Why overeating isn’t a problem of willpower
One of my areas of training and expertise is helping individuals learn how to build a healthier relationship with food and their bodies. This work focuses on helping individuals change ineffective habits and beliefs around food.
One of the most commonly held unhelpful beliefs about food is related to the reasons why we overeat, particularly in the second half of the day. People tend to believe this is a problem of willpower. A common story I hear might look something like this:
“Early in the day I try to eat healthy, clean foods. I’ll have a really light breakfast, a really healthy lunch, and a great first half of the day. But everything seems to fall apart when I get home from work. It’s like as soon as I walk in the door I can’t control myself. I reach for a bag of chips and inhale half the bag while dinner is cooking. Or sometimes I overeat at dinner and still end up eating desert afterward. It’s like I’m on autopilot. I can’t stop. Why cant I have some willpower?!”
This over eating or sense of over indulging late at night is often followed by a renewed resolve to start again tomorrow. We double down, assuring ourselves we will try harder and do better tomorrow. We start the cycle all over again by skimping on nourishment and calories in the morning, and falling prey to overeating or binging at night.
Let me tell you a secret: nothing is wrong with your willpower. This cycle says less about your resolve and more about your physiology. Anyone who creates a calorie deficit by undereating in the morning is going to be primed to over eat late in the day. It’s our biology. It’s years and years of evolution. By the end of the day we are under feed and feeling deprived both physically and emotionally. We are primed to over eat the first tempting thing we see. And our physiology tells us to keep going because it doesn’t know when to expect food again. Restriction promotes over eating via priming physical hunger and by psychologically creating a sense of deprivation. Restricting also sets us up to be more vulnerable to our emotions (emotional eating). When we are under nourished, depleted, and under fueled we are more apt to react instead of act in the way we want.
So how do you break the cycle?
- Eat more food earlier in the day, don’t put yourself in a calorie deficit. Try eating a little bit more at breakfast or lunch. Even adding 100-200 calories can help break this cycle.
- Get enough protein and fat early in the day to promote satiety.
- Treat yourself. For some people, having a small treat at lunch like a piece of chocolate is helpful because it prevents those feelings of psychological deprivation which might trigger us to overdo it later.
- Eat foods you actually enjoy. Food should (at least sometimes) be a source of pleasure. Forcing yourself to always eat something you dislike because it is healthy sets you up for those feelings of deprivation.
- Practice mindful eating. Especially at times of the day you tend to struggle and are more prone to over eating. Mindful eating is the practice of using the five senses to pay attention to your food, on purpose, in a non-judgmental way. Imagine yourself as a food critic or as someone dining at a 5-star restaurant. Savor each bite, explore the flavors and textures. When we truly appreciate the food we are eating, we tend to experience more pleasure with less food. Allow yourself to think about how the food was prepared and appreciate all the work that happened to bring it to your plate. Take a few deep, calming breaths prior to serving or eating your meal. Building in a moment of pause prior to eating can help us sort out how hungry we are, and help us separate feelings of stress and hunger.
- Pay attention to your hunger cues. Rate your hunger on a scale of 1-10 prior to eating. Notice how different levels of hunger are associated with the tendency to overeat or engage in emotional eating. Typically, if we let our hunger get to an 8 or higher on the scale, we are much more likely to over eat than if we start eating when we are only a 6 or 7 on the scale.
Our relationship with food and eating can be complex. If you are interested in exploring your habits and patterns in more depth reach out. Food doesn’t have to be an enemy. Making peace with food is possible.