The 3 main reasons for overeating
Most of us at one time or another have had the unpleasant experience of being overfull from food.
It brings up a lot of emotions - of guilt, of shame, of remorse or regret.
It makes us wonder how or why we let ourselves do this again and again despite how uncomfortable it can be.
There are many reasons why we do this but I have found in my 20 years of coaching and counseling that there are 3 main factors for this (and then tons of other reasons that include habit, physiology, environment, privilege, your past, and your psychology, among others)
Here are the 3 main reasons that come up most often
Distracted, mindless eating
if you are not consciously aware of what you’re eating, and especially the experience of pleasure, your brain won’t detect fullness as quickly. It will also have a harder time communicating with your hypothalamus to tell your hunger hormones to tell YOU that it’s time to stop eating. Distracted eating can be anything from eating in your car, to snacking in front of the TV or at the movies. Most people don’t see eating as a stand-alone activity but one that can be multi-tasked with work, socializing, or anything else.
Of course, not every meal can be a mindful one and of course we will want to be among people talking and socializing while eating sometimes.
But, when was the last time you sat down to a meal and actually focused completely on the experience of eating? I bet it’s been a very long time, if ever.
The remedy? Mindful, conscious eating. I have a free course if you want to learn more about how to practice it: bit.ly/7dayslow
Being in a constant chronic stress response
Stress includes a real or perceived stress. So you may be stressed from your day, or by the news of the world, or by an argument you had with someone. Or from burn-out, overwhelm and just your everyday responsibilities.
You also may have negative feelings about eating and worry/concern that you can’t trust yourself and you will overeat. Those thoughts alone can create a stress response in your body. When you eat while in a stress response, the part of your brain (the prefrontal cortex), responsible for helping you make rational, sound decisions shuts down and you operate more from your primitive brain which only has your immediate protection, safety and comfort in mind.
Therefore, you cannot always intellectually stop yourself from overeating. If you have chronic stress, you are much more likely to overeat, even when you really really don’t want to.
The remedy? Calm chronic stress. I’m opening up the doors to my signature program Replenish in a few weeks, and calming chronic stress is a huge piece of the puzzle that I help people solve with their health, eating and habits. You can get on the waitlist for Replenish here.
Restricting calories, fat, protein and/or always trying to be on a diet.
If I said the word Elephant over and over and then told you not to think of the word elephant or conjure it up in your mind, it would be pretty difficult right? When we diet, we are basically doing the same thing but with food you love. You may be able to give it up for a while, with some serious will power but when you do get back to it, you will likely binge or overeat because of the scarcity mindset that you put upon yourself.
Many diets, moreover, restrict fat in the diet, which is what gives you that strong signal of satiety in your body.
The Remedy? Have an abundance mindset with food, allowing yourself to trust and listen to your body and hunger cues. Eat ample amounts of healthy fats like avocado, full-fat yogurt, salmon, nuts and seeds. And focus on fibrous foods which can also aid in the feeling of fullness to give you the physical signal of fullness more quickly, before you may overeat.
I could go on and on about all the other reasons why we overeat. Here are 10 more reasons alone. Do you see yourself in any of these scenarios?
Because you’re at a celebratory event and enjoying the moment
Because you’re on medication that increases hunger
Because you have insulin resistance or a hunger hormone imbalance
To be rebellious because someone always stopped you from eating the amount you wanted to as a kid.
Because you want to because it tastes so good
Because you are starving and beyond just mild hunger
Because it’s just there or someone put it on your plate
Because you’re at a buffet and you want to get your money’s worth
Because you’re with someone who is also overeating
Because you don’t feel like you have any other pleasure in your life
Overeating is simply the behavior of eating more than the point of fullness and more than what your body may need to live, work and play.
There is nothing moral about it.
The more we shame ourselves for it, the harder it will be to ultimately listen closely to your body and build up your mind-body connection, which will ultimately help you to determine your hunger and satiety cues more accurately.
In just a few weeks, I’ll be opening up the doors to my signature program, Replenish. Replenish is designed to help you calm chronic stress, heal your gut-health and help you develop a healthy relationship with food through mindful and intuitive eating. I’m only taking 8 students this time around.
To learn more and get on the waiting list (where you’ll get a gut-health primer as a waiting gift), click the button below.