We have all done it; eaten the entire pizza when you told yourself just one slice, finished a family size bag of Sun Chips because they are called “chips” not “chip”, or gone back for that third slice of cake. No matter how healthy you claim to be, you’ve most likely struggled with over indulging. I am no exception, and believe me when I say I can put away the pizza on a regular basis. So, I completely understand how discouraging it can be to reach your fitness goals when you wake up after a night of over eating. So, from a fellow food lover who stills wants to rock a bikini at any time of the year, here are my tips for how to stop over eating and giving into food temptations.
If you don’t have it in your fridge or cupboard, you are way less likely to over eat it. No one wants to go to the store at 10 pm when the ice cream cravings kick in, but they sure will take the 5 steps to the freezer. Don’t have a snack draw, don’t tell yourself you will only eat a little at a time, or that the cookies you are buying are for guests. If you don’t have it, you can’t eat it, plain and simple.
When I feel a strong craving to over eat coming on, I fill the biggest glass of water I have and drink it. Then I fill it again and again until my tummy is full of water. If you still want to eat after drinking a large amount of water, you are probably hungry and should actually eat, but if you don’t you know it was just a craving and you’ve avoided it.
This is my most used tactic. I work from home, so the fridge is always right there, calling to me. So, instead of having 4 lunches, I practice my delaying skills. I tell myself after the next article, after I work out, after I send this email, after I walk the dogs… you get the point. By delaying my eating, I give my self-control a chance to kick in.
Not only should you find healthy substitutes because they are better for you when you do over eat, but they are also easier to say no to. If your substitute for ice cream is a smoothie bowl, which one do you think is easier to limit to one bowl?
A great way to stop yourself from getting off track and over eating is exercise. Not only is it difficult to eat a cheeseburger while jogging, you probably won’t want to when you are done. There’s something about workout that makes a person want to eat better. Maybe it is because you don’t want to go through the torture of running just to put the calories right back in, or maybe the body just craves healthy fuel after a workout, but whatever the reason, getting a good sweat session in helps you say no to the mac and cheese and yes to the roasted chicken.
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