Day 16: Stop Overeating Part 1 | 30-Day Weight Loss-athon
Today we hit Day 16 and start the second half of the 30-Day Weight Loss-athon.
All tasks in the 30-Day Weight Loss-athon are adapted from the 52 Weight Loss Missions program.
Read the steps first, then take 10 minutes to think about them and take action. Ready?
What You Need:
- 52 Weight Loss Missions sample
- Pen
- Post-its.
Step 1
For most of us with extra weight, overeating plays a role. For some of us, it’s the star of the show.
So I’m going to help you to stop overeating – but without willpower, self-recrimination, obsessiveness, or a Silence of The Lambs mask.
Instead, today we’ll look at ways to reduce your portion sizes so you don’t mindlessly eat more than you need. Tomorrow we’ll deal with some of the causes of automatic eating, and consider ways to break free.
(Remember the 52 Weight Loss Missions sample you downloaded? Today’s and tomorrow’s tasks are drawn from Mission 14: Stop Overeating.)
As our first step, if you need convincing that eating mindlessly leads you to eat more, flip through Brian Wansink’s Mindless Eating. You’ll read dozens of experiments showing how switching your mind off turns your tendency to overeat on.
But I suspect most of us are already convinced.
Step 2
So we need to find ways to:
- Be more mindful when we eat
- Make it harder to overeat when we aren’t being mindful.
Here are some of the strategies that have worked for me:
- Put food on a plate rather than eating out of a container – so you can see how much you’re eating
- Use table linen, a napkin, perhaps a candle – it will make you want to enjoy and savor your meal
- Use a smaller bowl or plate – it will feel like a larger serving
- Use smaller utensils – eg a small spoon instead of a large one
- Eat as a family or with others – stopping to talk can slow down your eating and give your brain time to register when you’re no longer hungry
- After serving yourself, put leftovers away immediately – if you’re really still hungry you can get the food back out; if not, there’s a barrier to make you stop and think
- Enjoy your food – savor the taste and texture
- Eat slowly – chew your food thoroughly so you extract the nutrients and give your brain time to register when you’ve had enough.
- Make peace with leaving food on your plate – you can dispose of it in the bin or on your hips; which would you prefer?
- Eat regularly – every 3-4 hours – so you’re never ravenous and out of control (which we address in Mission 49: Recognize Start And Stop Hunger Signals).
The following ideas might also help – though I confess they haven’t worked for me.
- If you eat alone, avoid distractions like TV, the web, or reading (this one is hard and I can’t do it; if you can, great)
- Hold your eating utensil in your non-dominant hand so you’re reminded to slow down
- Eat the healthier, lower-calorie foods on your plate first – if you feel full before you’re done, you’ll have gained the best nutrition bang for your calorie buck
- Only eat in one or two places, ideally just in the dining room – not your bedroom, the bathtub or at your desk.
Choose the strategies you’re going to try.
Bonus Step For 52 Weight Loss Missions Members
Revisit Mission 49: Recognize Start And Stop Hunger Signals for strategies to help you manage hunger signals and avoid binging.
Step 3
For each strategy you’ve chosen, complete whatever action you need to take.
For example:
- Dig out your pretty tableware, table linen, candlesticks, etc
- Write post-it reminders to put away leftovers, eat slowly, only eat in certain rooms, etc
- Set alarms on your phone to remind you to eat more regularly.
Mindless eating is a trap we all fall into at times. But with these strategies, it doesn’t have to be a habit.
Which of these strategies will you use?
Check in!
And you’re done!
Be sure to leave your comment below to check in and stay accountable. If you’re reading this by email or in a reader then please click here to leave your comment.
See you tomorrow!
Definitely a problem, but working on slowing down when I eat and not taking such large portions. Drinking water before the meal and eating lots of fresh vegetables.
Decided this weekend to start eating every 3 hours. I like the table linen idea to make a meal feel special. I also need to work on eating s-l-o-w-l-y…so hard for me.
I tend to snarf my meals… a habit I learned from my daddy. I love the idea of eating with my left hand and also to eat all my veggies first!
