Why do we over-eat?
(Below was excerpted from an article in
Precision Nutrition and quotes from their Lean Eating
participants)
Emotional eating
One of the key points that S2Bs (Scrawy to Brawny
people...people who have a hard time gaining
weight) made is that they don’t have an emotional
connection to food. For them, food is just food. The Lean
Eaters advise them to change that. If you want to over-eat,
they say, start making food your security blanket.
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“Just go get your heart broken. Suffer some
serious life traumas and the weight will come
on like stank on s#$t.”
“Imagine that eating could solve all of your
problems, all of your life stresses. Roll up
everything that’s bothering you up into a
little ball. When you eat, you push this ball
away. The more you eat and the longer you
stretch out the experience, the longer you can
chase your troubles away. This one always works
for me!”
“Remember, food is not just fuel. You can
fill all sorts of emotional voids with food —
just fix your attitude. Feeling insecure and
unwilling to take responsibility? Try mashed
potatoes and meatballs (don’t forget the
butter). Workmate got promotion instead of you?
Time to say hi to Ben & Jerry. No sex in
ages? Who needs it, peanut M&Ms wire the
same circuits in your brain anyway!”
“Chocolate and pasta with a rich cream sauce
will kill any emotion that you may want to
avoid. Oh, and don’t forget to fill up your
desk drawers with lots of cookies, crackers and
chocolate covered almonds! They are chocolate
covered – and healthy!”
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And don’t restrict your eating to home. You’re at work eight
hours a day — that’s prime eating time! Not only are many
workplaces hotbeds of food availability, they’re stressful.
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“Get a job that totally sucks your will to live
and just eat away the stress and frustration.
You won’t even notice the amount of calories
that you have eaten by the time you have left
the office.”
“Wander around your workplace looking for
leftovers from meetings, or groups that have
brought in birthday cake or other sweet treats.
Become friends with the coworker with the candy
bowl.”
“Work really hard all day – like harder than
everyone in the world. Then – after work – eat
all of your favourite things to reward yourself
for being so righteous and having such a holy
work ethic. It helps if you use your planning
of this epic eating as your means to unwind
from your workday.”
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If you’re not lucky enough to be depressed, another option
is to use food to make yourself even happier.
| “Discover food. Like really
discover it. Eat stuff that makes your mouth
sing. Look to food for all things good in
life. Turn eating into a game — like a video game —
you get points for different coloured foods,
different cultural recipes, different meats etc.
And then you add up your points and your mom will
buy you an Iphone once you get the highest
score.” |
Use food as a reward. Or as a consolation. Or a distraction.
It’s all good.
If this is you, it's time to
eat.
How do we over-eat?
Eat with distractions
It’s easy to over-eat when you aren’t focused on what you’re
doing — when you can just make the act of eating repetitive and
ongoing.
Become a master of distraction! Never, ever pay attention to
the act of eating.
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“Make sure you eat while doing something else.
The more distracting the other activity the
better. Playing a video game? Great, eat a huge
bag of chips. Watching a game? Great, eat (and
drink) every time someone scores or strikes out
or gets sacked or there is a commercial… or
there isn’t a commercial.”
“Distract yourself while eating. Television
is excellent for this and eventually you will
have a conditioned response that TV =
eating.”
“Just grab the amount you’re supposed to
eat, set it beside you in pre-cut chunks (or in
the cup, if it’s a shake), and don’t look at it
again. Just chew and sip, sip and chew, and
enjoy not thinking at all about paying
attention to fullness cues, because the
distraction in front of you is way more
captivating.”
“Put the bowl on the side and finish the
multitasking only when you can see the
bottom.”
“Put on a season of your favorite TV show or
dust off War and Peace for real
marathon sessions. I guarantee, you’ll have no
idea where all the food went and why your pants
don’t fit.”
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Eating in the car is a popular favourite that combines the
stress of commuting, the immobility of being trapped in a
seated position, the convenience of fast foods, and the
distraction of driving.
| “Multi-task yet again by
whipping through the drive-through on your way to
your sedentary (but oh so responsible) office job!
Just grab a quick donut and a ‘double-double’
(that’s a coffee with double sugar, double cream)
and you are good to go!” |
Combine meals
Don’t think of meals as a single event. Rather, combine the
lead-up and afterparty into a long-lasting eating episode. This
includes snacking while prepping dinner, appetizers, first and
second courses, desserts, and cleaning up people’s plates as
you tidy up the kitchen.
Eat frequently
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“Every opportunity you find to eat, DO IT.
There is only so much good food around and if
you don’t eat at every opportunity you may miss
out on something great. Friends going for ice
cream? Go for it! Who knows when you are going
to have the opportunity again? Going to a
movie? Make sure to get the big bag of popcorn
(with free refills) and get extra butter and
salty toppings because it has been
ages since you have been at a movie
and you deserve it.”
“Meal times. What meal times? Just munch
mindlessly all the time. You don’t even need to
eat a lot — just eat all the time!”
