Overfull? Can’t seem to stop eating?
We all know that overfull, heavy, uncomfortable feeling when you have eaten too much!
Finding satisfaction from your food and stopping overeating is much easier said than done! Overeating is extremely common and there are so many different reasons we continue to do it even though we know it doesn’t make us feel good!
Most common reasons of overeating
It was just so damn tasty you couldn’t stop.
You were mindlessly eating while doing something else.
You were absolutely starving and ate so quickly you didn’t even feel like it hit the spot until 20 minutes later.
Eating out of boredom or for other emotional reasons.
It can take up to 20 minutes for our stomaches to tell the brain it’s full. Therefore, if we don’t give our bodies enough time when eating or ignore the signals of fullness its very very easy to continuously over eat.
Overeating can turn into a horrible cycle pretty quickly - we overeat, then feel awful and guilty for letting ourselves do it, restrict or try to burn it off — only to then overeat again!
What not to do after you overeat to break that cycle
Beat yourself up and say you will never eating that food again.
Look up the next diet plan you want to try.
Plan on skipping your next meal.
Punish your body with exercise to try and burn it off.
Things that can be helpful
Go out for a gentle walk or do some stretching.
Drink water.
Sip on a hot tea.
Recognise you went over board and how you now feel.
Listen to your hunger and fullness cues at your next meal.
Relax - don’t beat yourself up over it.
If you are feeling like you struggle to stop eating when you are full consider these
Are you not allowing yourself certain foods and then going crazy when you do eat them?
Is it often done mindlessly? While watch TV or scrolling your phone?
Try doing something else before helping yourself to seconds (e.g. tidy up the kitchen or take a shower) - to give your body the time to register how full you are.
Are you using food to cope with emotions - e.g. boredom or sadness?
I believe the first step in breaking habits like this is to start taking notice of when you do it and why you do it, then you can start to make small positive changes.
If you would love support or to chat to someone more about this - please please reach out to me via email (harriet@harrietwell.com) or message (@harriet_well).