View this post on Instagram[1]
Sometimes you eat a meal so good, you can't help but go back for seconds (or thirds). Or maybe you keep a bag of your favourite chips in the house, promising you'll only eat what you portion out [3] only to find yourself eating the entire bag in one sitting. Sound familiar? It's no surprise that overeating can stall your weight-loss efforts.
Luckily, fat-loss coach Carter Good has a few simple tips to prevent overeating and stay on track:
- Keep overly tempting foods out of the house.
- Wait 15-20 minutes before eating.
- Plan your daily meals [4] ahead of time.
- Remember that you can always get back on track.
"One bad meal, high-calorie day, or even week of overeating isn't the end of the world . . . You can always, always, ALWAYS get back on track," Carter wrote in the Instagram caption. "But still, there has to be some consistency. If you're overeating on a regular basis, then it'll negatively impact your results — no question."
He went on to explain that while it's OK to have fun foods in moderation, the foods that you find yourself unable to control yourself around shouldn't be in your environment. And if you wait 15 to 20 minutes to eat, you'll be able to determine if you're experiencing actual hunger or just cravings [5]. By planning out your meals ahead of time, it decreases the margin for error in making an unhealthy choice. And finally, he reiterated that you can always get back on track the next day or next meal following a splurge.
It's important to break the cycle of overindulging, then depriving yourself, then overindulging again by mentally letting go of a binge or highly caloric meal and getting right back on track as soon as possible.