Guest post - Why do we overeat? Includes tips on how to beat it!

Posted: 13/09/2009 at 08:35pm by Guest contributor, Ros Astaire

This week, we are extremely privileged to have the thoughts of weight management coach Ros Astaire. Ros is a certified nutritionist, counsellor and life coach, and will be sharing her thoughts with us on why we overeat, as well as give her top 5 tips on how to overcome it.

For most of us, trying to lose weight without deprivation seems like an impossible task. Perhaps you feel that way? How many of us have tried a number of diets only to put the weight back on again?

Deep down, we all know that dieting isn’t the answer to permanent weight loss. Most people who have a weight problem do not know how to listen to their body or make the right food choices.   Dieting destroys self confidence and does not address our unconscious patterns. When we stop the diet and go back to normal, the problem is still there.

The answer lies, initially, in tackling the underlying reasons why we overeat in the first place. Once these have been established, we have to embark on a re-learning process and get back in tune with our bodies.

Ask yourself – when was the last time I was hungry and what were the signals, how did it feel?

There is a way out of the dieting treadmill. We can lose weight without depriving ourselves of the food we love. We do not have to cut anything out.   Learning to trust ourselves again, making a commitment to ourselves to do the best we possibly can to enhance our wellbeing and being kind to ourselves, are just some of the processes that can be addressed.

My top 5 tips for overcoming your overeating:

1.   Ask yourself “How hungry am I?” . Rate your hunger level out of 10. If very hungry you are at 10 and feeling full would be 1.

Not sure whether you are hungry? Wait a bit longer – you will soon hear your body giving you the right signals.

2.   When eating, your attention should always be present. If you are reading or watching TV, you are distracting yourself from the taste of the food and from how it feels in your body.

3.   Stop eating when ‘satisfied’, not when you are ‘full’. It means being willing to waste food, throw it away, save it for later. It means not necessarily finishing the food on your plate. If you are enjoying a meal and you are not sure whether you are satisfied, put your knife and fork down, have a little pause, push your plate away. Check in with your body.

4.   Eat what you really want. If you really desire chocolate, nothing else will do. If you choose something you really want, you will feel satisfied psychologically as long as you do so in moderation and consciously.

5.   Always eat sitting down. This allows you to enjoy your food with awareness. If you are on the run, or in the car, or standing up whilst cooking, you will have eaten unconsciously and won’t feel satisfied.

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Weight management coach Ros Astaire
Ros Astaire
Weightexpectations
www.weightexpectations.com
Registered Happyweight Practitioner
www.happyweight.com

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Comments

"Deep down, we all know that dieting isn’t the answer to permanent weight loss"... Somehow we need to get this fact to the surface! I think a big issue for overeaters is food addiction, in particular sugar. Most overweight people blame their weight on a lack of willpower or inability to stick at a diet, when the reality is that they are addicted to certain simple carbs - usually refined bread / pasta / sweets etc. Eating takes on a pattern similar to drug use... binge... abstinence... binge... and so on. These 5 tips will certainly help break the cycle but overeaters need to be wary of trigger foods.

Posted by: Liam | EverythingZing, 16/01/2010 at 08:11am

Agreed. I think we have lost the ability to know when we are hungry or thirsty. Advice such as drink 2 or 3 litres of water a day means we no longer drink when we are thirsty, so desperate are we to follow the latest guidelines. Advice to snack on 5 small meals a day is madness! Eat when you are hungry and keep portion sizes small: you can always go back for more if you are hungry. Plan your menu - crucial. And as someone who has a sweet tooth, sugar is as addictive as any drug!

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Posted by: MatthewsAlexis35, 23/05/2010 at 09:34am

Your posted tips are the best for people, who want stop snacking and reduce food cravings. I love these tips!

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