How to Deal with Overeating

Sometimes, we all overindulge during holidays, only to regret eating that second delicious slice of cake Grandma made. However, overeating is a more serious condition and one of the most common eating disorders in the United States. Rapidly consuming large amounts of food regularly can lead to feelings of regret, helplessness, and shame. Even worse, overeating triggers serious health complications, such as weight gain, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, finding ways to control food intake is key to living a healthy, happy lifestyle.

It is advisable to speak with a therapist, especially if you suffer from BED (Binge Eating Disorder). Often, deeper psychological issues contribute to overeating. Seeking help from a trained counselor will help you identify any underlying anxiety, depression, or negative body image issues that may be affecting your self-control.

• Strong evidence shows that most people diagnosed with BED also have underlying mood disorders.
• Even if you don’t have BED, a therapist can be immensely helpful if stress is the trigger for your overeating. They can help you manage the causes of anxiety, stress, sadness, etc., and guide you toward healthier coping methods.
• Bring your food diary to therapy so you can share your experiences with the therapist. It can be very useful for them to review your diary as they might identify patterns or triggers you were unaware of.

Managing anger or sadness. Emotional eaters often hide their feelings and turn to food to feel better. Learning healthy ways to cope with negative emotions will impact overeating – although it may feel like your issue is simply not being able to control how much you eat, the underlying cause is that you feel helpless with your emotions. When you start feeling angry, sad, or other uncomfortable emotions, you should find a healthy way to express or cope with them. Call a friend, write in a journal, or draw – engage in something productive that you know will make you feel better, not worse. If your anger or sadness stems from past pain, you should address it as follows:

• Write a letter to the person who hurt you. You don't need to send it. Simply venting your anger or sadness onto paper can often help reduce stress.
• Make amends with yourself. Stand in front of a mirror and forgive yourself for any actions that caused harm. Acknowledge and express any self-loathing feelings you may have to begin the healing process.

Managing stress-related eating. Avoid reaching for your favorite snacks when stressed. Identify the moments when you feel overwhelmed and find ways to ‘release’ your anger. A few stress-reduction techniques that will help you include:

• Taking a short walk. Even a 15-minute walk will release endorphins that bring a sense of euphoria to the brain, easing stress.
• Playing with your pet. Spend time showing affection to your dog to release oxytocin, a hormone that boosts feelings of well-being and vitality.
• Practicing deep breathing. If you're overwhelmed with thoughts, take a few minutes to focus on something simple like your breath. Refocusing on the present moment with breathing exercises or mindfulness meditation has been scientifically shown to reduce stress and anxiety.
• Practicing yoga.
• Learning to meditate. Meditation is a stress-reduction method that can be practiced anywhere.

Learning to listen to your stomach. Regularly ask yourself, ‘Am I full?’ to help you assess the situation accurately. Often, we eat mindlessly, ignoring what our bodies are trying to communicate. Overeaters often continue eating even after they are full, ignoring the signals from their bodies.

• Rating your hunger on a scale of 1 to 10 can be useful, where 1 means you're so hungry you're dizzy or weak, and 10 means you're so full you feel ill. A rating of 5 represents being 'just right' – not hungry, not full.
  • Eat when your hunger is around 3 or 4, and try not to let it drop to 1 or 2.
  • Stop eating when you reach 5 or 6 – satisfied, or 'just full.'
• Pause during your meal and ask yourself, ‘Am I still hungry?’ If you are, continue eating. Then stop again and check. Remember, you don't have to clean your plate.

Overcoming boredom. Many people overeat because they feel bored. If you find you have too much free time, step outside. Look for something enjoyable to do. Volunteer to help others. Go to the movies (just avoid the snack counter). Call a friend or go for a walk and explore your neighborhood. There are countless ways to keep your mind engaged without resorting to sweets.

Slow down. Overeating often involves eating too quickly. However, slowing down and taking time to focus on the food (its taste, temperature, etc.) can help reduce cravings. This mindful eating technique has become a well-known method for overcoming overeating, endorsed by doctors, celebrities, and chefs.

