Relearning to stop when I feel full

[Imzadi]

In the past couple of weeks I realized I had gotten into a bad habit of eating till I'm stuffed. It just felt more emotionally satisfying. How & when did that happen? That if I pay closer attention to stopping when I just feel full, I actually will stop sooner & leave more on the plate.

Like last night I had a juicy burger from one of my favorite diners. And when I stopped when I felt full, I actually had about 4 large bites of burger left. My normal impulse would have been to simply eat the whole thing without thinking. And I realized if I had paired the burger with a healthy salad, I probably would have actually eaten only half the burger, which is healthier.


Anybody have any tips to keep eating like this up? Sometimes I still want to stuff myself. Those days, stopping sooner doesn't feel satisfying and I go looking for something to eat a little later, even though I know I'm not necessarily hungry. I'm not sure what I'm looking for or what I'm trying to satisfy.

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

I DO know what you are saying. I WISH it were an easy thing.

Congratulations for recognizing that you are doing this. That is a major realization.

I face this off and on and can't seem to always contain things. My suggestion would be to cut the meal in half, thirds, or whatever portion would be reasonable. If you fear that you will nibble later make that portion smaller and put something aside for the "feast" later. Maybe breaking it up will help you to gain some control and make it easier to give up the parts when the chewing urges hit.

Another suggestion I would offer is when you do have that urge to knaw on something to turn that time into something else. Take a drink of water, do a piece of housework, chore, something, read a page in a book.

Don't give up. Keep at it. Let me know what you are doing. I need the encouragement too.