00:00:00
Well hey there, welcome back. I am so glad that you showed up today because we're going to be talking about a topic that I actually get asked about a lot and that is ways to prevent overeating. Now, whether your goal is just to maintain a healthy lifestyle, whether your goal is to have fat loss or whether your goal is to put on muscle but still have a solid body composition where we have more muscle then we do fat. It's good to be aware of our habits and I often think that overeating is confused with the idea that we need to always be eating as little as possible and if we're not, then we're overeating and that is not what this episode is going to be about. We need to find that happy balance in the middle.
00:00:42
We can't be undereating and we can't be overeating all the time, but there's a happy balance where we spend most of our time and that is where we want to live, which is what we call a lifestyle. Second, I do want to say that there are different things that cause people to overeat and the topics we're going to talk about today are just normal regular habits. There is a difference between normal overeating and binging. I am going to get into Binging in detail on another episode where I'm going to talk about how emotional trauma can affect that and a couple of other things. So that is going to be for another episode, but today we're just going to give some simple quick tips of how to make sure that you are having a really fantastic food intake and not overdoing it and at the same time not always underdoing it, which I will discuss as well.
00:01:32
Today I want to give a shout out to Review EKC titled So much Good Information. I love this podcast and the variety of information that you share here. Thank you for breaking down the information to make it understandable and useful. Women need this knowledge. Thank you for sharing.
00:01:47
No, thank you so much for the review. If you have an episode of mine that you find helpful, please leave me a review. You can give it as many stars as you want. If you hate me, you can let me know as well. I mean, I prefer nice comments but I'll take it all.
00:02:01
I love feedback, so don't forget to write a review if you ever listen to an episode that is helpful or ask for something you want to hear in a review. We also in the show Notes have a link where you can submit topics you want me to cover and even guess, and we've been going through those and are booking some of the ones that you've already suggested for the fall and even a little bit later in the summer. So go and submit your topics as well and let me know in a review if you love it. Also don't forget to follow along with the show. Wherever you listen, there's three dots normally at the top if you listen on Apple and you can just click that and it says Follow Show so you don't miss any of the episodes.
00:02:39
And I believe on spotify and Stitcher, it says subscribe. I do want to mention as we go into this topic and I discuss ideas to avoid overeating, something I'm not going to bring up, but it really does matter, is making sure that you have a good nutritional intake with your vitamins and your minerals. It makes a huge difference for you. Feeling good. This is one of the reasons I started drinking AG One.
00:03:03
I drink it first thing when I wake up in the morning. I started drinking it probably in January. And I'm not going to lie, I've actually noticed a huge difference, which is why I reached out to them and I was like, please sponsor the podcast because I love your drink. In fact, we were just at the beach with a couple that we're really good friends with and our kids play and they're both really into fitness. And he has had an amazing transformation lately, has lost a ton of weight, put on a ton of muscle.
00:03:28
And he was like, oh, I drink AG one every single day because I don't always feel like I get all of my vitamins and minerals. And it's a good way for me to be able to do it, especially during the summertime when you're traveling and you're eating on the go and you're eating in airbnbs or at hotels. We're just kind of all over the place. It makes such a difference to have that little travel pack that you can throw in your bag and mix with water first thing in the morning. And I promise it really does make you feel better.
00:03:55
I have been amazed at just a slight energy boost that I have had from it and just feeling like I don't have to worry about multivitamins or anything else and that I know I'm getting probiotics and whole food source nutrients. It's amazing. You know, on my show, I am all about making things simple. So if you're looking for a more simple way to take ownership of your health, AG One is a great way to make your health routine more effective. Try AG One and get a free one year supply of vitamin D and five free AG One travel packs with your first purchase.
00:04:28
And again, remember, those travel packs are amazing. For trips. You want them, go to AG. One simple. Again.
00:04:35
That's AG one simple. You're not going to regret it. I love it and I know you're going to love it too. Let's get into seven ways to prevent overeating and help you create balance with your nutritional intake. So a lot of the things I'm going to mention, you have heard me mention before, but I'm hoping that it drills in the practice of how important these things are.
