Seven Possible Reasons for Overeating

We’ve all done it on occasion…sat down with a quart of Haagen-Dazs, been forced to undo our pants at the buffet table, scarfed down two Whoppers at a single sitting, or split and licked our way through an entire container of Oreos while watching a Hallmark movie. In other words, we have all overeaten occasionally, and so long as it doesn’t happen too often, no big deal.

However, if it becomes a regular occurrence, that can lead to unnecessary and unwanted weight gain which can lead to even more unwanted health issues. If the overeating has become more habitual than occasional, then it helps to understand the why…why do I overeat on a regular basis? Well, here are seven possible reasons that might answer that question.

1. You’re both harried and hurried. Our bodies crave routine, but our work-a-day lives rarely allow us to fall into that routine. As a result, we grab meals on-the-go which tends to be fast food, eat at our desks, or skip meals entirely only to gorge later. On the other hand, if we establish an eating routine, our bodies learn when it’s time to eat and become better at signaling when we’re full. As for how to eat during our typical three-meal-a-day approach, maybe this quote will help, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.”

2. You aren’t eating what your body needs. There’s a reason we crave things, even when we’re not pregnant. If your body is lacking a key nutrient, it lets you know. Usually, once it gets that nutrient it lets us know we’re full. However, if we’re not getting the complex carbs (fruits and veggies), quality proteins, and healthy fats we need, our bodies will signal that we need to keep eating. If you’re crowding out quality proteins with processed carbs, your brain-stomach connection gets short circuited and you keep eating. In other words, once your body gets what it needs, your stomach let’s your brain (thus, you) know, “OK, we’re good.”

3. You hunger for something OTHER than food. Sometimes known as “stress eating,” it’s really the notion of using food to fill in for something else. After a stressful day or situation, you’re seeking the opposite of stress, usually referred to as peace or comfort…hence the term “comfort food.” Since foods can release hormones, such as serotonin and tryptophan, which cause feelings of calm, food then becomes a mild drug. And like all drugs, when we make it a habit, it becomes truly dangerous. This “stress eating” can be combated by simply being aware of its occurrence. If you realize you ‘ve had a stressful day and that it usually leads to “stress eating” you can take steps to prevent it. Find non-food related activities that elicits a feeling of calm, such as exercise, meditating, reading, listening to music or a massage.

4. Distracted eating. If you’re distracted by a TV, work, or surfing the internet machine, it inhibits your body’s natural mechanism that prevents you from overeating. It causes a disconnect between your brain and stomach, once again. Studies have also shown that distracted eating causes you to forget how much you ate while you were distracted, causing you to eat more than you should at your next meal. When it comes to eating a meal…focus!

5. Blame your friends. Just like you do for just about everything else. What we eat is largely influenced by those around us and since food is associated with social occasions, be it a wedding reception or viewing, we tend to overeat in the company of friends. And if the people around you appear to be enjoying the food they’re eating; you feel pressure to enjoy it as well. Again, just be aware that social occasions can cause you to overeat and being aware of the problem is half the battle.

6. The post-workout binge. Look, if all you did was walk two miles, that works out to a grand total of about 220 calories burned. In terms of food, that’s a single slice of cheese pizza. So don’t return from your two-mile walk and binge on KFC and/or Taco Bell. In other words, don’t undo all your hard work by binging after a workout because you feel you “deserve” it.

7. Self-shame and self-blame. When something goes wrong in our lives, many people, rightly or wrongly, blame themselves. Often, that blame turns to shame and then, possibly, depression. When that happens, we focus on our perceived badness and hide or forget our goodness. We then start to believe that, “Since I suck, I might as well suck even more by binging on junk.” It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy in which people think little of themselves and they prove it by eating large amounts of unhealthy food.

Why we overeat is a complex question to answer that goes well beyond a lack of willpower. Becoming AWARE of what causes us to overeat can lead to preventing it just as the cause of an illness often leads to its cure.