May 2021 Newsletter
Series: Simple Nutrition Principles To Live By
Article 5- How to Combat Overeating
By Heather Miller, RD, NASM-CPT
Overeating is a common problem for many people whether they are trying to lose weight or just maintain a healthy weight. In this article I will talk about 3 strategies that you can use to avoid overeating.
Do A Kitchen Clean Out & Restock
One of the first things I recommend to people who are looking to get healthy is to immediately clear their kitchen of junk food. If it is in your house, you will eat it! If it isn’t good for you, don’t have it around! Willpower is a resource. It eventually becomes depleted and needs recharging. In moments when reserves are low (when you are stressed, tired or emotional) you don’t want to have craveable temptations anywhere near you.
When you restock your food supply, look for nutrient dense, whole foods. The less processed the better. Shop mainly in the perimeter of the store and avoid most of the shelf-stable packaged foods in the center isles except whole grains (bread, rice/pasta, cereal), unsalted nuts & seeds and canned fruit, beans and vegetables. Look for low or no sugar and low sodium options and avoid highly processed/preserved meats like hot dogs, bologna, bacon, and sausages.
Track Your Intake & Practice Portioning
In my experience, food tracking and portion control are THE MOST important tools for long term weight management. We live in a super-sized world where food sources are plentiful, very tasty and in large part nutritionally void. Studies have shown that people underestimate their food intake by up to 40%! Most of us have no idea how many calories we are eating in a given day. Many clients tell me “I eat pretty healthy and I don’t think I’m eating very much and I still can’t lose weight!” Most likely, they are eating more calories than they realize because they aren’t portioning or tracking it. It’s way too easy to grab junky carbs and processed foods and mindlessly chomp 3-4 servings down without even realizing it.
Start a daily log or diary of your food intake whether it be on paper or using an app like MyFitnessPal. Get your measuring cups & spoons out and buy a small kitchen scale. Buy pre-portioned snacks. Make a habit out of knowing exactly how much you are eating and track it daily. For weight loss this is critical. For long term weight control this is a key skill to master. Try it for 1 week and see what your actual average daily calorie intake is and compare that with your estimated calorie needs using an online TEE calculator.
Sit With Your Hunger
It’s OK to be hungry! Yes you read that correctly. Unless you are severely underweight and not eating you will not die from hunger. Hunger is a physical response to hormone changes that your body sends out when blood glucose levels are low. It wants immediate quick energy. The body doesn’t want to have to go to the work of getting it first from the stores in your muscles and then from your fat stores. That takes more time and your body would rather keep those stores for true starvation and use something that quickly provides fuel so it doesn’t have to tap into those stores. Here’s the thing, we can train our body and our mind to be ok with a little hunger and actually retrain our brain and body to run on less, but better, fuel (and use it to help us lose fat too).
Here is an experiment you can do to help your body learn how to deal (and be ok) with hunger:
· Try fasting for 18-24 hours.* Eat nothing but do drink lots of water and enjoy sugar-free and calorie-free beverages during that time. Doing this gives you the opportunity to really sit with your hunger, acknowledge it and learn the difference between true hunger and habit/boredom. You will see that hunger also passes in a short period of time but also you might find strategies like movement, doing busy work and drinking water can make hunger pains go away.
*NOTE: People who have medical conditions that require them to eat at certain intervals and those that struggle with disordered eating should not do this experiment unless under direct supervision of a medical doctor.
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have questions about healthy eating or anything else fitness or nutrition-wise.
Editors Note: Heather Miller is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Personal Trainer, and all around wonderful person, whom we’re happy to have on staff. If you’d like to train with her, or consult with her, about your diet, please don’t hesitate to contact her at heather@kennedyfitnessomaha.com today!
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Ingredients
1 ounce (28 grams) cheddar cheese, diced 1 hard-boiled egg
3 ounces (85 grams) low-sodium turkey, sliced
4 whole-wheat crackers (such as Triscuits)
1/2 cup (118 ml) carrot sticks
1/2 cup (118 ml) grapes
Directions
Place all ingredients into a bento-style lunch box and serve.
Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 343; Total Fat: 13g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Monounsaturated Fat: 6g; Cholesterol: 147mg; Sodium: 500mg; Carbohydrate: 32g; Dietary Fiber: 7g; Sugar: 13g; Protein: 27g
This recipe courtesy of: MyFitnessPal