00:04:56
And I'm mentioning it in a different way, talking about overeating, where this may be something that is effective in lots of areas. And I'm just driving home the point that this really does matter. If you're wanting to build a lifestyle, if you're wanting to lose weight, if you're wanting to put on muscle, these things truly matter. And as you know, if you listen to the podcast, I'm going to include a ton of studies. And all of those, if I say, a study says will be linked in the show notes, I only use reputable sources, things that are actually in PubMed or like real research papers.
00:05:27
And all of those will show in the show notes, so you can see those as well. And the best thing about all these tips are they're easy. They're honestly easy. And if you think them through, if you could add all seven of these tips, you'd be like, yes, yes, I can tell a difference. So the first one is start eating slower.
00:05:45
Yes, simply eating slower helps prevent you from overeating. So it takes about 20 minutes, they say most of the time it can be a little bit shorter than that for your stomach to send the signal to your brain that tells you that you're full. So if you're eating fast, you're going to put in more food before the signal is sent to your brain and gets back to your body to basically say, hey, I'm full, I don't need any more food. So that can lead to overeating. I found a study where it said that the average calorie intake decreased by 9.5% when people chewed one and a half times more than they normally did, and by 15% if they chewed twice as much as they normally did.
00:06:27
So what that means if you're like me, I will take a bite of something and I'm like, oh, two bites in, I'm swallowing an entire piece of whatever I'm having. I'm a very fast eater. And so even as I read this, especially since the Gut Health episode where Amanda talked about eating slower, I've been trying to chew longer and it's totally made a difference. So not only does it help because your body eats less in the fact that it's not overeating, so I shouldn't say it's eating less, it's eating the right amount that's preventing you from overeating, because you're getting the signal that you're full from your brain before you have pounded way too much food, because you're eating too fast. It just simply takes time for your saturation hormone, lipped in to set in.
00:07:11
So that's why eating slower helps. Also, eating slower helps improve the enjoyment of your food because you actually slow down and think about the flavors. It helps with digestion, it helps you absorb the nutrients better because they're better broken down, and it helps you feel calmer, which reduces stress while you are eating, have you ever ate in a hurry? Because I've definitely eaten in a hurry, and I feel like I'm shoveling in the food. It's not enjoyable.
00:07:39
I didn't feel satisfied at all. And part of eating is very enjoyable. Like, I love to eat, I love flavors, I love food, I love a big plate of food. But my point is, if you eat fast, you don't enjoy that very much, and it increases stress, and stress is going to decrease your ability to digest the food correctly. And then also, because you ate fast, you're fuller than you would have been if you ate slower.
00:08:05
So tip number one, eat slow. Tip number two, plan your meals ahead. Planning simply makes it less likely for you to reach for something that you wouldn't simply because you're hungry. I remember growing up, my dad would always say to me, you make the choice before you're presented with the choice. So what that means is you're more likely to be wishywashy to choose something you may not actually want in the moment when you're going off emotion or hunger or you're tired.
00:08:33
But if you plan ahead, you're less likely to do that. It's no different than if your goal is to save money. You make that choice to save money before someone asks you to go shopping. If you're trying maybe not to drink alcohol, you make the choice to not drink alcohol before you show up at the bar and you're offered the drink. So it's the same thing when it comes to food.
00:08:54
Try to plan ahead. Have an idea the night before what you're eating for your breakfast, lunch, and dinner, even if you have it, like, set out together. It's one reason why food prepping and food planning is super helpful. A really great episode I have is episode 114, meal Prepping and Planning with Kelsey Nixon. She gives a ton of ideas of how to make that simple, especially even for families, which I love that episode because it's very realistic.
