Blogs About 'Overeating'

7 Ways To Deal With Night Time Overeating

Do you struggle with overeating at night? Don’t worry, you are not alone. In many of my coaching sessions lately, we’ve been talking about the distress clients feel from overeating at night and what to do about it. There is no quick fix to end it and I hesitate to say “end” it, because I am not sure that it ever goes away entirely. Night time overeating is a symptom of other things going on in our lives. Managing the symptom requires gentle awareness followed by imperfect action. What...

"I'll just have one cookie" and other lies we tell ourselves

You’ve finished eating dinner and you are watching TV. You get a craving for something sweet. You’re trying to be “good” so you tell yourself you shouldn’t. Your mind keeps going to the ginger cookies (my favourite) in the cupboard. You think you’re being reasonable by telling yourself you don’t need them but the craving gets stronger. When you can’t fight the urge any longer you get up and go to the kitchen and you say to yourself: “I’ll just have one” The combination...

What's Draining You?

One of the reasons many of us eat mindlessly is because we feel drained. There are many things in our lives that drain us that we have zero control over. It’s pointless to try and manage those things. There are also many things in our lives that are within our control. It’s useful to examine the day-to-day things that drain us and do something about them. Let’s look at some of these: Work My job is stressful, I receive no recognition for my efforts. I find it hard to delegate...

Do you eat because you're tired?

Tiredness is something we all experience, it’s unavoidable. We can’t escape feeling tired from overworking, lack of sleep, staying up late or all three. Tiredness is one of the biggest triggers that causes overeating for most of my clients. So why do we turn to food when we are anything from mildly tired, to absolutely exhausted? Food gives us a boost of energy, it’s pleasurable and it’s there! Eating distracts us from the discomfort of feeling tired, especially during that afternoon slump...

“I just can’t stop eating”

“I just can’t stop eating.” When my clients say this, they believe that something is wrong with them. They believe it’s a willpower problem. When I struggled with my eating, I believed it was entirely my fault and that I lacked control. Yet, it’s not as simple as blaming our eating on a lack of willpower. There are usually many underlying reasons why we can’t stop eating. Judging ourselves is counter-productive, it keeps us stuck and prevents us from looking at other underlying...

Do You Procrastin-Eat?

Picture the scene. Scene 1 The deadline for your tax returns is looming. You’ve postponed. You’ve cleaned your desk and tidied your drawers. If you delay any further there will be penalties. So, to sweeten the bitter pill you decide to have a cup of tea and cookies and then you will get stuck into it. Scene 2 You’re working late at night, everyone’s asleep or watching a series. You feel a bit sorry for yourself, so while you are working on the report, a bag of Doritos accompanies you. Scene...

Who Am I Feeding?

Do you know? In a recent coaching session, a client and I were figuring out the reason she binged. Greta (not her real name) is a mother of 3 young children. She has a very busy life without much support. As we were talking, we uncovered that the main reason for most of her binges was that she was craving more time for herself. She was feeding the part of herself that’s desperate for time alone, the part of her that needs the nurturing she so diligently gives her children. In another session,...

The Dictator, The Rebel and The Victim

When I began making peace with food, I discovered that I had these three eating personalities that really got in the way of ending the food struggle. When I started working as a coach, I noticed that these characters were not unique to my struggle with food but also to most of my clients. If you have eating challenges and a history of dieting or strict food rules then maybe you recognise them too? The Dictator The dictator has many restrictive food rules. She thrives on control and hates it when...

What if I told you that eating is not the problem?

What if I told you that eating is not the problem? Does this sound strange? Seriously, what if eating is NOT the problem? What if eating is the symptom of other problems? What could those be? I am going to tell you the story of my client, Mary. Of course, Mary is not her real name. I worked with Mary for just over three months. Prior to working together, she had been on a series of very restrictive diets. Mary didn’t know that dieting has a 95% failure rate and believed that she was the...

27 Questions to Ask Yourself When You Have the Urge to Overeat

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” — Viktor Frankl — As human beings we are wired to avoid discomfort of any kind and to seek pleasure. When we are in a stress response or in discomfort, an easy distraction is to eat. Eating provides some relief. It also releases dopamine and we feel better for a while. Often though, overeating leads to feelings of shame, guilt and regret. It’s...

What Are You Really, Truly Hungry For?

What are you really craving? I am not talking about salt + vinegar chips or cheesecake. What are you craving that would be better than chips? Something that would make cheesecake pale in comparison. There are many reasons we overeat - one of those reasons is an unfed deeper hunger. It’s a hunger that cannot be satisfied with food because we still feel that ongoing emptiness after eating. Before I started on the path of making peace with food and my body, my life revolved around food. On a...

Mindless Overeating: The 10 Most Common Reasons Why We Eat Mindlessly

Most people think that mindless overeating stems from a lack of control or willpower. There are valid reasons why we overeat or eat mindlessly and more often than not, we eat as a way to cope and out of habit. Mindless eating is eating without awareness. It is eating when we are not hungry and not paying attention to our hunger or levels of fullness. It is putting food in our mouths for reasons other than hunger. 1. Fear I remember growing up and my mom saying to me “Eat something because you...

Why Do We Overeat?

I spent this weekend away in one of the most beautiful parts of the Little Karoo, a charming town called Montagu (famous for its nuts, fruit and wine). The highlight of the trip was a unique bicycle ride called L’Eroica. On the flight home I was reflecting on the fair amount of mindless eating I did and how easy it is to go unconscious around food, even when you work with mindful eating every day! I am a bit of an anxious flyer, so I decided to spend the time in the air writing on what triggers...

The 7 Most Common Thoughts That Lead To Overeating

Often our thoughts trigger our urge to eat until we are uncomfortably full. Here are some of the most common thoughts we think that lead to overeating... 1. “But I deserve this….” You have had a stressful day at the office and you come back home and head for the chocolate! The kids have gone to bed and you take out the tub of ice-cream and your mind is saying: “I work so hard, I deserve this”. Do you really need to reward yourself by eating because you have been “good” or because...

Is Eating Too Much At Night Keeping You Up?

Where has this year gone? It’s already October and as I write to you from Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the leaves have turned to those beautiful autumn shades and in my hometown in South Africa, the Jacaranda trees are blooming beautifully. I was never supposed to be here – it’s a long story that I will share another time. It has taught me (again) that life is certainly full of uncertainties and blessings come from unexpected places and people. A common theme I have been working with clients...

What To Give Up

What do you give up to change your relationship with food and overeating? No, it's not carbs! You are probably expecting me to say give up sugar, refined and processed foods, alcohol, coffee, fried foods, etc, etc. So then what? Give up snacks or do some juicing and fasting? No... Give up yoga and do intense interval training? No... The things I am going to recommend that you consider giving up will change so much in your life. So here is what to give up: Hating yourself,...

Deprivation

Is self indulgence the opposite of deprivation? So many of us fear the feeling of deprivation. I must be honest, it’s not my favourite feeling either. Many of my clients tell me: “I ate more because I did not want to feel deprived” “It’s not fair, everyone else was eating so I also ate!” Because we fear the feeling of being deprived we eat that 2nd cupcake or extra slice of pizza or we have that 3rdglass of wine or we eat until we are uncomfortable at a restaurant... The...