I've talked about this before on the blog.
The holidays used to be horrible for me for overeating. I hated going to parties where there was a lot of finger food and nothing too hearty. I'd never get to the flatbread in time. So, cookies being my fave, I ate a bunch of 'em. Well past the point of fullness.
Nowadays to avoid the terrible overly full feeling, I have a few strategies.
Here's what to do to stop eating past the point of fullness (if you want to).
1. Give yourself full permission to eat.
This is the most important step. You can't do anything else on this list effectively unless you give yourself permission.
Often times our subconscious minds tell us that this is our last chance to eat something. Meanwhile, our conscious mind is trying to get us to stop.
This is part of the binge-restrict cycle. When we think we can't have something, we stop eating it. Then, when we face it, we feel like we can't have it. So we go craaaaaaaazzzzzzzzzyyyyy on it. It is, after all, our last chance.
2. Eat when you're hungry.
This one is pretty intuitive. But diet culture teaches us that eating is bad in general.
The worst line I ever read on a diet website was, "You're on a diet. You're going to be hungry. You just have to learn how to deal with it."
Why? That's cray. Why would it be healthy to ignore a cue from your body. If I started bleeding out of my face, I wouldn't be like, "I'll just ignore this." So, why do we do this with food?
3. Pick foods that fill you up so you don't get voraciously hungry.
You can keep hoping that the ramen noodles you bought will last you until dinnertime. This would be a false hope, Luke Skywalker. (Get it?! A New Hope? #starwars #rogueone #nextweekend #nerdsarecool)
Dietitians love to show people this chart that shows how your blood sugar rises and falls. In it, we see that carbohydrates spike your blood sugar, then fall. Protein lasts longer than carbs and fat lasts the longest. Fiber helps to sustain fullness for longer. Soluble fiber, found in most fruits and veggies, takes your body longer to digest. So, it hangs out in your stomach for longer.
An easy way to prevent yourself from overstuffing is by eating MORE at other meals. You can add peanut butter to your apple. You can add hummus to your carrots. You can add chicken to your salad. You can just have a snack between lunch and dinner.
4. Satisfy your Cravings.
See #1 again.
Satiety can also be psychological. For example, if I'm craving a hamburger, I usually don't feel "full" until I get that burger. I can snack all night on mango slices and never feel "full" because I never let myself just have what I wanted.
Sometimes it's better to have the real thing. I can tell you from experience that you can eat all the different varieties of vegan macaroni and cheese. It just doesn't satisfy like the real thing.
By all means, don't hurt yourself. I do not recommend eating something you're allergic to. Anaphylactic shock can kill you. Overeating is less likely to kill you.
5. Give yourself time to eat
In today's busy world, we often don't have time to eat. We eat while we're working. We eat while we're driving. We eat while we're watching tv. We eat while we're trying to do something else.
Not only is that a recipe for indigestion, but it's also a way of disconnecting you from your body. Chewing is hard to do while shoveling a sandwich down during a long commute. Chewing is an important part of digestion. Without it, you might feel bloated.
If you sit down to a square meal, you might find it more satisfying.
6. Make a plate
Sometimes putting food on a plate shows us how much food it is so we can feel like we actually got a square meal.
When I get a hankering for snackies, I find it useful to fill up a bowl or a plate with said snackies. As with holiday parties, sometimes snacks don't seem like they can add up to a meal. But, they can. It's a fine way to eat a meal. That's why the Spanish love their tapas.
7. Listen to your body
Overeating is often symptomatic of other issues.
It could be the result of not feeding your body when you were hungry. It could be the result of not satisfying a craving. It could be feelings. You could be in a rush and not have time to chew.
Overeating is just eating more than your tummy can hold. Slow down and try to listen to your body when you're hungry and when you're full.
You don't have to sit down on a meditation pillow and chant oms between each bite of food. Just remember that eating is about taking care of yourself.
You don't have to feel shame about eating. You don't have to eat in a rush. You don't have to eat food that you hate. You CAN eat food you love. You CAN take time for yourself. You CAN eat food that makes you FEEL better. No shame necessary.
Most importantly, don't be too hard on yourself. It's just a little too much food.
Why we "overeat"
Since I started eating intuitively, I haven't really been "too full."
Back in my dieting days, I would often find myself in situations where my belly would be terribly full.
I've talked about this before in my mac and cheese episode and exercise is a drug post.
