Whelehans Pharmacys Aisling Murray : Why do you overeat?

Healthy Eating with Aisling Murray from Whelehans Pharmacy

Why do you overeat? part 1

It may be obvious that someone is overweight because of overeating and under-exercising. However, what is not obvious is why we over eat and what causes our binging. It’s all well and good having an amazing, balanced meal plan to follow but it becomes redundant if you don’t address the reasons for overeating. By not combating the overeating, weight loss with be a constant battle and yoyo dieting then becomes a way of life.

Everyone has their ways and means of losing weight, some go it alone and some get help. One common mistake people make and I see it in my clinic all the time is calorie counting. Yes, calories are important and it is savvy to have a clear indication of what the calorie content of your favourite foods. However, being over consumed by calories or counting of any sort can be tedious and short lived. Portion control is a much easier method to avoiding over eating. In order to maintain a healthy balanced diet its vital to identify the reason you over eat.

You are bored

Boredom is one of the main causes for overeating. Overeating due to boredom often occurs when you are not hungry; the food rarely satisfies you due to lack of hunger. It’s also another form of procrastinating; eating takes the place of doing something else. When you eat out of boredom the food choices also tend to be high in fat, sugar and salt or processed in some way.

Late night eating

This can present itself in a few ways. Bad planning is the main cause of this. If you have not planned your dinner, then you may find yourself reaching for the takeout menu for convenience reasons. Preparing dinner too late can also lead to snacking prior or during dinner preparation and the majority of these snacks tend to be unhealthy.

Winding down at the end of the night is another cause of over eating. We all know the feeling of getting comfortable on the couch after a long day and having a snack to accompany the T.V, laptop, kindle, book or whatever form of entertainment you choose. This can lead to lack of attention regarding the food you are consuming meaning you may have no idea how much you are actually eating. In order to avoid late night snacking, plan out your meals and prepare your dinner from fresh ingredients. If you need a snack prior to dinner have some fruit.

Comfort eating

Comfort over eating can be tricky to curb as it’s controlled by how you feel emotionally, not your hunger. When I mention comfort eating I do not mean having food from time to time as a pick me up or to celebrate something. Emotional eating is used as a coping mechanism by individuals, when they get bad news, are stressed, lonely, anxious, angry etc. Their first impulse is to go to the fridge and indulge on foods that make them feel better. If the underlying issues are not addressed or worked out then the cycle continues.

 

To be continued….next week

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