Stop Overeating

Strategies to Stop Overeating

We all love food and eating should be pleasurable. However, we have a tendency to overeat. Whether you’re cooking your own meal, eating at work, or snacking , here are the strategies you can take anywhere:

• Know your portion sizes. Make your own "portion pack" to take with you or keep the following common items in mind when preparing and eating meals.
• A golf ballis the size of a serving of nuts (including peanut butter) or cheese.
• A deck of playing cards or the palm of your handis equivalent to 3 ounces of any meat.
• Use one dice to estimate a proper serving of oils and fats.
• For fruit and veggie servings, use a tennis ball.
• One serving of cooked grains or potatoes is about the size of your fist.
• Divide your plate. At every meal your plate should look like this:
• Half of the plate should be filled with fruits and vegetables.
• Protein-rich foods (meat or legumes) should fit on one quarter of the plate
• Starches like pastas, grains, potatoes, and  bread should take up one quarter of the plate
• Fill your "divided plate" only once. If you’re still hungry, have another half-plate of vegetables. It’s that simple.
• Instead of high-calorie, low-nutrient drinks like soda, alcohol, or other sugary drinks, choose water. Drink water before, during, and after a meal to slow yourself down while eating and curb hunger

The healthiest and most filling foods are high in fiber—think fruits and vegetables, and whole, unprocessed grains. Adding fiber to your diet will aid in weight loss, and keep you feeling fuller longer, so you may eat less.

Cooking at home may be the easiest way to control your portions during a meal, but it also presents us with fully-stocked cupboards and refrigerators that can be tempting:

·         Bring home healthy fast food. Try precut, frozen, canned or microwave-in-the-bag vegetables…..automatic portion control.

·         Stop the Taste-Testing Habit. If you’re the cook in the family, you may be eating a lot of calories when you taste your foods as you cook. To stop this natural habit, try chewing gum while you prepare you meals.

·         Make fruit your dessert. It’s a great way to get more produce into your diet, and it satisfies the sweet craving many people have after a meal. Experiment with new and exotic fruits.

·         Feeling hungry? Try drinking a glass or two of water. Many people mistake what is actually dehydration for hunger.

·         When you feel the urge to snack or keep eating, take a fitness break. Walk around the block for 5 or 10 minutes, run up and down the stairs, or distract yourself with anything for about 10 minutes. You’ll probably find that you weren’t really hungry, but bored instead.

·         Buy snack-size portions. If you have trouble controlling yourself—if you eat the whole bag of chips before you realize what you’ve done—then buy snack size items. You can find chips, pretzels, cookies, snack cakes, soda, juice, ice cream, and even cereal in single serving sizes.