Would you like to learn a few tricks to help you stop overeating and lose a few extra pounds?
If your answer is yes, keep scrolling!
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful little girl. She used to wear a red riding hood. The girl would turn into a wolf during the full moon, and then she would completely lose control of herself. Eventually, her whole life got out of control. One day she even devoured her lover. Always ashamed of herself, little “Red Riding Hood,” as she was called, suffered greatly. She even asked to be chained and locked up. But nothing helped until she met her own kind. Her new teachers taught her to embrace the wolf inside of her. From then on, little Red Riding Hood was able to live peacefully with her inner wolf.
We all have moments where our inner wolf takes over and we lose ourselves and become addicted. There are many shades of addiction: alcohol, gambling, and shopping to name a few. Most of these addictions can be viewed as supplementary to our lifestyles and not necessary for human survival. However, food is something we cannot live without. There is an abundance of food in our country, which is not shared across the globe. Unfortunately, wealth and excess can turn into obsessive, compulsive eating, also known as “bingeing.”
Why Do I binge?
Provided that, I really would like to stay fit, overeating sabotages my goals.
How I break the cycle of overeating?
Well, I don’t think I will ever break free. However, I developed a healthier relationship with food and incorporated some tricks to my daily practice.
And here’s how you can stop overeating in six steps:
1) Step# 1: Embrace Your Inner Wolf.
Remember, healthy eating habits are a side effect of a balanced system. You can’t will yourself to stop bingeing.
If you want to be a different person, start by changing your experiences.
And a few more tips to help with the inner wolf:
- The first thing is to identify that you have a problem.
- The next thing is to observe the issue.
- This is not an easy concept for someone like me. I am “a doer” and “a fixer.”
- Do you identify with me?
- If yes, then we both have to come to terms with the fact that the seed of food addiction will always be there.
- We need to have the courage to make an effort even in the face of failure.
- This is not a linear process. We might have ups and downs.
- We need to have the courage to make an effort even in the face of failure.
- Let’s be kind to ourselves and not beat ourselves up.
- Let’s make a positive change in our patterns.
- Create kitchen exit strategies.
- Ask yourself if you really hungry or you just like to eat because you bored, stressed or filing the void.
Gather information, and find help. I am a very self-motivated person, but when it comes to food, I just can’t do it alone. Have faith in yourself! These things are not time dependent.
There is an opportunity for transformation at any age!
2) Step #2: Reduce Stress.
- Plug relaxation into your schedule.
- Make time to relax for at least an hour each day.
- You can set the alarm at certain times to take short walks or practice yoga.
- Vow to eliminate as many sources of stress as you can.
- Write down the people and situations in your life that bring you the most stress.
- Find ways to spend less time with those people and in those situations.
- De-clutter your schedule. One reason that many people are stressed is that they feel overcommitted and like they don’t have enough time to pursue their interests or to spend time with their loved ones. See if you can find a way to free up just a few hours each week.
- Learn how to say “no.”
- Recognize that you can’t control everything.
- There will always be stressful elements in your life, but you can minimize the stress in your life.
- Eliminate what you can, and learn to deal with the rest.
3) Step #3: Make Smart Choices In The Grocery Store.
- Buy wholesome, seasonal food.
- Reduce or eliminate packaged foods.
- Avoid over-processed foods (typically these foods are packed with chemicals).
- Cook your meals, or buy from restaurants with sustainable cooking practices.
- If you eat greasily, deep-fried food and over-processed foods, it will not only leave you sluggish but will also kill your good valuable cells.
- Choose “real” foods, such as whole-grain items with as little processing and as few additives as possible.
- If you want more salt, just add it yourself.
- Avoid foods that contain ingredients you can’t pronounce.
- You can find healthy recipes with seasonal foods.
4) Step #4: Reduce Sugar.
Sugar is more addictive than cocaine. Sugar is our new poison.
- Exclude all processed white and table sugars.
- Start reading labels to avoid anything with high fructose and sugar.
- Eat fruit separately, preferably early in the morning.
5) Step #5: Optimize Your Digestive System.
We are not what we eat, but we are what we don’t excrete.
What you eat can nourish you or not. What you take in can become part of you in a healthy, proper way or it can be debilitating. It is not normal to go the bathroom once every three days regardless of your age.
- Incorporate probiotic-rich fermented foods like cultured vegetables.
- Make veggies your main dish.
- Eat real foods.
- Don’t eat non-foods (foods with ingredients you can’t pronounce).
- Hydrate by sipping hot water throughout the day. But not during meals.
- Choose your dining company wisely. It is not only how you eat but also who you eat with (I’d rather eat alone than in bad company).
- Try not to talk during meals. Focus on the food.
- Chew slowly. Not only is this better for your digestive system, but you’ll also enjoy it more.
- A well-functioning digestive and eliminative system is a critical part of preventative health.
To conclude, you can minimize overeating in 5 steps:
1) Embracing your inner wolf2) Reducing stress.3) Making smart choices in the grocery store.4) Reducing sugar.5) Optimizing your digestive system.
Balance and moderation are definitely key to all these very helpful daily routines! Another great read and one that most people can follow!!
Thank you, Christine!