Have you ever wondered why you can eat 2 entire meals in one sitting and still not be satisfied? Here are 8 reasons for your overeating:
1.You are Skipping Breakfast
Skipping breakfast or having an unhealthy breakfast will make you feel lethargic through the day and will also lead to weight gain. Always start your day with a healthy breakfast. Further, researchers found that those who ate just 300 calories for breakfast gained almost twice as much weight as those who ate 500 calories or more for breakfast.
The reason: Eating a big breakfast controls blood sugar and insulin spikes throughout the day, which means fewer sudden food cravings.
2.You are Bored or Tired
When you are bored or tired or haven’t slept enough, you crave for an immediate burst of energy, which normally attracts you to some sugar or simple carbohydrate food. Eating unhealthy and tasty foods even acts as a distraction when you are bored.
3.You are not hydrating yourself
Drinking water is good for general health. Water is also known to fill you up and keep you from overeating. Dehydration or not drinking enough water can be responsible for slowing down your metabolism. Drink at least 8-10 glasses of water to help remove toxins from your body and to boost your metabolism naturally.
4.You don’t have a balanced diet
A healthy and balanced diet will control your appetite and provide you with all the essential nutrients. When our body receives all the essential nutrients, it will functionally optimally and will keep you from over eating.
5.You crave high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods
High-fat high-carbohydrate foods are generally high on the glycemic index. Foods high on the glycemic index cause a rapid rise and fall in blood sugar. This further creates unnecessary food cravings and leads to overeating.
6.You drink too much soda
Flavored sodas, iced teas & other sweetened beverages are a huge source of HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup), which acts like sugar in promoting fat storage. Research indicates that fructose can trick our brains into craving for more food, even when we’re full. It works by impeding the body’s ability to use leptin, the hormone that tells the body that it has had enough to eat.
7.Check your portion size
Controlling portion size is key to weight control. Always be a smart selector when filling up your plate. Eat in small plates, chew slowly and stop eating once you feel full.
8.You eat processed, canned foods
According to Harvard University researchers, many canned foods are high in the chemical “bisphenol-A”, or BPA. Exposure to BPA causes food cravings.
Overeating can be a major block to achieving your weight loss and fitness goals. Keep the above factors in mind and try to exercise some self control while eating. Make it a permanent lifestyle change and not a temporary change, since overeating can even lead to various lifestyle diseases.