How to stop overeating?
According to Wikipedia, Overeating is a behavior that, while generally not a medical problem, in some cases is a symptom of binge eating disorder or bulimia. In more general terms it refers to the persistent consumption of excess food in relation to the energy that the person expends, leading to weight gain and often to obesity. This may be a brief or short term process (many people overindulge generally during festivities or while on holiday) or a longer term process.
When I went to Beijing for a 5 day tour in early June 2007, I stuck close to my low fat,low carb, high fibre, high protein as far as I could. I didn't do so well on the low fat and low carb part as Beijing cuisine is cooked in lots of fats and starchy solution, even if you do not eat the white rice and buns. I did well for walking. The most rigorous were the two climbs at Juyongguan and Badaling, two sections of The Great Wall of China at Beijing. I ate quite a bit of dark chocolates to boost my energy at the climbs.
Back home from the trip, I weighed pretty good – a 50kg. Not so bad, I thought. And continued with my low carb, low fat, high fibre, high protein. My portions increased as I was not satisfied so soon. And continued with daily dark chocolates. I ate a sweeter version with less cocoa and another with rum n raisins.
My sister visited from the US with a big container of raisins chocolates. I ate ½ of that. During this time, I began to crave for simple carbs. I ate lots of prawn crackers, some biscuits, some ice cream. And more chocolates. I knew I have to stop before I gain more weight.
But I couldn't. I continue to weigh more until early July, I was 52 kg. Oops, 1 kg over my goal weight ( range of 49 to 51kg) and 3 kg over my last weight of 49kg. Well, it was not obvious to many people, in fact no one noticed except me. My pants were tighter, my arms were a bit broader, my tummy rounder.
The chocolates eating was not a binge yet, owing to my low carb, low fat, high fibre, high protein diet for all my meals, but it was definitely overeating. It is definitely bad for my health and my weight. Yes, for all those who know it, it is very difficult to stop.
I still ate my dark chocolates, reducing the portion day by day. I managed to stop the biscuits and prawn crackers, because they were all gone and I didn't replenish. Then at the beginning of last week, I went marketing and cooked up a lot of foods that can be served as snacks. Stewed Peanuts, Roasted Cashew Nuts, and Stewed Tau Pok. I ate these before I have the urge for chocolates.
It finally worked. The first day, I opened a new block of semi dark chocolates and ate 2 small pieces without craving for more. The second day, I ate the same snacks and didn't even crave for anything sweet. The same went for the third, fourth, fifth and sixth day.
I am now back to my range of 49 to 51 kg, happily moving down towards 49 kg again. And still enjoying my occasional dark chocolates.
