountable for everything we eat during the day.

Try using words as a method to block the urge to overeat. For some people, this tip works great, so you don’t lose anything by trying.

 

Get sufficient sleep

One cannot be too emphatic about the importance of having sufficient rest.

Even a slight lack of sleep contributes to developing insulin resistance, which is like having pre-diabetes.

This condition called insulin resistance triggers your anxiety about overeating, especially foods with flour and sugar. Therefore, the way is paved for Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes, which dramatically reduces your quality of life.

Researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center argue that women who do not sleep well tend to overeat and have a poor quality diet. (5)

Having at least 7 hours of sleep each night will make you less prone to cravings and normalize your fat-regulating hormones.

 

Control your stress level

Stress can lead you to overeat the worst kind of food with consequent weight gain and health problems.

Stress hormones slow down your metabolism and promote fat storage, especially abdominal fat. In combination with high insulin levels, high cortisol levels can lead you to increase your intake of foods rich in fat, sugar, or both. (6)

Yes, we agree that everyday life can present demanding and demanding situations that generate stress for you.

However, you must learn to relax and use all available resources to deal with the stressful moments of your life.

It is not about lying on the couch all day but learning activities that help you lower your stress levels, such as breathing techniques, yoga, and meditation.

 

Exercise the right way

Consistently performing a physical activity that you enjoy can help you lose weight or maintain your ideal weight and control your appetite.

If you prefer, you can dance, ride a bike or walk 30 minutes a day. Physical exercise is a healthy non-negotiable habit when it comes to staying healthy. But not only that, but it also helps you strengthen your willpower and your desire for healthy food.

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Summary

If you are one of the many people who struggle with overeating, you can do much to overcome this problem.

You may think that it is impossible to overcome years of food addiction. However, many people have achieved it, and undoubtedly with a bit of effort, you can also do it.

Being aware of your trigger foods, having a primarily unprocessed healthy diet, getting adequate rest are some proven tips to stop overeating.

If you currently have a more severe eating disorder like binge eating, it is more advisable to seek professional help.

I recommend that you start by following these proven tips to stop overeating, and it will be easier to control your cravings and anxiety levels for unhealthy food.