When facing delicious-looking food with a big, empty plate, it’s incredibly easy to load up with a little bit of everything. But with a little practice and a bit of help, you can put a stop to overeating and finally reach your fitness goals.
What Causes Overeating
Social situations, from holidays and birthdays to sporting events, are common causes of overeating. But one of the biggest overeating contributors, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is stress.
Under stress, your body releases a hormone called cortisol, which tells your body to prepare for a perceived threat. That fight-or-flight response signals you to find food before it’s too late.
Like stress, you may also find yourself “eating your feelings” when you’re tired, sad, mad or even just plain bored.
What Happens When You Overeat
According to the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, there are both short- and long-term effects of overeating. In the short term, you can feel uncomfortable due to several factors.
First, eating more expands your stomach, putting pressure on other organs. To compound this generally uncomfortable feeling, digesting the excess food produces gas, increasing that overly full feeling. Digesting large amounts of food can also lead to excess stomach acid (hello, heartburn!).
If you consistently overeat, you can experience long-term effects, like obesity. The extra calories play a large part in becoming overweight or obese, but another contributor is your body’s finite number of digestive enzymes. When you don’t have digestive enzymes ready to help break down what you’ve eaten, that food sits in your stomach and is more likely to turn to fat.
According to WHO, if you are overweight or obese, your chances of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers are all increased.
What You Can Do to Curb Overeating
1. Remove Temptation
One of the easiest things to do to fight the good fight against overeating is to make the playing field (your kitchen and pantry) work in your favor.
Start by removing foods high in fat, salt or sugar (most processed and junk foods). Then, switch out these foods for healthier alternatives. Instead of chips and dip, opt for cucumber slices with guacamole.
Transitioning to more fruits and veggies will provide extra fiber, vitamins and nutrients, providing an overall better experience and a healthier future.
2. Make More Food at Home
At home, you have complete control over what goes onto your plate, whereas in a restaurant, not so much. You may know the ingredients of what you ordered, but do you know what types of oil the food is cooked in or if they’re using any additives? Probably not.
Sticking to homecooked meals is not only a great thing to do (why not involve the family?), but it puts your digestive destiny in your hands.
Need ideas for what foods are good to use or recipes to make? Check out the Clean Eating Cookbook (with our official Approved Foods list!), available on Partner.Co Share.
3. Incorporate High-Fiber Foods
Incorporating foods high in fiber can help you feel fuller, longer. You can find fiber in a wide variety of foods, including fruits, vegetables, grains, beans and more.
More great fiber benefits, according to Cedars-Sinai, are supporting immune function, the absorption of water and fighting inflammation.
4. Eat Slowly
Another great way to curb overeating is to slow down. Slowing down during a meal — especially if you’re eating with others — gives you time to laugh and joke or simply catch up with loved ones.
On the physical level, according to Houston Methodist, slower eating gives your body time to recognize when it is full. If you shovel in food too quickly, you might not notice your body’s attempt to say, “Stop!”.
5. Use Smaller Plates
You’ve probably heard this one before, but using smaller plates has been shown to help when it comes to overeating. Because most people tend to eat everything on their plate — Hello, Clean Plate Club — research shows that if you use a smaller plate, you’ll likely eat less and increase the feeling of fullness.
6. Remember to Forgive Yourself
No one is perfect 100 percent of the time. We all have setbacks — and that’s okay! By recognizing it, you can understand what happened and know what you must do (see everything above) to avoid repeating it at the next meal.
7. Use Slenderiiz® Drops
Use the Drops before meals to lose weight two times faster than diet and exercise alone.* This proven weight loss and weight management approach helps you transform your body, feel energized and gain confidence without feeling hungry.
With these tips and tricks — and some awesome Partner.Co products — you’re well on your way to curbing overeating tendencies and hitting your health and wellness goals in 2025 and beyond.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
*In a study, subjects using Partner.Co products lost more than twice as much weight as subjects who did not use Partner.Co products. All participants limited daily food intake to 1,250 calories.