How to Avoid Overeating and Eat the Right Amount of Food

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How to Avoid Overeating and Eat the Right Amount of Food

Learn how to avoid overeating. This article will show you tips on how not to eat too much. Are you tired of overeating, then let’s get started.

How to Avoid Overeating and Eat the Right Amount of Food

How to Avoid Overeating Introduction

The way your body processes and digests food, you’re bound to end up overeating once in a while. It can be hard to tell when you’ve eaten too much, and it’s difficult to stop once you start eating.

If you want to avoid overeating and maintain your current weight or even lose weight, try these methods of recognizing and eating the right amount of food every day.

Keep Track of Your Portions

It’s one thing to realize that you eat too much, but it’s another thing entirely to be able to fix that problem. To avoid over-portioning yourself at mealtime, keep a food journal where you can quickly jot down what you ate and how much.

After a few days, you should be able to start noticing trends in your habits (do you always go back for seconds? do you tend to order bigger meals when out on dates?). You might even discover behaviors or circumstances that lead to overeating and work on correcting them.

Keeping track is also a great way to make sure you don’t consume more calories than you need; if every day you write down that you only had two servings of vegetables, then there’s no way around it: Either your portions are too big or your vegetable intake is too low.

Either way, by tracking your portions consistently, you can begin to identify problems and solve them.

Eat Slowly

The slower you eat, research suggests, the less you’ll overeat. To lose weight safely but quickly, try incorporating these habits into your routine: Put your fork down between bites. Chew food thoroughly before swallowing (savor each bite).

Practice mindful eating by focusing on every bite. And don’t forget to pace yourself; don’t sit down in front of a huge plate of food if you can’t finish it. If there are foods you can’t resist, even when you know they aren’t good for you, try dividing up your portions before sitting down at the table.

Do Not Watch TV While Eating

Eating in front of a TV has been linked to weight gain, and it’s pretty easy to see why. When we eat in front of the TV, we tend to go for whatever is most convenient (and often unhealthiest) rather than what’s most nutritious.

So grab a book or magazine instead. There are lots of great cooking magazines you can check out from your local library as well. Take Time To Chew: Chances are you’re not chewing each bite as long as you should be.

Aim for a full thirty seconds per bite — you should be able to feel your stomach start contracting if you really think about chewing each bite that long.

Set Aside Time For Eating

It can be very easy to get distracted while you’re eating, especially if you’re hungry. If you have a lot on your mind, setting aside time for eating can help slow down your consumption. Having a specific time will also remind you that it’s okay to enjoy a meal, it isn’t just another thing that needs doing.

It might sound silly, but it works. For example, you could set aside 20 minutes in your schedule each day to eat lunch. This way, when noon rolls around and it’s time for lunch, there won’t be any question about whether or not you should eat. Just do it!

In fact, some people even find that breaking up their meals into smaller portions throughout the day helps them feel more satisfied at each sitting (especially important if you tend to graze). Try setting an alarm on your phone every few hours as a reminder to eat something small (and healthy).

Chew More

chew more

When we eat quickly, it’s hard for our brains to keep up. With food in our mouths, our minds think we’re still eating even after we’ve already swallowed it. As a result, we end up consuming more than if we had been eating slowly.

So slow down! Put your fork down between bites. Chew your food until you’re ready for another bite (about 25 chews per mouthful) before moving on. You’ll not only feel fuller but also enjoy meals more since you’ll spend more time actually chewing your food instead of just shoving it in your mouth.

Drink Water Between Meals

One common mistake people make when trying to lose weight is drinking too much during meals. If you’re hungry, have a glass of water between bites; if you start feeling stuffed, stop eating. It’s that simple.

Sipping water can help quell cravings, so it won’t take you as long to eat your next meal. Plus, in addition to helping with weight loss, water is crucial for proper digestion, healthy skin and hair, energy production and overall wellness and even rinsing off excess salt from your food before serving it will help minimize bloating.

All reasons why we keep a glass on our desks at all times.

Use a Smaller Plate

Overportioning your plate can be one of biggest mistakes in eating. Humans are hardwired to feel full when presented with a large amount of food on a larger plate, even if they’re not hungry or have eaten enough. The impact is amplified when you eat out at restaurants, where portions are often far greater than you might serve yourself at home.

Keep that fact in mind next time you go out for dinner, or split an entrée with someone else: You’ll end up consuming less without feeling deprived or like you missed out on anything. It will also make it easier for your brain to detect that you’re full before overeating becomes a problem.

Listen To Music While Eating

We tend to eat more when we’re distracted. When you eat with others, focus on what they’re saying — not just chewing your food. Music with lyrics can also distract you, so it’s better if you keep that for another time. Rather than distract yourself at mealtimes, try some other ways of staying focused.

You could do a little exercise before or after eating. Or set aside a few minutes each day to practice mindfulness meditation: Sit in a quiet place and concentrate on your breathing as you slowly inhale and exhale. If thoughts come into your mind, let them go without judgment or analysis, just return to focusing on your breath.

If you find it hard to sit still, try walking meditation instead: As above, but move slowly from one place to another while paying attention only to each step as it lands underfoot.

Cook Food Yourself

According to studies, when people are served food they cook themselves, they tend to eat less, sometimes as much as 30% less. This is probably because you’re more aware of how much you’re eating when you prepare it yourself.

A study in The Journal of Consumer Research found that people estimate larger portion sizes if food is served on larger plates than if served on smaller plates. If you have a big dinner party, serve your guests on salad plates rather than dinner plates so that everything looks smaller; it will trick them into thinking there’s less food available.

Bonus: You’ll save money by not having to buy large dinner plates in bulk.

How to Avoid Overeating Conclusion

Start by taking note of what you usually eat at a meal. In order to avoid overeating, try dividing your plate into three sections: fill one-third with low-calorie vegetables (like broccoli or asparagus), another third with protein (like chicken breast) and leave one-third for carbohydrates (like rice or pasta).

If you’re trying to lose weight, stick with small portions; if you’re not on a diet, aim for 1/2 cup for each section. Remember: Each meal should be satisfying, but not stuffed full of food, you want to be able to enjoy conversation without being distracted by a rumbling stomach.