Are you overeating ?
Sometimes it’s quite natural for some of us to overeat . There may be many reasons for overeating , like - food is too tasty or we may be too hungry . Sometimes we overeat at parties , buffet or potlunch or there might be overeating in a habitual pattern in some cases . Whatever may be the reason, overeating is not a good idea but at the sametime we all do it at some point whether knowingly or unknowingly .
How to know we are eating too much , and if so how to control it ?
What is Overeating - Overeating or eating too much is eating beyond what our body needs for its normal functions . But we all do it at some point knowingly or unknowingly . Amount of calories ( food ) per meal necessary for us depends on the individual - depending on age ,job / profession , health conditions , and our goal . It's not possible to predict the exact number of calories we need per meal .
How bad is Overeating - Overeating can be bad for our health though we might not feel it immediately but in the long term it’s very bad for our health .
How to know if we are overeating - Eating beyond what our body needs.Sometimes we may overeat mindlessly if we are distracted due to any reason or we feel bored.
Short term effects of overeating - After overeating we might feel uncomfortable / unwell , like short term symptoms - stomach pain , nausea , heartburn , gas , cramps , diarrhea etc.
long term effects of overeating - chronic digestive problems , abnormal weight gain or problem in controlling weight . This can be self noticeable or it can be further diagnosed by some pathological tests to determine blood sugar level, cholesterol etc - like blood test and / or endoscopy as the doctor might feel.
Long term ill effects may lead to diabetes and serious heart issues .
How to self control overeating -
1 . Set your own baseline - We should Keep an eye on food labels from reliable sources . Though it might not be ideal, it will help in fixing our goal of calories needed per meal .
2 . Don’t skip your meals - Skipping meals leads to increased hunger which can further cause overeating . Some people do intermittent fasting but for some it can lead to overeating after that unknowingly . That’s why some doctors suggest eating smaller meals regularly during the day .
3 . Include more Fiber in meals - Eating more fiber leads to a feeling of fullness and can put a brake on overeating . On the other hand, eating cheese makes us feel less full and we may eat too much .
4 . Be hydrated - Sometimes we might be confused whether we are hungry or thirsty and we might jump on our favorite snacks . Better to have a few sips of water , if we feel okay it means we were not hungry . But if we would have taken snacks or other foods which were not really needed , it would have been a case of overeating . Maintaining hydration can keep a check on our overeating .
5 . Know the cause and type of hunger - Whether it is snack time or breakfast time or lunch or dinner time will determine our food needs . If it’s merely snack time in the evening , we should just take a handful of snacks and not enough food and then again dinner after an hour or so.
6 . Know the foods which can be avoided - On occasions like get togethers and treats sometimes we are tempted to eat more, particularly tasty and processed foods . These are rich in salt , sugar and fats . This should be minimized and if possible should be deleted from our menu .
7 . Turn off TV while eating - While eating meals it is better to turn off TV because there is a possibility of overeating unknowingly as it can keep us distracted from how much we are eating or how much we need to eat . .
8 . Do we really need second serving - It is up to us to decide if we need to refill our plate with second serve . So it’s better to be a bit slow and wait to decide if we really need to refill our plates.
Bottom Line - It is a well known fact that Japanese live a longer life. Normally Japanese follow the 80 - 20 rule . It means they eat 80 % of their capacity and let 20% of their stomach remain empty .
