Youth Incorporated Magazine

Munching on chips is a delight and there is no doubt about that, but it boosts the fat intake in our body to an extreme level; a condition that isn’t healthy at all. Overeating is a concern 8 out of 10 people face today and the reasons behind this are varied. 

Many people today undergo stress and anxiety on a daily basis due to the problems that exist in both their personal as well as professional lives. Overeating is often associated with stress and anxiety. When you are distressed, your body often asks for foods that are high in fat and sugar. Consuming such food ends up comforting you and helps you deal with stress at hand but also causes weight gain.

 Another common factor that highly influences your eating pattern is your social circle. If you have a group of friends or a family that loves eating, there are high chances of you overeating. Whereas, if you are surrounded by people who have healthy eating habits, you are less likely to overeat. 

Similarly, consumption of alcohol also leads to overeating. After you have a few drinks, your body asks for fatty and salty food, that again makes you thirsty. In order to quench your thirst, you resort to gulping down a few more drinks and the cycle just continues. Moreover, under the influence of alcohol, you don’t really understand the quantity of food you eat, thus leading to overeating. 

Many people also have a habit of munching on chips, fries, biscuits, when they are bored. Buddy, if you are bored, read or go for a walk, don’t overeat.

Here are a few ‘don’ts’ to follow that will help you combat overeating: 

Don’t let stress overeat you

Stress has become an inevitable part of our lives. It is necessary to adopt ways to deal with stress and it is a factor that triggers many health issues we aren’t even aware of. Overeating is one such health concern that arises due to stress. Getting a proper sleep of about 7-8 hours, exercising daily, including salads and fresh fruits in your daily diet, journaling, reading a book, listening to soothing music, etc are some common and effective ways of dealing with stress. 

If you are undergoing excessive stress due to work, make sure you pre-plan well about your assignments and projects so that you don’t have to do last-minute work, keep your desk clean and organised, develop a habit of maintaining a to-do list, reach work on time so that you have sufficient time to meet deadlines.

If you are stressed due to your personal issues, talk to your loved ones. Express yourself, take suggestions from them in order to approach a problem with solutions. Once you learn to manage stress,  you will no longer feel the need to eat excessively. 

Don’t let your cravings overpower your mind

Our taste buds have literally married fast food. Additionally, our digital presence has made it easy for brands to engulf us in their tempting advertisements making our food cravings uncontrollable. You must stay away from distractions no matter how much they tempt you. You will have to be a little self-disciplined in order to stop yourself from giving in to your cravings. Cravings force you to have your favorite dish even if your stomach is full. If you crave a particular dish, wait for the right time to eat it. You can eat it during lunch or dinner or in between two meals. Make sure you balance out the food you consume. 

To keep track of the number of calories you are consuming on a daily basis, you can also maintain a food chart or journal. This will help you in keeping a check on your calorie count and make a decision of what you can and cannot eat. There are multiple apps too that you can download for the same purpose. 

Don’t skip meals

When you skip a meal, hunger pangs hit you hard and you end up overeating. Skipping meals is the worst you can do with yourself. Start your day with eating sufficient and healthy breakfast so that you don’t feel too hungry by lunch time. Make sure you have a proper lunch that includes all the necessary nutrients required by the body. Some often skip meals saying “I will eat when I get hungry” which is wrong. You must eat at least four times a day which includes breakfast, lunch, supper and dinner. 

Don’t be too harsh on yourself

While maintaining a diet is healthy, removing everything you like to eat from your list won’t do you much good. Instead, you will get weary of following the diet and end up breaking it. Eating what you love once a week is fine. You can have a cheat meal once a week. This will encourage you to maintain your diet throughout the seven days. However, be careful to eat within the normal limit.   

Don’t eat from containers

It is very normal to eat from a container especially when you order food from a restaurant. This too leads to overeating as a container holds a huge quantity of food which exceeds the normal eating limit. When you eat from a container, you don’t realise how much food you consume. Always serve yourself in a plate so that you can take only that much which is required.

Overeating is a growing health concern that is giving birth to other ailments as well. Many aren’t even aware that they are a victim of overeating. If you are one of them, you must take steps to put an end to this. Follow the above-given tips and combat overeating successfully.