Why Do We Eat Too Much?
Simple, food is delicious and very satisfying. Food is powerful; it stimulates the part of the brain's core for emotion. Foods produced from fine restaurants and manufactures are designed to condition us to eat and overeat. Your local supermarket has a variety of foods you can choose from that are hard to resist.
Eating out can be unhealthy, especially when you repeatedly eat the same foods each time. When you go home after a long day, most of the calories in your body are depleted. You then find yourself heading towards the refrigerator to eat, snacking before dinnertime, not knowing that you just added extra calories.
Today, we chew our food less than we did before. The less you chew, the more of a tendency to overeat. We look for instant gratification by going to the local convenience store to snack on candy and chips. The salt and sugar content along with the flavor is enough to make you eat more. Eating too much can lead to obesity.
Obesity Is Not A Disease, It's A Lifestyle
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Obesity is one of the leading cause of preventable death worldwide. Obesity is a medical condition that is mainly caused by poor diet or sedentary lifestyle. Obesity is strongly linked to Type II Diabetes, but it is also associated with cardiovascular diseases, obstructive sleep apnea, certain type of cancers, and osteoarthritis. That being said, we need to control what we eat and how we eat.
The Body Mass Index (BMI) is used as a measurement of body mass to determine pre-obesity and obesity.
Calculate your BMI below to see if you are at risk for many diseases or health conditions. Always contact your health care provider with any concerns about your health.
Information on BMI was downloaded from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) website.
BMI for Adults
20 Years and Older
The standard weight status categories associated with BMI ranges for adults are shown in the following table.
BMI | Weight Status |
|---|---|
| Below 18.5 | Underweight |
| 18.5 – 24.9 | Normal |
| 25.0 – 29.9 | Overweight |
| 30.0 and Above | Obese |
For example, here are the weight ranges, the corresponding BMI ranges, and the weight status categories for a sample height.
| Height | Weight Range | BMI | Weight Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5' 9" | 124 lbs or less | Below 18.5 | Underweight |
| 125 lbs to 168 lbs | 18.5 to 24.9 | Normal | |
| 169 lbs to 202 lbs | 25.0 to 29.9 | Overweight | |
| 203 lbs or more | 30 or higher | Obese |
For more information about interpretation for children and teens, visit Child and Teen BMI Calculator.
What Makes Us Overeat?
Sugar Fat Salt
Sugar, Fat, and Salt
Ingredients such as sugars and fats found in foods are pleasantly palatable to the tongue. Ingredients like salt, stimulates our taste buds. These ingredients tend to affect the emotional part of the brain, putting us in a state of euphoria. We eat more and more of it.
Eight Examples of Why Sugar, Fat, and Salt May Cause Us To Overeat
1. Eating french fries with ketchup
The ketchup and potato combination contains sugar (the potato is a starch in which turns into sugar). The grease from the potatoes has fat and of course you tend to sprinkle those french fries with salt. All of which is palatable to the tongue...a recipe for overeating.
To combat this, plan to carry food with you and plan to eat every 4 hours. You'll have more control if you know what to eat and when to eat it.
2. Restaurants add extras to entice you to eat more
Restaurants tend to add colors and textures to the food to make your mouth water. This is your reward that you will be satisfied at what you are eating so you can continue to eat more.
3. Your local market as a food superstore
Superstores can carry up to 50,000 items for your shopping convenience. This is not a good thing for your diet, especially with foods readily available to you. The temptation can be overwhelming. You tend to pick Frosted Flakes over Cornflakes or pick Oreo cookies over bran crackers. You go to the store just for a quart of milk and the next thing you know you end up with a month's worth of groceries.
To combat this, plan ahead of time, make a list of the items that you need before you go to supermarket.
4. Eating that the mall food court
When you eat at a certain location in the mall you tend to pursue that same location each time you visit. Frequent visits like to the Panda Express and ordering orange chicken is not a good thing. The best thing to do is adjust your way of thinking. Next time, go in a different direction. You may find another place. Think of foods that are more appealing than orange chicken. Say to yourself, is it healthy for me? I want be and eat healthy. I don't have to eat orange chicken.
When you eat at a certain location in the mall you tend to pursue that same location each time you visit. Frequent visits like to the Panda Express and ordering orange chicken is not a good thing. The best thing to do is adjust your way of thinking. Next time, go in a different direction. You may find another place. Think of foods that are more appealing than orange chicken. Say to yourself, is it healthy for me? I want be and eat healthy. I don't have to eat orange chicken.
5. When you enter your home you head straight for the refrigerator
Your brain tells you it's time to eat...even when you are not hungry. This is not a good thing, especially if you are planning to eat dinner later.
If you must eat, to combat this, eat only foods that are at least 100 calories. Eating overstimulating food before dinner will add additional calories you don't need .
6. Chewing less than 10 times per mouthful
In the past, Americans used to chew a mouthful of food 25 times more before it was ready to be swallowed. Today, the average American chews at least 10 times. Foods today are chopped and are highly processed and can be easily swallowed within seconds on the first bite. This confuses the brain and prevents that mechanism from kicking in of when you are full. You continue to eat more and more.
To combat this, you want to have that sensation of feeling full; chew more slowly so you can pay attention to how much you are consuming. Choose whole rich fiber foods whenever possible. Fiber slows digestion and absorption of food so the sugar in food enters the bloodstream more slowly preventing sugar spikes or a rapid increase in sugar in the blood.
7. Buying convenience store snacks
Yes, the nacho cheese Doritos are irresistible. You have the various cheeses, oils, milk, and salt. You have that crunch and the flavors that just melt in your mouth. Poor apple lonely on the table waiting to be eaten.
To combat this, improve your diet by choosing more wholesome foods like nuts or an apple.
8. Eating a bowl of candy at your desk
Just one taste of a food can make you overeat. Candy has sugar, a stimulant that melts in your mouth. You end up craving for more.
Just one taste of a food can make you overeat. Candy has sugar, a stimulant that melts in your mouth. You end up craving for more.
To combat this, the best thing to do is resist it all together. If you must have it , just have 1 piece of candy around you as the only piece available. Eventually, you will be less likely to get up or look for another piece.
My Recommendation
Useful information I discussed about overeating are in this book:
Format: Hardcover
You can put it on your Kindle.
Other devices: Nook, iPhone,
Android, Blackberry, PC, and
Mac.
Other Recommendations
Format: Hardcover
You can put it on your Kindle.
Other devices: Nook, iPhone,
Android, Blackberry, PC, and
Mac.
Format: Hardcover
Put it on your Kindle.
Put it on your Kindle.
Other devices: Nook, iPhone,
Android, Blackberry, PC, and
Mac
Format: Paperback
Put it on your Kindle.
Other devices: Nook, iPhone,
Android, Blackberry, PC, and
Mac
Watch MSN Health Day Picked Videos - Click Below
Try these simple 5 minute exercise programs for a fit you
Dr. Oz Exercise Programs: Fit in Five
Five: Balance
Fit In Five: Cardio Workout
Fit In Five: Thighs
Fit In Five: Lower Back
Fit In Five: Core
In Five: Butt
Fit In Five: Arms
BE SAFE OUT THERE!
Source:
Wikipedia
Center for Disease Control (CDC)
Fitbie.msn
Dr. Oz Show (YouTube)
