5 Clever Ways to End Overeating

Nearly all of us (even thin people) have experienced overeating at some point. This may be on occasion, such as a holiday party, on vacation, or after a stressful day at work. But for some, overeating occurs on a regular basis, often leading to obesity.

As modern-day people we have a lot working against us, causing us to overeat. We have access to delicious, convenient, and abundant food. Humans these days don’t have to spend all day hunting and gathering food, like our very late ancestors did.

Commercials and billboards have pictures of big, juicy, perfect-looking burgers. You can also smell the aroma of fried, salty, and sweet foods just walking down the street. These external cues draw us in, even if we aren’t hungry.

So, how can you curb the brain’s desire to overeat with all the temptations out there?

Luckily, there are a few hacks that many studies have shown to impact the hunger “system” in our brains. Choose which one(s) you would find to be easiest to do and build from there.

Repetition of a specific behavior is key to forming a habit of not overeating. Here are the top 5 ways to end overeating.

Brain Hack #1 – Choose high satiety foods

High satiety foods simply means foods that make you feel more full after eating them. In short, satiety, that feeling of fullness, is determined by a complex system. To sum it up, the system includes interaction between the vagus nerve, a neurotransmitter called ghrelin, and blood glucose levels.

Just to nerd it out for a bit, there is a framework called the satiety cascade. This was proposed by John E. Blundell and his colleagues in 1987. It suggests that there are physiological events that combine with psychological experiences that control appetite. Meaning, things that go on in the body and mind, that when combined, control appetite.)

It has since been reviewed and modified, however the core principle is still in existence. That is, appetite is controlled by both physiological and psychological signals.

More simply put, there is a direct relationship between the brain and the gut.

3 Qualities of High Satiety Foods

The following three qualities are important for making your gut and brain feel “full” or satisfied. The closer you stick to the whole food form, meaning the less processed, the better.

More processed versions of these foods act a bit differently, particularly with effects on insulin. Therefore, they may not be satiating for as long a period of time as the whole foods.  

Lower calorie density

(Meaning not a lot of calories in a specific volume of the food.)

Examples of these foods are vegetables, fruit, and potatoes.

High Protein Foods

                Examples of high protein foods are seafood, meat, yogurt, eggs, beans and lentils.

High Fiber Foods

                Examples of high fiber foods are vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans and lentils.

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Brain Hack #2 – Eat Foods with Low to Moderate Palatability

Another factor in how much we end up eating is palatability. Palatability is a fancy term for how tasty a food is.

Our brains value palatability because in our ancestral days, highly palatable foods were the ones that were higher in calories. Our ancestors needed high calorie foods to survive.

Unfortunately, the palatability of our foods have only skyrocketed since then, primarily due to food becoming a major business.

The addition of spices, salt, sugar, fats, and even chemicals specifically engineered to increase tastiness, have made that happen.

When eating highly palatable foods, our brains essentially get that “dopamine hit”, indicating we’ve found something we need.

Then we want more of it.

Oftentimes, highly palatable foods are calorie-dense, examples of such being candy, French fries, potato chips, and ice cream. Unfortunately, foods that are TOO delicious tend to set us up for weight gain.

• Related Reading: Sugar Addiction: How To Stop The Cycle

When eating lower to moderately palatable foods, we don’t get as much of that spike in dopamine, therefore are less likely to overeat.

When it comes to palatability, variety also plays a part, which leads me to the next brain hack to stop overeating.

Brain Hack #3 – Eat Foods With Less Flavor Variation

What does this mean? Food flavors are typically categorized into sweet, salty, sour, fatty, and spicy. When you eat foods in one category, you get used to that flavor.

This is a phenomenon called habituation, which Stephan J. Guyenet, Ph.D. talks about more in his excellent and informative book, The Hungry Brain.

In a 1981 study about palatability by Barbara Rolls and her colleagues, they found that the palatability of a food decreased upon it being offered a second time, resulting in eating less of that food. She called this sensory-specific satiety.

Put simply, if you only eat one flavor category of foods at a meal, you become more full than if you eat a mix of categories.

So, to prevent overeating, stick with food in one flavor category at a time, rather than mixing it up.

Flavor combinations such as sweet and salty can certainly be amazing, but set you up to overeat, as habituation is less likely to occur.

Brain Hack #4 Decrease Stress

Yes, I know this one is easier said than done, but research strongly links stress with overeating, especially foods that are highly rewarding.

Highly rewarding foods are calorie-dense and highly palatable foods. This combination is because our brain sees these foods as highly valuable for survival as discussed earlier.

Related Reading: How Stress Can Make You Fat, Bald, and Ugly

Natural Ways To Decrease Stress                      

The following may help in the moment but are even more useful if done at least a few days a week. The more frequently they are done, especially in at the same time and in the same place, the faster they will turn into a habit.

• Go for a walk
• Journal
• Call a friend
• Laugh
• Give a loved one a hug
• Close your eyes and sit a few minutes in silence
• Meditate (i.e. breath work)
• Yoga

Decreasing stress of course has many benefits, one being improving your sleep quality. This brings us to the next brain hack to end overeating.

Brain Hack #5 – Get Adequate Sleep

We’ve all heard that we should aim for 8 hours of sleep a night, but this is actually just an average. Most adults require somewhere between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night, according to Sleepfoundation.org.

Of course, sleep requirement varies due to an individual’s needs, which only that individual will know.

Sleep affects how much we eat, according to this meta-analysis published in 2018. Authors of this study suggest that the neurotransmitter I mentioned earlier, ghrelin, that plays a part in satiety, is affected by lack of sleep.

Also, according to this article about sleep deprivation in Forbes by Alice G. Walton, Senior Contributor for Healthcare, the portions of our brains that play a part in motivation and reward when it comes to food are activated more in sleep-deprived individuals.

Perhaps this is due to our brain wanting to seek out calories due to low energy? I’d have to investigate further, but that will be for another time.

The article in Forbes also mentions that it’s also possible that sleep deprivation leads to poor food choices which may then lead to poor quality sleep, causing an unhealthy cycle to occur. Particularly with fiber and saturated fat, as shown in this study.

So, if you want to experiment a bit yourself, try to avoid foods high in fiber and saturated fat a few hours before you sleep. I’m going to try this myself!

A Final Note

To sum it up, if you want to lessen your chances of overeating, then eat whole foods that don’t have a massive amount of added flavor, and don’t vary up the flavors too much in one meal. But be sure to treat yourself every once in awhile too.

Also, try to minimize stress naturally, which helps you fall asleep more quickly, and get the minimum of 7 hours of sleep that is recommended by the Sleep Foundation. This will lessen the likelihood of poor food choices and quantities.