“Never, EVER miss a feeding opportunity!
Graze, if possible.”
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Or don’t eat frequently
You can also take advantage of your appetite rebound by
depriving yourself first, then using it as an excuse to go
nuts.
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“Wait between meals a long time then GO TO
TOWN! and have a huge meal.”
“Decide that you will never, ever eat your
favorite foods ever again. Depriving yourself
of the things you love sets you up to binge on
them.”
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Eat fast
Our satiety mechanisms take a little while to kick in; on
average it takes us about 20 min to realize we’re full. And if
you’re too slow, you might miss something. So git-r-done
quick.
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“Eat fast. I grew up with a military dad and I
was in the military too. Ever seen Major Payne
eat??? That’s barely exaggerated. Don’t give
your body time to say it’s full.”
“Think: It’ll never taste this good
again. It’ll never be this fresh, this crisp,
this delicious.”
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Eat in restaurants
At restaurants, portion sizes are typically larger
(especially in the United States), and the dishes are prepared
with more fat. For example, one study found that while 76% of chefs
thought that they served “regular” portions, the actual
portions of steak and pasta they reported serving were 2 to
4 times larger than serving sizes recommended by the
USDA.
Order an appetizer, entree, and dessert.
Eat out of the box or bag
Don’t bother with a plate or bowl! That just gives you cues
about proper portion sizing! Either upsize to a platter (as
many restaurants have done) or eat it straight out of the box
or bag (you are eating processed foods, right?)! Jars
(e.g. of nut butter) are good too; just grab the ol’ spoon and
get to work.
Then you can just nosh continually and you don’t have any
information about how much you’ve consumed.
Eat from a bigger trough
Have you graduated from a single bag or box of food? No
problem. Let’s crank up the source quantity even further: the
all-you-can-eat buffet.
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“Don’t pre-portion your food; you’ll eat more
from a bigger amount. The buffet is your
friend.”
“Come to the South: the home of
all-you-can-eat buffets and festivals. I swear
there is a different food festival every
weekend. This weekend it’s the seafood
festival: Any kind of seafood, boiled, broiled,
grilled, fried, stuffed, fried, raw, fried… did
I mention they like fried food here?”
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What do we over-eat?
Eat calorie-dense foods
Eat the most calorie dense foods you can find.
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“Pasta is amazing stuff – in addition to the
heaps of carbs you can get from one load, think
it as a vessel to sneak in some serious amounts
of fat.”
“I know a girl that couldn’t figure out why
she was gaining so much weight… turned out she
started adding an entire avocado to her
breakfast shake each morning. It’s a vegetable
and full of healthy fats! If a little = good,
then a lot = better, right?”
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Eat big portions
Don’t worry about measuring properly. Just load ‘er up.
| “I believe that I have a form
of visual impairment that makes 2 tbsp of peanut
butter look like 1 tbsp. I should have that looked
into… Especially when you eat it directly from the
jar — definitely make sure a tablespoon is really
heaping, at least two inches tall. It’s still a
tablespoon, right?” |
Eat stuff on top of other stuff — mix it up!
Humans are attuned to food variety, and we like combinations
of textures and tastes. The more stuff is going on in a dish,
the more we like it… and the more we’ll eat. So get creative
with toppings and sauces.
| “Shaved Parmesean cheese
serves as a very tasty and caloric ‘garnish’ on
every vegetable I’ve ever tried it on. (Actually, I
called it a ‘blizzard’ as a child, if that gives
you any indication of the quantity consumed).
Re-apply once the top layer is eaten and green
again showing.” |
Make that glycemic index work FOR you!
Appetizers were invented for a reason. Find a few simple
carbs and use them as your warm-up.
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“Eat a teaser meal of sugary carbs about 15-30
minutes before your main meal to whet your
appetite. I actually use this trick with my 2
year old when he’s too busy playing to eat a
proper meal… I serve him some fruit first and
maybe a little apple juice and then follow up
with some scrambled eggs, chicken or a peanut
butter sandwich and he wolfs it down.”
“Ever notice that dipping into the bread
basket before a meal makes you eat more of your
entree? Scrawny guys listen up! That bread
basket is your friend… now will you keep it
down at your end of the table from now on?”
“At restaurants, if I was full before my
plate was empty, I would purposefully eat
something high in sugar/starch (like fries or
dessert) so that I would be hungry again sooner
and be able to eat more of my dinner.”
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What situations, foods, and habits make us more likely to
over-eat?
Cave to social pressure
Make sure to have someone else fill your plate to
overflowing, then make sure to clean your plate. Even if you
are stuffed, it would be an insult or a waste of food if you
didn’t eat it all.
Remember, other people are watching and judging you harshly
for not eating enough.
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“Clean your plate or mommy won’t like you
anymore. Your mother slaved all day on that
goulash! You will eat every bite or you hate
your mommy! This will echo in your head for
decades.”
“At social occasions, take your cues from
other people instead of from your own body. If
other people are scarfing nachos, go ahead,
even if you don’t really like nachos. Ditto for
any other greasy snack that might be going
around. Even if you just ate… go ahead! Eat
some more.”
