How to bring your habit of overeating under control?

We all overeat, some do for a period of time while others do on regular basis. Overeating done on a regular basis is the main problem for people gaining weight, as you put your bodies in a calorie surplus mode often. Sitting on a desk the whole day generally exhausts the brain, and to fulfill it, we generally tend to eat at irregular intervals, messing up with our caloric cycle. I have written an article about calorie consumption and talked in detail yet simple language for anyone to understand, It is also good for people who are struggling to lose some pounds. If you wish to read it, you can click here.

Let's talk about the overeating habit that we develop and what can we do to bring it under our control. I used to overeat a lot growing up, even though it did not reflect on my body, as my outdoor activities were of high intensity. But my mother used to remain anxious about my food as I used to eat 9 Rotis and sabzi when I was growing up(entered my puberty age). I used to play soccer a lot at that time, so I would generally burn the extra calories that I used to consume. But not anymore. Until the last year, after joining the office, I had a very busy schedule and I hardly went out. This, of course, led me to gain significant weight as I used to eat the same amount without doing any workout to burn those calories. So, I was looking for something as to how can I stop overeating, and what should be done. An idea that struck me was when I went to my sister's wedding this year, and it brought some much-needed awareness and why I overate in the first place. I tried to implement this at my home, and I saw some visible signs of progress. I would like to explain the experience first, which I learned from eating at weddings.

I remembered When I was in college I would like to go to weddings with my friends, you know the reason why. We went to a lot of weddings and parties, and here is where I made my first discovery that I realized after going to over 15 parties.

We all go to weddings with the sole purpose to eat a lot of different varieties of food, at least me and my friends went with this primary motive only. All of my friends were aware of my eating habits, and they knew that I was the one who consumes the most in our group. Whenever we went to parties, seeing a lot of different varieties of food, I would generally get me more hungry (lol). I don't like to get up a lot when I am eating, as it breaks up with the mood. I like to collect all the food essentials readily available, and then sit down and start eating. So, at weddings, I used to pick a large plate, which is provided at the functions, and I used to fill it with my favorites(sweets, fast-food, paneer, naan, etc ), all meals but in little quantity, the amount being less than what I used to eat at home. This, of course, was left unfinished most of the time, and I would waste which I thought I could devour easily. This struck me when I was trying to reduce my weight and struggling with overeating. I got confused as to why my stomach filled with eating in less quantity at weddings and would not fill after having more quantity at home and still left hungry. I wondered and came to the following conclusion. There was a subtle difference that I have decided to term as - Diversification vs Concentration.

I am going to talk here only about Lunch and Dinner, as they are the meal times where you are expected to consume heavy, depending on your body size and hunger.

Diversification

How fast can you eat a medium-size pizza? Most of us would eat very quickly, but if you were told to eat a medium plate thali, you would take a lot of time to eat. In fact, most of us would not be able to consume the whole thali. This thali, is, of course, a large one, but considering even half of it, that would even be a challenge in itself. I had once visited this food challenge competition, where I got to see and talk to a lot of participants. The entry price for the challenge was 2000Rs, and the winner who would consume the whole thali, under 45 mins of time would win 1 Lakh Rs. The participants were allowed in pairs, and single-participant could also enter, but it was impossible for a single individual to eat this thali alone unless we have a real-life Thor. The place was buzzing, and I saw big Buff dudes, looking confident, ready to devour the foods on the plate. I randomly asked one of them what was their ideal meal, which they consumed at home. They told me that generally, they ate up to 12 Rotis along with the full plate chicken(no bones) with salads. I was impressed. Well, they can easily eat up this whole meal, it was like 4 Rotis only, and some chicken pieces and a lot of small dishes. I asked them if they would be able to eat all in the given time, and they said they were confident that they would finish up in 30 mins. I went around, asking some more participants what they think and what was their ideal diet at home. Most of the answers were common, with some having some additional variety also. Eventually, I went up to the owner who was organizing the event and asked him, Brother, why are you giving this free money? Aren't you afraid that some might actually finish? Most of the participants are confident that they would easily consume this. He smiled and said, "Wait till the event is over, and then I will answer that question". Interesting! Well, the event began, and all the participants were ready and started eating. At halfway, most of the participants begin struggling, drinking water, and forcing food in. By the end, not one pair of participants was able to finish the whole food on the plate. I asked the individuals what happened, who had consumed almost more than half the thali and they said that the drinks were too sugary, and they felt too full after consuming them. I congratulated them and said they might win next year. I went up to the owner and asked him again. He sat beside the counter and said, "Brother, we know how this works. Too much diversification in food is hard to consume, and we make the food spicy a bit, so they consume more of the sugary drinks and sweets. The time limit is always in their head, and they do not think twice about what they are eating. They only look via the point of finishing the meal and then he went about calculating the profit he had made.

