Eating food is not just essential for life, but, in all honesty, it can be one of the most enjoyable parts of daily life. Planning a dinner or looking forward to your favourite food is part of all of our lives. We gather socially because of food and find solace in food when we need a boost. This emotional and psychological link with food can often times lead to overindulgence and overeating. This article is aimed at helping those of us that struggle to put the spoon down after the first few bites.
Overeating and enjoying your food seems to be a logical link, but do we really enjoy the food we binge? We inhale crisps and absorb chocolate as if we might starve and before you realise you’ve eaten through a whole pack, leaving you bloated, full and ultimately disappointed. By enjoying food, we can prevent these binge eating sessions. Take time to smell the food, enjoy the aroma. Science has shown that large portions of what we describe as taste is linked to smell. So, take a breath before eating that comfort food. Take your time to chew the food and to feel the textures. This method of breathing and slowing down your eating process can greatly help to prevent overeating.
It has also been found that our posture during mealtime or even snacking can affect our eating habits. By sitting upright, a person feels fuller at an earlier time and can thereby prevent overeating.
When eating a snack, it is always advisable to be sufficiently full to start with, snacking as a means to postpone a meal is a sure way to eat unhealthy and to overeat. We use a pack of crisps or a chocolate chip cookie with a cup of coffee as a means to “fulfil” our hunger until we have enough time to address it fully, but how often do we end up overeating.
Using smaller utensils can also help to prevent overeating. A smaller spoon helps us to be aware of what we are eating, helping with enjoyment and portion control. A smaller plate will take a smaller portion. Plates are typically made around 4cm in diameter bigger than they were just 30 years ago ,therefore hold more food now. If you can find some old plates then great. Recycling is also good for the environment and quite trendy too. Otherwise just be aware you do not need to completely fill the plate for dinner.
Eating times – Most of our digesting hormones peak in the morning and slow down through the day. This includes gastric emptying. Therefore if you eat late ate night ,the food will take much longer to be digested risking a greater chance of you becoming obese. However, if you are needing to lose some weight and you are a late night eater,then do not despair. I can help you with moving your eating times and lose weight.
All of these measures aim to keep a healthy relationship with snack foods, helping us not to overindulgence and to start enjoying our snacks again.
Contact me at Michelle Mina Nutrition if you require assistance with your diet.
