Overeating is one of those sinister, sneaky things that you can do without even realizing it. But even if you do it unconsciously, it’s important to ask: why are you doing it at all?
- You use your treats as an excuse. See if this scenario sounds familiar: you eat a cookie. You want another one, but you know you shouldn’t have one. You really shouldn’t have had the first one either. So you think to yourself: “what the hell?” and you have three more. On cookie really won’t ruin your diet. Once you eat an unplanned 3 more, that’s when you get yourself in trouble.
- You go to restaurants too often. When you eat out, you eat much larger portions just by virtue of eating at a restaurant. Pay attention to your portion sizes, and only eat as much as you would at home. There’s nothing wrong with taking leftovers.
- You didn’t get enough sleep. Lack of sleep brings down your willpower, leaving you to eat whatever you want in a desperate attempt to try to stay awake. Aim for a consistent sleep schedule, and you won’t constantly feel like you need to oversleep. ##MN_RESP##
- You’re too hard on yourself. If you do have a cheat day, it’s not something to beat yourself up over. Shaming yourself makes you more likely to give up, since you already feel so awful that you stop caring what you eat.
- You reward yourself too often. There’s nothing wrong with rewarding yourself with food every so often. However, it is a little bit of a problem when it becomes something you do all the time. Make sure that it’s an actual reward when you enjoy that glass of wine, not a regular occurrence.