• Avoid eating while standing, in a car, or trying to multitask. Sit down at a dining table and try to stay away from situations where you feel the need to 'eat hurriedly.'
• Pause and set down your spoon between bites.
• Chew your food thoroughly and swallow before picking up the spoon again.
• Allow yourself to feel the texture of the food and take in its flavor and aroma.

Turn off the TV. Your overeating might not be a reaction to stress or other emotions — you could simply be overeating because you're distracted and unable to listen to your body's signals. You should avoid distractions while eating — turn off the TV and computer, put the book away — and focus on your plate and the sensations of your body. Research has shown that forming a habit of watching TV while eating leads to consuming fewer fruits and vegetables, while increasing the intake of fast food, sodas, and unhealthy snacks.

Change your environment. We are creatures of habit. Using a different plate or sitting in a different spot than usual can increase your awareness of when it’s time to stop eating. A note from a registered dietitian suggests that small changes like adjusting your meal time or reducing the amount of food on your plate can lead to significant long-term results.

Start exercising. You should get up and move. The mood-boosting effects of exercise have been well-documented. Physical activity helps reduce stress hormones while increasing your energy levels and improving your mood. You should aim for about 20–30 minutes of moderate exercise daily. Some effective activities for boosting mood include:

• Yoga
• Swimming
• Hiking

Eliminate Temptations. It's a good idea to remove your favorite snacks from the pantry and fridge. If they aren't available in your home, you won't be able to indulge in them. Now that you've started keeping a food diary and have become aware of the types of foods that lead you to overeat, remember this when you go grocery shopping. If you're prone to snacking on cookies and packaged chips, two of the most common triggers, try to stay away from the snack aisles and candy shelves.

• Stick to the perimeter aisles of the supermarket. Cookies, chips, soda, and other unhealthy snacks are often displayed in the middle aisles, while fresh produce, meats, and seafood are usually located in the outer aisles of the store.

Avoid Fast Food. You must resist the urge to swing by your favorite fast-food restaurant on your way home after a busy day. Daily stress may tempt you into quickly ordering large portions of sugary and greasy snacks. If your willpower is faltering and you find yourself waiting to place an order, consider opting for a healthier salad or a low-calorie dish from the menu instead of the typical, nutrient-deficient fast food.

Forgive Yourself. It's possible you might stumble along the way, and that’s completely natural. Breaking a long-standing bad habit cannot be done overnight. You need to be patient with yourself and treat yourself with kindness and forgiveness.

Let Go of Shame. Feeling overwhelmed by shame, anger, or sadness will only create a vicious cycle that leads to more overeating. Some useful strategies to express frustration without resorting to emotional eating include:

• Say goodbye to the past. What you’ve done is already behind you. Remind yourself that you can’t change the past, but you have the power to shape your future. All you can do is learn from your mistakes and move forward.
• Identify moments when you've strayed. Thinking through and writing down the factors that led you off course recently (trigger foods, specific emotions, etc.) can help soothe guilt and redirect your focus towards recovery.
• Create positive reminders. You can combat shame by establishing tools to help you improve in the future. Consider using an app or setting up automatic reminders that display positive messages on your computer.

Seek support if needed. Facing challenges alone can be overwhelming. Finding others who share your goals is key to recovery. Several local organizations host group meetings you may attend. Alternatively, if you're in need of an immediate conversation, consider reaching out to others via chat rooms, forums, or online discussion platforms. Below are some helpful suggestions:

• Overeaters Anonymous
• NEDA
• Eating Disorder Institute
• Health Chat Room
• Health Forum

Keep a food diary. Ignorance isn't bliss. Writing down everything you've eaten can be eye-opening since many people tend to underestimate how much they consume. Also, noting the time you eat can help pinpoint patterns or the specific times of day when you're prone to overeating. Your food diary might quickly reveal the types of foods you overindulge in.

