How to Stop Eating Too Much Food

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How many of you have had days of eating almost nothing but junk? Don’t you feel horrible afterwards? Your stomach aches, you feel depressed and irritable, and your energy levels plummet. In addition, the waist band is so tight it becomes hard for you to breathe. You are sure to gain more pounds by the end of the week. Why is this happening you may wonder?

You are not alone. I have struggled with eating too much of the wrong kinds of foods too on occasion. Yes, even though I am a health coach who empowers people to eat and live well, I too have moments once in a while. What is important is that you take a moment to figure out what is going on in your life that may be contributing to your overeating. Once you know the cause, you can think about possible solutions. Below are 3 main causes of my recent belly-aching, mood altering snack food feast along with my solutions:

Buying more than was needed for the occasion: For my father’s birthday I bought these delicious chocolate cupcakes with a creamy, dairy-free frosting from my local health food store The Whole Earth Center, but I bought more cupcakes than were for him alone, and I ended up eating the remainder. Now granted, these cupcakes were made only with ingredients that I could pronounce and they contained absolutely no trans fats. In fact, these cupcakes were made with heart-healthy monounsaturated oils. Still, the cupcakes contained refined white flour and sugar and a lot of calories without a lot of nutrition.

Solution: Buy just the amount of dessert you need and no more or better yet, think of a non-dessert gift to give. I will be sure to do this next time!

Too focused on work: One day at work, I felt more productive than usual. There was a flow. I was making such great progress. When 5:30pm came around, I kept working. When 6:30pm came around, I kept working. I didn’t stop working until 9:00pm. By this time I was extremely hungry. There was no way I was going to make dinner now. I went to Whole Foods and ate much more than I normally would. I also drank a mocha soy drink which was equal to two servings and about 350 calories all in one shot, and I ate a bag of Waffle Fries which totaled about 600 calories.

Solution: Do not let work or an extremely busy life take over. You must stop regularly to take a break and eat no matter what. If you have trouble realizing what time it is because you are so immersed in work or whatever other task you are doing, set a timer or make a lunch or dinner date with a friend.

In the end you will be more productive too because taking breaks every 3 hours actually boosts productivity. I am back to eating regular meals at regular times. In fact today, I wanted to keep working when it was noon, and I stopped myself. It was time to prepare my lunch and eat or I’d run into another overeating situation.

Boredom strikes: I have been busy with work and caring for my aging parents. I haven’t been planning as many fun activities as I have planned in the past. So what happens? I become bored. What is a quick and easy way to take care of boredom? Eat something yummy. For me, that something yummy was a box of soy ice cream bars.

Solution: Take time to plan something fun into your life at least weekly. The first action I took was to put together a list of friends who I wanted to get together with, and I have started contacting them. Next, I thought of a few weekend getaway ideas that both my husband and I would enjoy. Finally, I am exploring the possibility of participating in some type of group activity that meets regularly in which I have a personal interest.

It took me a full day of eating well to feel normal again after 3 days of horrible eating. I am happy to say that I am back on track and feel great again. Hopefully, my personal story will give you a few ideas and/or the motivation to get back on track too if you are currently struggling with eating too much of the wrong kinds of foods. Take some time to think about what is causing you to eat so much and then think of ways to correct the situation. This approach can work wonders!