I do quite a few of these regularly; however, some of these seem fun… I think I might dig out some candles and have a nice relaxing dinner tonight 🙂
With my new eating I don’t have the urge to eat mindlessly. I have to cook my food from scratch. It’s really hard to over eat veggies and fruit!
Eating smaller servings every 2 1/2 – 3 hrs makes the biggest difference in my energy level & keeps me from bingeing.
I have the same problem as Amy Egley Seville. I am not consistent with meals (esp. lunch). I need to snack on the right things. The last few days I’ve been making fruit shakes, and they really fill me up.
This one is hard. I usually eat healthier food, but too much of it. I will concentrate on spending time enjoying more vegetables and fruit, not just plowing through because they are “healthy”.
I’ve been bought up to eat what’s on your plate ( as a child my parents didn’t have much money) and now as an adult it’s been in-trenched into my eating habits so that I feel guilty if anything is left on the plate. At the moment I’m trying to teach myself that if I can’t finish everything on the plate to put it in the fridge/container.
I have put my smaller plates closer than my bigger ones, and have small containers that I portion food into before putting it away. That way when hunger comes, it is already measured into small portions and I am not tempted to eat as much as I want from a large container.
I love this! Nutrition is definitely where I have the most challenge with weight loss. The things I know I can do better is planning as well as eating at the table (I tend to eat in front of the TV or computer most of the time).
Amy, that’s my problem ditto! If I eat small things evry 2 hours I feel much better and have more control because I am not super hungry. 🙂 (In a perfect world) As the economy got worse I put a measuring cup with our cereal. I told the boys to use the scoop. Its a serving size.
A strategy a friend of mine uses to resist left overs when dining out is putting a napkin on the plate so she won’t see the food!
I guess I need:
– a set of tableware.
– collecting candles I have and moving them to the dining room!
– eating in the dining room, not the kitchen!
– Prepare a sheet of paper reminding me of: Eating times, drinking water, and exercise. Maybe make a small scrapbook for it for fun!
– set daily small rewards for not eating out of the allowed food menu!
Great ideas! I have tried some of them, but not, “not eating with my non-dominat hand.” I am going to give that a try today! I am sure, I will need to wear a bib, for the first few days. LOL! They don’t call it non-dominat for nothing. I am also looking forward to eating the healty foods first! That just makes sense! I think, the one that I need to do most, is eating at more regular times. I get busy, and forget to eat, and by the time my body reminds me, that I am hungry… it is demanding, FEED ME NOW! <3 : ).
Switching to smaller plates has REALLY made a big difference. I am more aware of the quantity of food I eat at mealtimes, and avoid seconds…I may sometimes wait an hour or more, if I’m still hungry, I’ll have some fruit. Logging down everything also helps me make healthier decisions…I went grocery shopping and did not pick up any chips, cookies, treats…etc. Yeah for me!
I do very well while I’m at work, since I have to plan my meals/snacks ahead of time. However, in the evening it is a little more difficult. I’m putting the leftovers away, and I’m trying to eat slower. I have a 1 year old, so the last year has been eating fast just to eat. Now it is time to slow down. I even decided I would eat at my mother’s pace the next time we eat a meal with them. She is so slow, but it would do me some good to do the same.
My Dr has had me on a plan where I eat at least every 4 hours for years. I really need that cuz I get very light headed if I don’t…or if I eat carbs alone. We eat dinner late, so I save the fruit from lunch & add some walnuts for protein or I eat puppadums & hummus, which is pure protein. Helps me skip seconds at dinner, too.
Eating regularly and using smaller plates and bowls works really well for me. I find it almost impossible to avoid distractions while eating, but I need to work on it so that I can concentrate on eating slowly and enjoying my food more thoroughly.
Hello to everyone: Yippee! Your half way through this program; hooray! You’re doing great. Stay on track and you’ll do even better. Remember, food portions are the size of your fist. If you’re a large eater, cut your portion sizes each day until you make to fist size or weekly if absolutely necessary. If you do get hungry later on reach for a healthy snack or fruit. I’m proud of all of you. Keep up the good work and continue to post to be accountable.
Doing most of the above already. Just have to portion control the foods I like!