Whelehans Pharmacys Aisling Murray: Why do you overeat part 2

Why do you overeat? Part 2

This is the conclusion of last week’s article

Eating out of habit:A lot of people tend to over eat due to habit, or just seeing food and wanting it (not because they are hungry). The best example is the weekly shopping, once you bring the groceries home you tend to want to eat all the unhealthy snack foods. A habit includes watching a movie and having a bag of popcorn to go with it or having a takeout every Friday. These may not be the worst habits but when they are repeated or occur to regularly then weight gain is guaranteed.

All the examples I mentioned are reason you may be over eating but how do you overcome this? Eating little and often and portion control are the most ideal ways to avoid this happening. Your relationship and behaviour around food is key to achieving successful weight loss.

Overeating and bad relationships with food

How can you have a bad relationship with food? Having a fear of particular food groups like carbohydrates or being overly cautious with how much sugar you ingest in a day is not a great relationship to have with your food. This can mean you move away from balanced eating and become susceptible to a continuous dieting cycle. Counting calories is one of the most common food fears and it can lead to people becoming hungry as they are so consumed with what they are allowed to eat in a day rather than focusing on being healthy and portion control. From my personal experience I see some individuals adapt a healthy lifestyle and think their choices are the best and can be very opinionated to others about their food choices. Food is very personal to an individual so speaking to a professional about your diet can be the best method of overcoming any food fear. You should be knowledgeable about your food choices; this will reduce the likelihood of developing a bad relationship or over eating.

Healthy relationship with food

The best way to get into a positive mind-set regarding food is to stop focusing so much on your weight instead concentrate on improving your health, physiological wellbeing and a good relationship with food. You may need to identify why you have been overeating in the past to avoid it happening in the future. It’s important to avoid calorie restricting diets and counting your calories; this will only leave you disappointed if you don’t stick to it and the chances are you won’t be able to

Whelehans Nutrition Service

Whelehans nutritional service is a private one to one advice service with our nutritionist Aisling Murray. Aisling’s areas of interest include weight loss management, nutrition education and food intolerance. Our nutrition service offers you the chance to change your life in a positive way by focusing on your overall wellbeing as well as the chance to follow up on your progress.

Aisling Murray has a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and offers a one to one specialist nutrition service at Whelehans Pharmacy. Call Whelehans at 04493 34591 for an appointment