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I made this for you! Aren't you
going to eat it?
The see food diet
Out of sight, out of mind. Don’t forget about that food —
keep it with you always.
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“Always keep food in your field of vision. Food
that isn’t seen can’t be eaten or impact
whether you want food or not. Most people will
forget about food if it’s not around.”
“Find a trigger food and keep it visible,
like on the kitchen counter. Every time you
walk by, take a little taste. You’ll be eating
everything in sight before you know it.”
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When you do eat, use your imagination.
| “Visualisation! ‘That food on
my plate is a muscle fuel. Need to feed the
furnace, stoke the fire.’” |
Give yourself a challenge
The more you make, order, or purchase, the more you’re
obligated to eat, right? So push the boundaries and think of
food like a mountain that you should climb just because it’s
there.
Drink your calories
Our satiety mechanisms are weaker for liquid than solid
calories. We don’t get as full from liquids, and it’s easy to
concentrate a lot of calories into a small volume with the
right food choices.
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“Maybe take in a coffee-based foo-foo drink
using a sporty carbohydrate (waxy maize latte
with sweetened rice milk, anyone?) and a scoop
of protein powder in it at least once a day, if
not twice… Those Rubbermaid “chuggables” work
really well for a protein beverage on-the-go.”
“Milkshakes, those fancy Frappucino thingies
from coffee shops, juices, beer, white
Russians… you can do it! On the other hand,
don’t fill your stomach with calorie-poor
liquids (like water, duh!) when it is time for
serious eating.”
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Find sedentary hobbies, and eat while you do them
Bonus if you can get additional food cues while you do these
things. For instance, a study from Yale found that food
advertising on television increases automatic snacking.
And avoid too much activity.
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“Live in your head a lot. I was the kid who
could never get up the damned rope. I know
there were physical activities I enjoyed, but
as I got older I somehow lost my memory of
them. I ended up working with computers and not
placing any importance on physical activity at
all.
I get it now but there was really no balance
in my earlier life. I never really had that
awesome feeling of having worked really hard
but feeling really great (I have in the past
few years, rarely), and I had no guidance
growing up showing me that being physical was a
good thing. It’s still a struggle to remember
that moving feels good and is good for me.”
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Get support from family and friends
When making any change, remember that those around you can
support you. Food can be something that you share!
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“Get yourself a set of 2 year old twins and
spend a day with them. Nothing will get you
binging on sinful carbs and chocolate quite
like trying to end the biting, hitting,
screaming, and the endless tantrums. Or wait
until they are sick and want nothing else but
to sit on the couch with mom (or dad) and watch
movies. Then spend the time mindlessly munching
on candy and chips while watching
Shrek for the 45th time.”
“Eat regularly with somebody who is much
bigger than you. Make sure your portions equal
or exceed his at every meal.”
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Suck it up, soldier
Ignore your body cues. Ignore social niceties and
interaction. You’re a food warrior and you’ve got a battle to
fight.
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“When all else fails play… I mean eat… through
the pain.”
“Avoid conversation. You’re not finished
until the plate is clean. It is best to finish
your meal before you feel too full so you can
have a second serving. If tortilla chips or
bread sticks are still on the table, they must
be eaten.”
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Summary and recommendations
OK, allow me to get un-silly now. What can we take home from
this?
Remember that we started with a few key questions.
- Why do we over-eat?
- How do we over-eat?
- What do we over-eat?
- What situations, foods, and habits make us more likely
to over-eat?
And recall that in order to change any behaviour, you have
to do three things:
- Become aware of what you’re doing.
- Understand how your daily-life habits support that
behaviour.
- Change those daily-life habits.
So now, let’s look at what that means for each group.
Eating to get lean
- Notice the reasons that you
might over-eat, especially your emotional
connection to food.
-
Notice the habits and routines
that you have around food,
such as:
- eating with distractions
- eating too quickly
- eating irregularly
- eating on-the-go with poor food
choices
- Notice how you respond to
social cues and food situations.
You don’t have to eat just because food is
there, or because someone suggests it.
- Plan meals and food choices,
and establish proper portion sizes in
advance. Don’t rely on
“eyeballing” things or trying to eat right
with no prep.
- Don’t overly restrict or focus
on depriving yourself. You’re more
likely to eventually over-eat to
compensate.
- Choose foods that are less
calorie-dense (i.e. lower in
calories but higher in volume), such as
vegetables. And unless it’s a pre-planned,
appropriately sized
Supershake, don’t drink your
calories.
- Don’t kid yourself about what’s
“healthy”. And realize that
you can still over-eat “healthy”
foods.
- Be mindful and aware
throughout eating.
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Dr. Bryan
Dingsor is
the owner of Watertown
Chiropractic P.C. in Watertown, SD. He specializes in the
treatment of many musculoskeletal conditions and weight
loss. For an appointment, please call 605-882-2304
Today.
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