Many things cause overeating. Want to figure out the reason you can't stop?
Here are three common motivations for overstuffing:
1. Dieting
So says the great and powerful Isabel Foxen Duke:
Why would you feel "out of control" if you're not controlling food in the first place?
Science shows how restriction can lead to binging. The most famous experiment was the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. Young men followed a strict "semi-starvation" diet for a period of 24 weeks. A few of the dudes had a "complete breakdown in control." and broke into the food supply.
Dieting creates scarcity. Your body doesn't know the difference between a diet and a famine. When you get your hands on a batch of fresh-baked cookies, your survival instincts kick in.
Even perceived restriction can lead to overeating. This is what the intuitive eating ladies call "last supper" mentality. You go nuts on food because your gut thinks there's not more coming soon.
This made sense to the prehistoric humans who understood that winter was coming. Your body knows to eat a little extra and store it on your booty for the those colder months..
2. Feelings
I read through a BUNCH of binge eating disorder websites to write this bloggy post. They all refer to "psychology" as a reason for binge eating.
I like to think psychology is fancy doctor-speak for feelings. Food is fantastic at numbing. It's also designed to make you feel good. A lot of foods activate dopamine and serotonin responses in your brain.
I used to eat a TON of cereal after I spent all day working as a cashier. I was depressed and I wanted to feel better.
When I was chowing down on my cinnamon sweeties, I was able to zone out on Hulu and simple sugars. It felt good to be "bad." Sia would call it a cheap thrill. Eating a few bowls of cereal at 11 pm at night was the most exciting part of my excruciatingly boring day.
I think emotional eating gets a bad wrap. It's not IDEAL to shove your feelings down into a box of cereal but for me, that habit helped me cope with a difficult part of my life. Since I quit the job, I haven't eaten that cereal at all.
3. Because you want to
Sometimes, I just eat a lot of something because it is, for real, not something I'm going to have later. For example, when I lived in Argentina, I ate spoonfuls of dulce de leche (it is BOMB there).
I eat an extra serving at Thanksgiving because it's not going to be around for another year. Thanksgiving is an elaborate meal that we have a national holiday just to prepare for. Ain't nobody got time for all those side dishes any other time of year.
Whatever the reason, it's OKAY to overeat sometimes. But, if you want to prevent that gaseous uncomfortable fullness in the future, subscribe below.
Body Positive Holidays
The holidays have officially arrived.
Which means, as we discussed last week, that holiday weight gain talk has returned as well.
I'm happy to say this isn't Phenomenal Jane's first holiday season. So, we've got you covered with content.
Take a walk down memory lane and read some of the posts from the past! No ghosts but I do know there are a few Christmas Carol references.
Reasons why you don't NEED to go to the gym on Black Friday
Two weeks ago, I talked about how I got "tricked"into buying a gym membership during the holidays.
I"ve also talked about motivation for going to the gym. If your goal is weight loss, you're just not likely to go. That's behavioral psychology, bitches.
Hey, the holidays can be a great time to hit the gym. It's an awesome way to get away if you're having a frustrating time. It's something to do when you're feeling lonely or stir-crazy. Exercise also releases endorphins. It's literally a way to feel better if you're angry about how your Aunt burned the Brussels sprouts.
BUT........Thanksgiving is just one of those times when it's too easy for trainers to talk about "burning off" your food. It's just a hot mess of "fat talk" and "preventing weight gain."
In case you are feeling anxious about the Black Friday gym rush, here are some reasons that you can take a break.
1. Gyms make money off you not going.
In 2014, All Things Considered revealed how gyms need the people who don't go to subsidize people who do. For example, Planet Fitness has 6500 members, but if all 6500 of those members actually showed up, they would likely be breaking fire code.
If you're not likely to go anyway, subsidize your self-care, not the diet industry.
2. Built-in breaks are good for you.
My old swim coach used to say that you could ramp up your training for up to 12 weeks. After that, however, you might be hurting yourself rather than helping.
Since this was over a decade ago, the best source I could find to corroborate this was livestrong.com. Bodybuilders do what they call a "deloading week." This actually enhances their performance.
Maybe Thanksgiving & Christmas could be your "deloading" weeks.
3. Health is not just about EXERCISE.
Arianna Huffington wrote a whole book about this. In her book Thrive (and on other places on the internet) she explains the importance of rest. She points out that Americans leave "175 million vacation days unused." She writes, "61 percent of Americans confess to working while on vacation."
