Eat consciously and with awareness. Eat until you are 70% full-sufficiently sufficed, not stuffed. Take notice of your hunger signals. The next time that you overeat eat ask yourself, “Was I truly hungry, or did I eat because of stress, sadness, boredom, or other reasons?” Think before you eat. When you feel the urge to eat, you must stop, take a breath, and focus your awareness back to how you are feeling.
Try these following steps:
- Do not take the entire bag or container of food while eating. It is best to dish out the amount or serving size you would like to eat in a small dish or bowl.
- Whenever possible, do not mindlessly munch in front of the tv or computer. If you do want to snack while watching your show, try some air-popped popcorn at only 31 calories per cup.
- Take several breaths between bites and chew your food well before swallowing.
- Do not keep high-glycemic index (refined carbs and refined sugars) snack foods in the house such as candies, cookies or baked goods. When temptation or stressful events strike, you will likely fall off the health wagon and over –consume.
- Play the “name it” game. While sitting down for a meal, pick one or two things that you really enjoy about your food. This will slow down your eating and snap you back to awareness.
- Try to make your meals last a minimum of 20 minutes. It takes 20 minutes for the stretch receptors in your stomach to signal your brain that you are full.
- DO NOT SKIP MEALS. Skipping will lead to overeating and disrupt your metabolism. Your body will then keep weight on.
- Eat larger meals in the morning and midday. “Eat like a king in the morning, a prince in the afternoon and a pauper in the evening”.
- Do not eat until you are uncomfortable. Eat until you are 80% full.
- Allow yourself to get hungry and feel your stomach grumble. *exception: in the morning eat a small, healthy meal anyways even if the hunger signal does not present itself.