00:09:19
But planning ahead is going to help you make a decision that you planned ahead of time, and it will be easier to follow through with that decision because you're ready for it. It also creates less stress when you have a plan. So when it's lunchtime, you don't have to wander around thinking, what am I going to eat? Because I know when I don't have a plan, I will wander around. I'll eat a protein bar, I'll eat a couple of pretzels, and then I'm eating a couple of random carrots, and then I'm eating a couple of random chips, and then I honestly don't even know what the macronutrients balance is of the food I'm having because I didn't plan it.
00:09:51
And so it's not even satisfying. I don't stay full very long, and it's not enjoyable. So I've learned if I plan ahead, I'm able to make sure I have enough protein. I have a good amount of complex carbs. I have fats in there and I just feel better afterwards.
00:10:06
And I actually stay fuller longer when I plan. My third tip is eat bigger meals or more frequent meals. Now hear me out on this because I know you're thinking bigger and more frequent. I want you to pay attention to you. The science is you, what can you maintain.
00:10:23
You're going to find plenty of studies of people telling you, and solid research, if I'm honest, that smaller meals are better when you have them more regularly and that it's better for you. You will also find plenty of studies saying intermittent fasting where you're eating in a smaller window, but bigger meals so you're not eating throughout the day like small things, you're eating like big meals in a smaller window is better for you and that it can be good for gut health. The truth is these both have pros and cons and at some point you have to pay attention to you and what you can maintain and pay attention to what your body likes and what you feel good doing. There is not one answer, there is you being aware of your habits. So what I want you to do is I want you to think about yourself between meals.
00:11:09
I want you to think between lunch and dinner. Breakfast, lunch, whatever it is. Do you feel distracted? Do you feel groggy? Do you feel on edge?
00:11:18
Because oftentimes these are signs that you're hungry or you're just fighting to get over that hunger curb until the next meal. And then most likely at the next meal you're going to overeat because you let yourself get too hungry and you're trying to curb that craving. Or in the midaftnoon you'll get a dip in your blood sugar and then all of a sudden something really sugary sounds fantastic because you don't have a good blood sugar level. So I want you to pay attention to that if that's happening to you. I need you to either eat a much bigger meal before so that then you're having bigger meals, so then you're not having that afternoon grogginess or distraction or feeling at the edge of hunger for two or 3 hours because your meal was bigger that you had earlier in the day.
00:12:06
So you can get through the hump to the next meal without feeling starving, which can cause you to overeat. Or you can choose to plan a planned snack. Don't try to just avoid food until the next meal. If I could give you any advice it would be not to do that because it always creates this fear of food like oh, I just got to get to the next meal, I can't eat anymore. Make your meal before that bigger or plan a legit snack that is going to be nutritional and have value to it and it's going to actually make you feel satisfied.
00:12:42
You want that snack to have staying power or that bigger lunch to have staying power so you can get to the next meal and feel good and not get to the next meal feeling like you're scraping along the pavement to get there and now you're starving. So, for example, for me, if I'm going to have a snack between lunch and dinner, I typically won't just pick a fruit alone because while fruit has great vitamins and minerals, it's typically a simple sugar, and my body digests it really quickly. It has plenty of good things in it, but it doesn't have the staying power that something would have if I had solid fats in it, like cashews or almonds or a protein bar or something that just has a little bit more of umph to it, more volume. So typically that's complex carbs, that's fats, and that's proteins. So I tend to do something like that.
00:13:33
I'm a big nut snacker. I like to have nuts in the afternoon, or I like to have a protein bar with my nuts, or I like to have nuts with fruit. Something where I'm having that variety and it's getting a little bit more. And I make sure I pick a fruit that has a little bit more fiber in it or vegetables that have fiber in it, which is going to lead us to our next topic, my next tip, which is eat more foods with fiber. Fiber makes a huge difference.
00:13:58
So high fiber foods not only provide volume, but they also take longer for you to digest, which makes you feel fuller longer on fewer calories. Again, it's not about eating less calories and being like at the tip of the bottom of the calories. It's about eating the right amount of calories for you and not overdoing it. And you can help prevent overdoing it with overeating by making sure you're getting fiber, because fiber is going to keep you fuller longer. Soluble fiber can improve digestion, and it helps lower blood sugar.
