Why Do I Eat Past Fullness?

Do you still find yourself confused about why you overeat? Especially on the weekends!

What I’ve found through working with clients & personal experience…⁣

The most common reason we overeat past fullness is Restriction.

Somatic Restriction

It would be things like not eating, undereating, overly fasting,

and cutting out food to control calories or portion size.

Mental and Emotional Restriction

This is far more common when the body senses the mental fear it naturally shifts

into survival mode as if in threat of famine.

Why is overeating such a battle?

"Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full." It sounds simple, right?!

Often the outcome of frequent dieting, chronically restricting food, overly fasting, and being raised to "clean your plate," imbalances our

natural hunger & satiety hormones (leptin & ghrelin),

We lose sensitivity to true stomach hunger, & get confused with a multitude of other

signals & needs like emotions, thirst, boredom, stress, etc.

The Reality of Hunger

Hunger is a partly learned phenomenon

Hunger is a State of Mind Not a State of Stomach alone

Let’s Understand Different Kinds of Hunger

Biological Hunger

It involves communication between the digestive system, endocrine system, & brain.

Hunger & fullness are regulated by the hypothalamus in the brain i.e. our body's

Chief Operating Officer

When our body has enough food to satisfy its needs,

signals are sent to the hypothalamus, registering fullness (satiety).

It takes about 20 minutes for fullness signals to transmit from the stomach back to the brain.

So, if you eat too fast it's easy to eat more than we need.

Sometimes, we mistake other feelings for biological hunger.

They're more like sensations, but not true hunger.

Beat the Blues of Feeling Hungry

Use the Hunger & Fullness Scale to develop & understand

Eating Protein-Centric meals large enough to keep you satisfied for 3-4+ hours is the key.

If you’ve struggled with disordered eating in the past,

“Just eat until you’re full” or “Eat as much meat as you want”, will not work for you

Because most of us have lost our hunger & satiety cues.

Here it is important to Track the Macros.

How else do you truly know if you’re eating too much or too little?

You don’t have to do it forever.

Just commit to learning.

It’s OK if you can moderate some things, like certain veggies/seasonings/sauces,

Carbs aren’t the devil, your relationship with food is the determining factor.

If you chase health, everything else will fall into line.

Find what style works for YOU

It just takes experimentation & self-awareness. Love y’all!