Situational overeating is what the experts call it. You might call it a "binge." It's simply overeating, usually in a certain situation, unique for you. You might be a stress eater or a "PMS" eater. Maybe you are a boredom eater. Whatever your weakness is, there are proven strategies to overcome the urge to overeat. Here are some that work.
1. Aimless Overeating.
Situation: You have eaten smart all week and keep your fat grams to 20% of your total calorie intake, as prescribed by the ABC and Dr. Albright. But, now it's Sunday afternoon and you find yourself chatting on the cordless phone with your best friend. You find yourself in the kitchen and, next, find yourself staring at an open refrigerator. There's a bowl of leftover roast beef or pasta salad. Before you "regain consciousness," you next see an empty bowl where the leftovers were.
Solution: Weekends are the worse time for following a diet and boredom is the biggest enemy of all. The cure is to make your kitchen off-limits any time other than for cooking a meal. Keep a bottle of water somewhere away from the kitchen and definitely where you don't have to go near the storage of food and leftovers, i.e. the kitchen. Thirst is often interpreted as hunger. When you feel hungry, the first step is to drink a glass or two or water (8-16 ounces) and see what effect that might have on the feeling. It just might get rid of your hunger feeling. Another obvious device to fight the situation is to avoid using a cordless phone. If you are tied to a phone cord during long conversations - obviously, not the kitchen phone - you can't wander and you can't nibble. As one of your general rules of life, never do anything else during mealtime. Make it an inviolate rule - never watch television while eating. Another unbreakable rule: eat your meals at only one place in your house - the kitchen or dining room table. You can eat only at the table - nowhere else.
2. Anxiety/stress Overeating.
Situation: Work has you completely stressed out; the teenagers are driving you nuts at home; and the car is starting to sound strange when you are stopped at red lights. You're stressed out and decide that, at lunch, you deserve a "treat" and have two slices of apple pie a la mode and have a candy bar later in the afternoon.
Solution: Food, for most people, is the absolute best nonprescription "cure" for stress and nervousness. It comes down to the effects of food on brain levels of certain chemicals; the same chemicals that are affected by such drugs as Prozac and similar drugs. For work stress, before sitting down to lunch, go for a brief walk, preferably alone, to relax and regain your lost composure. On particularly stressful workdays, pick a lunchtime restaurant that offers a good variety of low-fat entrees. Stay away from fast food! If you must have a sandwich, try Subway( which offers some great low-fat sandwiches. Also, work on other stress-management techniques before lunch as well. Take a break in mid-morning and have a low-fat snack, like some sliced fruit or a bagel with low-fat cream cheese. Finally, don't forget the water! You should have at least 3 glasses of water during the morning before lunchtime.
3. Premenstrual Overeating.
Situation: It's the week before your menstrual cycle. You stomach is in knots, your face is breaking out, and you've bitten the head off your best friend for something you both would have laughed about the week before. You already know the cure for the PMS blues: chocolate! Creamy, milky, smooth chocolate.
Solution: It's all related to hormones and their effects on brain levels of a specific chemical, namely, serotonin. That's why chocolate makes you feel better; it has been shown scientifically to raise levels of serotonin in the brain. The specific combination of sugar and fat that chocolate produces in the bloodstream raises serotonin in the brain and makes you feel more relaxed and in control. The solution is simply to give in! That's right, eat chocolate! If your craving is for chocolate, don't fight it; have some chocolate. If you fight it, you'll only binge and eat even more later. Better to have a chocolate bar now than to fight the urge for a day and eat an entire bag of baby Snicker bars at night. QUICK TIP: if you are a "choco-holic," put a back of Hersey's kisses in your freezer. When you absolutely, positively have to have chocolate, take a frozen Hersey's kiss out and suck on it like a Life-Saver(. Make a game of how long you can make it last. By the time it melts, you'll probably find your urge has been satisfied. If not, have another. Take one out at a time and force yourself to go to the freezer for each and every one. It sounds a little compulsive but it works! Try it.
4. Late-Night Overeating.
Situation: It's 10:00 at night and you're just about ready to turn in for the night. You get up for the last commercial break before calling it a night and try to satisfy your rumbling stomach with a handful of Cheese-Its. Still a little hungry? You grab a carton of ice cream and eat a few spoonfuls. That doesn't quite do it either. So, you grab a couple of Pop-tarts and polish them off. Finally, you feel full and crawl into bed.
Solution: Look at what you are eating at supper is you are experiencing real hunger before bedtime. Eat a dinner that is fiber-rich - i.e. several good portions of vegetables - and has generous amount of protein and, yes, 4-8 grams of fat as well. Protein sits well and stays with you during the evening. Complex carbohydrates - like grains, pasta, and rice - will keep you stomach full for 2-3 hours. If you are still hungry after a good supper, do the water test we discussed above; drink 2 glasses of water first to see if you just might be thirsty and misinterpreting it as hunger. If you are still hungry, before you start foraging about, take a minute and try to decide exactly what it is that you are hungry for. How do you do that? Take a moment and think about what you would eat if you could have anything in the world right now. Close your eyes and try and imagine what it would be. When you finally decide what it is you want, what you really want, you can have it. No guilt, no misgivings. Give yourself "permission" to eat whatever it is you are hungry for. Remember our rule: you can have anything you really, really want as long as you control the amount. Portion control is the key. So, make the decision about what you must have, take out the proper portion, and enjoy!