The thought that stuck with me was this - Too much diversification in food is hard to consume, which is what I had experienced and could relate to eating at weddings.

Let's talk about the Indian Diet in regular households that all of us consume on a regular basis. What are the contents of a typical Indian food you eat on a regular basis? For the majority of us, what we eat consists of Rice, Dal, roti, and sabzi.

Lunch

Consists of Rice and Dal OR Rotis and sabzi

Dinner

Consists of Rotis and Sabji OR Rice and Dal

Concentration

This we can basically classify as a concentrated diet i.e. not having a variety of dishes. The concentration diet is what is eaten by most of us, with sometimes having an extra dish for dessert. I realized that at weddings this was not the case. At weddings, I used to generally diversify my meals, while in a concentrated diet, the food used to be less diversified and hence in more quantity, which used to increase the consumption. For eg - At weddings, I would usually take 1 Gulab-jamun, 2 Rotis, 2 sabzis (paneer, Chola), 1 sweet drink or ice cream, and fast food. Now, this was never finished and at home, I would generally eat 6 Rotis and sabzi, which I would generally consume easily, and might eat 2 Rotis more if sabzi was delicious.

After thinking about this idea, I was ready to try out my new diet as to whether this would actually work or not. The main problem which I faced was that the variety of foods present at weddings and parties were not readily available at home :(, and I had to think of a way for this to work.

How I brought diversification in my meals?

I wanted to bring control over my habit of overeating as well as lose extra pounds that I had gained. So, I needed some healthy foods to be included in my diet so I could diversify well keeping in mind to not gain extra calories. The first viable options that came to mind that could diversify my meals were these -

1. Curd( Dahi-balle which you consumed at parties)

2. Kheer/ Milk

3. Egg Omelet

4. Salads

5. Raw Paneer

These were the meal which I added to my lunch and dinner, of which I included omelet and Salad in both meals(3eggs omelet), curd with rice and Dal in lunch, and Kheer/Milk with Roti, Sabzi in the dinner. I reduce my intake of Rotis from 6 to 3, as eggs fulfilled that space. The trick here was to minimize the calorie-dense food in such a way that your brain does not know that you are eating less. Hence, you increase the content of other foods, like protein and vitamins. In the beginning, I found it somehow difficult but after a week, I was feeling content with my new diet. I did not eat anything extra for a period of 7 days even though I felt hungry after eating my meals. This has brought a tremendous change in my eating habits, and I don't struggle with overeating anymore. In between, my Mom usually cooks something new, so I also don't get bored with my usual routine. You can diversify on your own ease of foods that are readily available.

Time

The more time you have, the better you are likely to consume.

the less time you have, the more you will consume

What do I mean by better here? Better is that you chew your food properly, you are aware of what you are eating and you enjoy your meal. Time, as explained above, is a crucial factor also. If you eat hurriedly, and you finish your meal in 10 mins which you were supposed to finish in 30 mins, you are likely to feel hungry again after some time. Take your time while eating. This is of utmost importance. I began eating a lot because I used to eat quite fast as soon as I got my food. This realization struck me when I started with my new diet and would get hungry soon after I had my lunch. Diversification only won't work. Diversification along with time can give you promising results very fast.

I cannot stress more upon this point that, Take your time while eating your food, chew it properly, and relax while eating. In my starting days, I used to eat in front of my laptop only, simultaneously doing the work and eating hurriedly so that I can focus more on my work. This is not a good practice at all, and it will hurt you subconsciously and the results will appear on your body. When you take time while eating slowly, you will feel more filling and it will also take away your habit of eating more. This was how, in the first place, I got rid of my overeating habit. I took a limited amount of food and switched on my favorite TV show, which was the duration of my meal. ie 30 mins and I strictly finished my food at the end of 30 mins only. I gave time to eat my meal and it helped me bring my habit of eating more under significant control. Often, I found out that I was not enjoying my meal as I was more focused on my next ZOOM meeting or was just eating because it was time to eat as I felt hungry. Due to this, I ate at the most erratic time and everything that came in my hand. This was the major reason for the imbalance in my total calories which led to gaining me more weight

If I would summarise the main points that you should follow, they are as follows -

1. Diversify your meals

2. Take time while eating. It's better you allot yourself a min of 30 MINS for Lunch and Dinner.

3. A concentrated diet is not good if you want to stop overeating.

4. Curd, Kheer, Salad, Omelete are some examples which you can include in your diet to diversify,

5. Drink lots of warm water.