Not only are Americans not taking their vacation, but they're also working on vacation. And vacations are good for you.
Sleep and rest and love and family are good for you, too. So, if your gym routine is getting in the way of those healthy pieces of your life, it's okay to skip it.
4. Diet and exercise are not preventing weight gain in the long run.
People often talk about spiraling out of control whenever they're off their normal "routine."
Weight gain after periods of "routine" might be a signal that you are restricting too much. There's actually more correlation between dieting and weight gain than dieting and weight loss.
5. If you're not restricting, set point theory will protect you from ballooning.
Genetics play a big role in determining your weight. You might have noticed that your weight doesn't fluctuate too much even when you diet. I know I've gained and lost the same pounds over and over again.
I've talked about set point theory a lot.
But if you still don't believe me, listen to this scientist explain it.
Set point theory means that your body has a certain weight it wants to be at. If you eat extra stuffing, your set point will keep your body at homeostasis within a certain range.
6. Gaining a little weight might keep you warm in the winter.
If you're into seasonal foods, why not be into seasonal weight gain? Our ancestors wanted a little extra to keep them warm during cold winter cave nights. Winter foods tend to be heavier. They tend to be more "caloric" and lower in fiber. You might even find yourself craving something with extra fat when it's a really cold day.
If you were a caveman living in Scandinavia, you'd be hella grateful for that extra turkey fat. Maybe you can save a little money on not buying cashmere this year.
7. WHO CARES IF YOU GAIN WEIGHT?
I can't emphasize this enough. Your weight is not an indicator of health.
So what if you're not getting swipes to the right because you gained a free sweater's worth of weight? That person doesn't understand economics and they're shallow.
So, put on your sweater, skip the guilt, and skip the gym if you want to.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving!
What's popular isn't necessarily good
I had originally planned a different post for this week. On election day, I was writing out all the reasons why you could skip the gym over the holidays. (Don't worry! This post is coming to you next week.)
I woke up Wednesday morning filled with dread and doom. I imagined some kind of apocalyptic future. Will American refugees flee to places where it feels safer to be ourselves?
The election of Donald Trump confirms a real human fear of mine. It makes me feel like hate is popular: sexism, racism, xenophobia, queerphobia, transphobia, ableism.
This fear has often made me feel isolated, like I'm not supposed to be here, like I don't belong on this planet. There's a great scene in the show, Happyish with Steve Coogan. He describes a general feeling like he's an alien marooned on Earth. This planet doesn't share his values. I often feel that way: like I'm waiting for the mothership.
And the body positive movement is an alien idea.
What is currently popular in our culture is dieting. It's being thin. It's being "sexy." It's making sure you don't have too much hair on your pussy. It's making sure your voice isn't too high or too low. It's being "likeable." It's fitting into all these impossible norms. You can't be too nice - you're a pushover. You can't be too mean - you're a bitch. If you're young, they don't take you seriously. If you're old, you're past your prime. If you're in between, you're probably going to have kids soon. So, you're not really worth the investment.
Here's the worst part: we actually believe that these impossible norms are attainable.
For the women who are fat, they should work hard to be skinny (even though diets don't work). We give women advice like "lean in" or "be more humble." We second-guess and rationalize that women are somehow responsible for their position. If we could just stop saying "like" so damn much, we might actually have equality.
But that is a lie. The real problem is not your pantsuit. It is the patriarchy.
Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by a very very slim margin. But, actually, FUCK BEING POPULAR. Fuck trying to attain what is unattainable. Let's stop trying to fit the mold. Because we never will.
Just like the 90s afterschool specials taught us, being popular is often not all it's cracked up to be. Being popular doesn't make you good or right. In fact, Billy Madison taught us that being popular makes you the villain.
I understand that it's easier to grow weeds than it is to grow a rose. I know that in the current culture, dandelions often fare better. In this election, the sexist white man did better. He had all the nutrients he needed to thrive.
It's easy to grow dandelions.
But, I have a problem with a field so full of weeds that we can't grow anything else. We can't grow tomatoes. We can't grow roses. In the context of this election, we couldn't grow feminism or equality.
Instead of trying to figure out how to grow dandelions, let's grow something else.
Please please please keep being who you are. Please please please keep being brave. Please please please don't let the weeds or the president prevent you from being the beautiful person that you are.