Top 5 Solutions to Make Sure You Are Not Unconsciously Overeating

With the exception of a holiday feast, do you really stop eating because you are full?

It is not our nature to stop and analyze when we are full during a meal. In fact it takes 20 minutes for your brain to get the signal from your stomach when you are full… which may be long after you ate too much.

We want to think that we overeat because either the food is so good or we’re really hungry.

If that were always the case, why, even though it is hard to admit, do we eat every last morsel of something even when it doesn’t taste very good?

Here are 5 common reasons why it is easy to overeat and what to do about it:

1-Suppose you are a woman having dinner out with your male companion. You both order the same entrée. Let’s just say hypothetically you are 5’5” and weigh 130 pounds and your man is 5’11 and weighs 170 pounds. Do you really think you need to eat the same portion he does? If you live or eat out with your man frequently, there is a good chance you are automatically overeating simply because you eat together!

Solution: Take home a portion of the meal when you eat out and have it later. At home, serve what is appropriate for your size.

2-We typically think that whatever comes wrapped or served is a serving size. Do you think a serving of popcorn in a container that is bigger than your head is a serving size? Do you stop eating because you are full or because the popcorn is finished or because the movie is over?

Solution: Be “aware” of the portion size and when and where you are eating. Measure the appropriate serving before the activity where you are likely to eat mindlessly.

3-Most of us dish out how much we think will be enough to satisfy our hunger. That decision is made before we even put the food in our mouths. Finishing all that is on your plate is often the unconscious behavior (habit) that tells you you’re full.

The “clean plate” is simply a visual indication that we must be full. Over time, the habit of having a “clean plate” becomes our unconscious mental signal that we are full… which may actually be completely different from the physical signal our stomach tells us when we are full.

Solution: Make serving sizes official (yup… measure it) Get educated on what is an appropriate serving size for your goals. Don’t wing it.

4-Most of our food is consumed from bowls, plates or glasses. The size or shape of these containers can make us misjudge the amount of food we eat.

We may feel absolutely certain that we cannot be fooled by this visual illusion, yet studies have proven otherwise. Tall, skinny glasses appear to hold more than short, wide glasses, just as the same 4 ounces of any food can look much smaller on a large plate than it will on a small plate.

Solution: Make sure you are not fooling yourself everyday at home. Test this out on your own dishes and glasses. Do the math, measure the food. Are you surprised?

5-We often don’t realize how strongly we are influenced by the other people we are dining with. When we’re enjoying our company, it is easy set our eating pace with that of whom we may be dining with, and eat for much longer than we would if we were by ourselves. The longer you stay at the table, the more you are likely to eat.

Solution: Pace yourself with the slowest eater at the table and try to be the last person to begin eating. Decide how much you are going to eat before the meal rather than during the meal.