Solving overeating habits

 

According to a recent UK survey the key times for overeating are

11.01 am – Mid Morning

3.14.pm – Afternoon

9.31.pm – Evening

These are very precise times, though many of us can relate to the mid-morning, afternoon and evening snack attack times.

There’s a need to be filled and how we fill those needs can make a big difference to how we feel, how we look and how we function.

It’s much easier and healthier to stick with do able lifestyle changes than it is to diet and here are some ways to work around those dodgy times in the day that can make or break a healthier eating lifestyle.

If you’ve eaten breakfast around 7am/8ish you’re likely to be peckish or even hungry by 11.am. A good way to avoid unhealthier choices is to eat something around 10.30am that’s around 200 calories if you’re being calorie aware and has about 5/10 grams of protein in. Good choices are 100grams of Greek yogurt with berries or some wholegrain crackers with cheese

Between 3/4pm blood glucose level is likely to drop after lunch, which is why we seek out sweet food. The big problem with eating sweet food around this time is it’s unlikely to satisfy you for long and by 6.pm you’ll be craving more, and this is when binge eating can happen. The way around this is instead of going for something sugary go for something protein rich and nutrient dense.  A good choice is to go nutty. A nut-based snack bar, fruit with your favourite nut butter or a handful of nuts and seeds. Other good options are vegetables with savoury dips such as hummus. A sprinkling of cinnamon works wonders for sweet cravings too and you can make your fruit and nuts interesting and exotic.

The evening snack attack time can be a hard one to break. There may be other factors such as boredom or loneliness to address here. If you watch telly you will probably notice that there are many treat style food adverts on in the evening, because they know people like rewards after a long day. A few squares of dark, good quality chocolate eaten mindfully can fill the need physically.

When we tune with our hunger and satiety signals, we feel better, lighter and often have enough energy throughout the day. Using the hunger scale below is really helpful for this.

1. Starving – you feel hangry, shaky, weak, very low energy levels
2. Uncomfortably hungry – You feel irritable, stomach growling
3. Very hungry – You’re ready to eat
4. A little hungry – peckish
5. Not full, not hungry – Your mind isn’t focused on food
6. Satisfied and light – You could eat more – but
7. Comfortable – slightly too full
8. Very full – You ate more than you needed
9. Too full – Feeling heavy and uncomfortable
10. Food coma full – Can’t move, sleepy, painful

 

Simply put don’t stuff and don’t starve, stay feeling vibrant and alive.

Start eating at number 3 when you’re ready, healthy snacks are much more enjoyable when you’re ready to eat.

Don’t wait until number 1 or 2 (starving or uncomfortably hungry) At this point there won’t be any control and you’ll feel overwhelmed with cravings for rich calorie packed food. Also, when we’re starving, we eat quickly and mindlessly which leads to overeating and it’s not a joyful experience.

Stop eating at number 6 when you feel satisfied and light, even though you could eat more it’s worth remembering that it takes about 20 minutes after you’ve eaten for your brain’s satiety signals to kick in. If you eat more, you’ll lose that lovely light feeling and feel a little too full within 20 minutes.

Food habits can be tricky to change as it’s not always about the physical hunger, though you can train yourself into better habits one micro step at a time. This  works better for a long-lasting lifestyle change that sticks.

I help women achieve this for themselves in an inspiring way that works for them. Sometimes we need that accountability and support to create new habits.

You’re more than welcome to reach out to me at JayneSpenceleyWellbeing@gmail.com for a free discovery coaching call if you’re struggling to do it alone.