00:14:30
And insoluble fiber can help soften stools and make it easier to pass them. So you do want both types of fiber. A fun fact about fiber that I've actually learned recently because I always knew fiber helped keep you fuller longer, but I didn't know that fiber actually contained an antiapatite molecule called acetate. Researchers have discovered that acetate is naturally released when fiber is digested in the gut. And when it's released, it is taken up to the brain where it signals you to stop eating.
00:15:01
Yes, fiber keeps you full longer, and fiber has acetate in it, which is also going to help you feel satisfied easier because it's going to cue in that satisfaction hormone, the liptin hormone, which is our best buddy. The crazy thing about fiber is I found that the average American only has 15 grams of fiber a day. Yet women under the age of 50 are recommended to have 25 grams. Men under the age of 50 are recommended to have 31 grams, and men over the age of 50 are recommended to have 30 grams and women over the age of 50 are 21 grams. So women, because my audience is mainly women, if you're under 50, you got to shoot for 25.
00:15:43
It makes a big difference. If you're over 50, you need to shoot for 21. It's going to make a difference. My next tip for preventing overeating is making sure you have enough protein. So protein has the highest thermogenic rate.
00:15:58
The thermogenic rate is the way that our body breaks down food. So basically, between a carbohydrate, a protein and a fat, protein takes the longest and is the most work to break down because of this. It keeps you fuller longer. I think its rate is like ten to 15% and then the next is fat and that's only 5%, so it's like a lot bigger. I might be off on that percent, so don't quote me on that, but I know it's like a decent amount under that it doesn't keep you as full as protein does because of that thermogenic rate and it takes that time to break it down.
00:16:33
So another reason besides the thermogenic rate is partly because protein reduces your level of the hunger hormone ghrelin, which is your hunger hormone, and it also boosts the level of peptide YY, which is a hormone that makes you full as well. So double whammy, there thermogenic rate and it also reduces that hunger hormone. I did find a study, which was pretty awesome, that showed that increasing someone's protein so it had their full food intake and if they were having 15% intake, they increased it to a 30%. That means the total amount of calories they were having, they increased the amount of protein in that number to 30%. And they did this all in overweight women and they found that they ate 441 fewer calories each day without intentionally restricting anything.
00:17:21
Yes, you heard that right. They ate less without having to overrestrict because over restricting backfires, it was natural because of protein. Can you tell how fascinated and excited I am about this? Because it makes a huge difference. Now, while this study is about losing weight, this is honestly effective for maintaining weight, it is effective for staying fuller, which helps prevent you from overeating and protein is effective for your goals for building muscle.
00:17:47
And honestly, I love this study so much because I see it all the time with my own clients. I often have clients come to me and I look at their food intakes and they're only eating like ten to maybe 20% of their food and protein and I'll bring it up averagely to 30% to 34%. And they'll be writing me back saying, oh my gosh, I'm so full, yet I didn't even reduce their food. It might be the same amount of caloric intake, but I changed the composition of the food they're having by adding more protein and they're full and they're getting results. It's amazing and it's complete proof that it's not about eating less all the time, but about eating smarter for your needs.
00:18:28
That's right. Smarter, not less. Protein helps without eating less. It makes a difference and it helps prevent you from overeating more. Protein has also been shown to reduce night cravings.
00:18:40
So they did a study with overweight men and they showed that they increased their protein above 25% of their intake and their cravings reduced by 60% and their desire to snack at night was cut in half. There are so many reasons why you need to be aware of your protein. It makes a huge difference. It's going to make it so you don't eat less food, you maintain your weight or you even lose weight and you're staying full and feeling great and not having feelings of always wanting to snack or feeling unsatisfied. Tip number six is drink more water.