• When you document a food item in your diary, make sure to include the time, the food, and the portion size. Also, note what you were doing at the time, your emotional state, and your surroundings.
• Carry a pen and paper, or use your phone to jot down what you eat. Don't rely on your memory—remember, most people underestimate their intake, and you might do the same if you rely on recollection. You could easily forget that small snack (like a handful of candy from someone’s desk) or a bite of food from a friend’s plate (which matters too).
• Ensure you accurately note your portion sizes and anything else like salad dressings.
• You can check out a sample food diary here.

Look for patterns in your food diary. By tracking additional information such as your emotional state or surroundings, you can begin to identify triggers and patterns for overeating. For example, you may notice that you tend to overeat when you're stressed or sad, when visiting your parents’ house, or after talking with your siblings. This behavior is often referred to as stress eating or emotional eating.

• Other factors to watch out for include long periods between meals (which can lead to overeating when you finally get to eat), eating while on the go (such as when driving, standing, or multitasking), or eating in front of the TV or computer (as people often consume more when distracted and not fully focused on their meal).
• Pay attention to the effects of smelling or seeing food. Your diary might reveal that you can't resist grabbing snacks when passing by a bakery. Even when you're not hungry, the scent of fresh bread can make your stomach growl.

Learn about emotional eating. Your food diary may reveal if you eat to cope with tough emotions or even just boredom. Do you often turn to food when you're feeling sad, stressed, anxious, lonely, bored, or exhausted? Instead of addressing the negative emotions, you might suppress them by eating. Unfortunately, eating doesn’t solve the problem that caused these emotions, even though it might provide temporary relief, but your feelings will likely return.

• Stress causes your body to release cortisol, the 'stress hormone,' triggering the 'fight or flight' response. This response boosts your appetite, making you crave high-energy foods (often sugary snacks) to fuel the fight-or-flight process. If you're dealing with chronic stress from school, work, family, or your environment, you may be at higher risk of emotional eating.

Understanding the difference between physical and emotional hunger. At first, it can be hard to tell when you're truly hungry versus when you're just craving food due to emotional triggers. Before reaching for snacks like cookies or chips, it's important to consider a few factors:

• Does the hunger come on suddenly? Physical hunger builds gradually, while emotional hunger tends to hit abruptly and intensely.
• Do you feel like you need to eat immediately? Physical hunger can be tolerated for a while, but emotional hunger makes you feel an urgent need to eat right now.
• Do you have a strong craving for a specific food? If you're open to eating a variety of foods, you might be experiencing physical hunger. But if you only crave one specific item, that points to emotional hunger.
• Do you often overeat? If you eat until you're full but still feel like you haven't had enough, you're likely eating emotionally, not to satisfy physical hunger. Physical hunger disappears once you're full.
• Do you feel guilty, regretful, helpless, or ashamed? If these feelings come after eating, you may be eating to cope with emotions rather than to meet your physical hunger.

Recognizing the signs of binge eating disorder (BED). Overeating or eating due to emotional reasons doesn’t necessarily mean you have binge eating disorder (BED). BED is a common eating disorder that is considered serious and life-threatening, but it can be treated. Only a healthcare professional can diagnose BED, so if you suspect you have it, make sure to talk to your doctor. The signs of BED include:

• Eating faster than usual and consuming a larger quantity of food in a short time (usually under two hours) compared to most people in the same time frame.
• Feeling a loss of control while eating.
• Eating secretly due to shame about the amount of food consumed.
• Consuming large amounts of food even when you're not hungry.
• Feeling ashamed, guilty, disappointed, or disgusted by your eating habits.
• Not purging after a binge, meaning you don't try to compensate for overeating by vomiting or excessive exercise.
• Engaging in this behavior at least once a week for three months.
• It’s important to note that your weight isn’t necessarily linked to BED. You may have a normal weight, or be slightly, moderately, or severely obese. The key takeaway is that not everyone who is overweight has a binge eating disorder.