More than two-thirds of adults in the United States are obese or overweight. This is a result of many factors such as overeating, poor food choices, lack of exercise, stress, boredom, low-income, etc. Today’s focus is just going to be on the overeating part of the problem.
I sometimes joke about how being a “good American” means to eat until you feel like a stuffed chicken. Even though I joke about this, it’s really not that funny when you think about how many people do this on a regular basis. Whether is it out of mindlessness, sadness or because it’s a holiday and you want to “celebrate”, consistently overeating can pack on the pounds in a hurry.
From a young age, many of us are also taught to eat everything on our plate or we can’t have dessert and/or leave the table. Since being taught this at such a young age, it’s no wonder why it seems like so many people’s “stop” button is broken.
Regardless of the reason why you may eat beyond the point of comfort, it is crucial that you try forget about past habits, what your best friend, or even how your husband/wife is choosing to eat. You must take charge of your actions and make your own choices.
One way to do that is to practice the “table push-away.” First, you should eat slowly, so your body has a chance to signal when it is starting to get full. When you feel satisfied or about 80% full, pack-up or put away the rest of the food on your plate. Then, don’t eat until you are hungry again. This will help you prevent your weight from rising, waistline from expanding, and you will feel more in control. (Plus, the cool part about not finishing your plate is that you now have leftovers and get to eat that delicious food again!) It may be challenging at first, but keep practicing and soon it will become habit.
Even if you do overeat, don’t get down on yourself. Figure out why it happened, learn from it, and come up with a solution to prevent it from happening again. Just move forward and stay positive. A bad meal doesn't have to turn into a bad day, week, or month. You can turn things around immediately at your next meal.
Additional ideas to prevent overeating:
Don’t go back for seconds
Don’t bring dishes of food to the dinner table, leave them on the counter or stove
Eat slowly; chew each bite for about 20 seconds
Set your eating utensil down between bites
Don’t watch TV while you eat
Drink a glass of water with your meal
Sit while you eat
Eat with other people
Eat appropriate portions (How do you know what the right portion size is? Eat with your hands - Women: one palm of lean protein; a fist of vegetables; a thumb of fat; a cupped hand of starchy carbs;Men": double serving sizes)