00:19:13
It's super simple, but thirst triggers a mild dehydration and is often mistaken for hunger. Oftentimes we think, oh my gosh, we need a snack. I'm just feeling a little bit antsy or I just feel like a little bit nibbly. And so our brain's like, oh, get some food. But really we're often confusing and jumbling up those signals and we just are a little bit dehydrated.
00:19:34
I find between my meals, if I know I had a solid lunch, which is why it's important to plan your lunch, I know that I ate enough. If I'm feeling a little bit like snacky, I literally will always say I need to have something to drink. I think I am dehydrated. And I'll look at when was the last time that I had water? And oftentimes I'm like, oh, I had this fantastic, great lunch.
00:19:54
And I'm like, oh, did I have that much water with it? I think I only had 8oz. When was the last time I drank? And then I'm like, oh my gosh, it's been a little while and I'm thinking I'm hungry, but I'm not, I'm just thirsty. And I'll drink quickly, like 16oz of water.
00:20:06
And then I'm like, oh, I feel great. So often we confuse those it's super, super common. We also often confuse hunger with the need for sleep. So be aware of that. Sleep isn't one of them today, but sleep should always be important to you.
00:20:18
We often think, oh my gosh, I need to pick me up. And so we'll eat something that gives us a quick burst of energy that boosts our blood sugar. But often that pick me up is because we're tired. So we need to remember that as well. I've noticed oftentimes if I don't sleep very well for a day or a couple of days in a row, I am more snacky.
00:20:36
And I know I'm confusing those signals and my body's doing the best it can to figure them out. So being aware of that makes a difference. And another fun fact about why we need water is for your muscle. So muscle is controlled by nerves, and without good water and electrolyte balance, muscle strength and control is impaired. So you can't build the muscle as well.
00:20:57
If you don't have enough water, not only to stay hydrated and to not overeat, it's going to be good for your muscles. So quadruple win for the water intake. All right, my very last tip, and to be honest, this to me is the most important one, and I think it's because I see it constantly in new clients who are signing up with me. You have to stop undereating. I know you may not see it as undereating, but I promise you, it could easily be the factor.
00:21:26
So if you are trying to eat as little as possible for a period of time, whether it's all morning long, a couple of days in a row, all during the week, whatever it is, you will notice. That all. Of a sudden, you overdo it at night or you overdo it on the weekend or you overdo it after a couple of days of quote unquote clean eating. And the issue is you think, I just can't control my overeating, I just can't prevent it. No, you have it backwards.
00:21:53
You literally have it backwards. So many studies have showed that undereating is more likely to cause you to overeat. And undereating is also heavily linked with binge eating. It is actually the cause. Often we look at our inability to change our body or keep a balanced lifestyle or lose weight, whatever it is.
00:22:15
And we look at it as the cause is because I keep overeating. And in many situations, for me, at least about 35% to 40% of my clients, it's not the cause. It is actually the effect. The cause is that you are undereating on a regular basis, whether you are undereating for a portion of the day, for a couple of days, for five days in a row, and then you overeat. And that is the effect.
00:22:42
Undereating is the cause. Overeating is the effect. It's not in reverse. So often we do that overeating, and we think this is the problem. It's not the problem.
00:22:52
If you can get an adequate balanced food intake, your cravings will reduce, your urges to binge will reduce. You will be more likely to have moderation with food because you're feeling satisfied throughout the day with your meals, which allows you to be more rational in your decisions as well. If you are undereating, you are more likely to fear certain foods. You are also more likely to shame certain foods and feel shame when you have certain foods. And then once you feel bad for having that food, you're like, whatever, I had it, now I'm just going to eat all of it.
00:23:30
And then it turns into overeating. And we blame the overeating. It's not the overeating again. So you are more likely to do those things if you are finding periods of your day, week, month where you are not eating enough. Instead, I want you to focus on having a solid intake.
00:23:47
I want you to focus on fueling your body not starving, it not fearing overeating. Just think about OOH. I need to give my body what it needs to function at optimal abilities. One of those things is, as I mentioned, that protein. I suggest between 0.8 to 1.2 grams per pound of body weight.
00:24:06
If someone is a major athlete, they're going to be at the higher end of that, like 1.2 grams. If someone is barely getting the fitness, they may be at the lower end between zero eight and 1 gram per pound of body weight. Also, if you are above 200 pounds, you will also hug the lower part of that window. So being aware of that helps. But that's like a good base window for your protein intake.
00:24:28
As for your fats and your carbs, that amount varies a lot based on your goals, based on your previous habits, and based on what you're already doing. So I have clients where I see they're really imbalanced and I will change them one way and the next client, I'll look at their stats and I'll change them the opposite way. So I'm not going to give you a really strict window on your carbs and fats because I think that varies a lot by person. And our society is really good at being like this. This is the one way to success and those can vary.
00:24:59
But I've learned that at least with protein, that window of the 0.8 to 1.2 grams is very effective for maintaining or for losing or for adding muscle. So I want you to think about that. If you're not sure what to do with your fats and your carbs, make sure that you're reaching for maybe bigger portions of fats at your meals and see how you feel on those. And then reach for other portions of complex carbs and see how you feel on those. My next tip with this stop undereating is, which it's like a part two to stop undereating is I want you to learn to enjoy food.
00:25:34
I want you to enjoy having a cookie. I want you to eat it slow. I want you to chew slow. I want you to think how awesome it tastes. I want you to think how yummy it is.
00:25:43
And I want you to move on. I want you to move on and not think twice about it. If you want to improve your relationship with food, you have to stop forbidding foods you love. It's that simple. So we need to find that balance and a big piece of that is not undereating, is getting enough protein, is getting enough fiber, is getting enough water, is eating slower, is planning our meals.
00:26:05
All of those things make a difference in not overeating, but also making our meals more satisfying, which is going to make us appreciate the. Meals and show us we have freedom to eat things we enjoy and we don't need to feel ashamed. So I really want you to learn to enjoy the foods that you eat without shame or guilt. And notice I didn't say I want you to learn to enjoy the healthy foods you eat without shame and guilt. No, we want to shoot for that 80 20 lifestyle.
00:26:34
And don't overthink when you have something that's not completely clean or perfect because that's going to spiral you into overeating. It because you feel bad. So if you can avoid that mindset, you're not going to spiral. You're going to have one cookie, enjoy it, and move on compared to having six cookies because you feel bad, which is going to push you into the overeating situation. I want to end this episode by saying, everybody, sometimes overeats, you need to move on.
00:26:59
It's not a big deal. It happens. Fitness and food is balance, which means sometimes the pendulum swings in a more food way, and that's okay. For example, we were just at the beach, as I've mentioned, and there was like a donut parlor at the beach. And I'm not even a donut lover.
00:27:18
I'm like, literally not a donut lover, but I do love sweets. And we brought home, like six of them is called I think it's called parlor. It's by oceanside. And they were like cronuts, and they were amazing, and they had all these weird flavors. They had like, French toast and churro and peanut butter and all these things.
00:27:35
And of course I needed a sample of each one of them because that's normal. So I cut myself a little square off each of them, and I was really full afterwards, and I was like, oh, I'm really full. Those tasted delicious. Great. Okay.
00:27:47
Ready to move on with my day. Recognize that's normal. There is no reason to shame yourself for that. It was a unique situation. You enjoyed it.
00:27:54
Move on when you overeat. Move on. Let it go. Move on. Tomorrow is a new day.
00:28:00
Don't overthink it. And listen to episode 24 on what to do when you do overeat or binge. That's going to help give you ideas for the next day to just move on. Not a big deal. So then you're going to have tools to prevent it, and you're going to have tools for sometimes when it happens.
00:28:13
And I want you to know it's normal, but we want to be able to find that balance to really create that lifestyle. All right, that's it for day, you know, I mean it from the bottom of my heart, you are doing so much better than you think you are. We'll chat next week.