I eat to much

[moomoo644]

hello am 13 years old and since i remember i been eating alot i can go to a buffet eat all i want fill full for a second and wanna keep eating am around 5"10 and i my weight is 200 i went to a nutritionist (i think that how you spell it)and i tried to potion my meals and eat stuff that will fill me but it does not work.i was wondering why and i hope you can explain?

[Caryopteris]

The wrong foods can actually increase appetite.  Diet soda is notorious, but really any sugary drink seems to do it.

Switch to water.  Allow a cup or two of coffee or green tea.  

Make a list of foods you eat every single day that you know are unhealthy.  Your most frequent indulgences that have become a staple for you.  These foods are likely big problems for you.  You are addicted to them and they set you up to overeat.  Make substitutions for at least the top two offenders.  Something that is much healthier but you would enjoy eating, just not the same.  Say you love mashed potatoes and can't stop eating them.  Find a vegetable to substitute, like some squash or something.  If you eat chips every day, change it to carrots.  Make changes in your habits like that and your addiction can lessen and eating won't be so out of control.  

[lilwitch646]

If you eat a lot of quickly digestible foods, you will not feel satiated for long. (By this I mean highly processed foods, or foods with a lot of sugar). Try having a glass of water about 20 minutes before you eat (say when someone starts to cook dinner) that should help you acquire a feeling of fullness and cut down on your intake of food. If you don't like water, try putting a lemon in it, or having a cup of tea (fruit tea, plain black tea, unsweetened green tea). Also, it might be worth trying to eat off a luncheon sized plate rather than a dinner plate. Try to chew your food thorough (about 40 chews). If you eat slower, your body will come to recognize the feeling of satiety. Also, don't fill your plate entirely. Try eating about 50-80% of what you've placed on your plate and put your fork down. Try drinking some more water and see if you're still hungry in about 10 minutes. It takes sometime for your stomach to alert your brain that you've eaten enough. You need to give your brain enough time to register that signal. One thing I read recently is that if you use a larger fork, you will feel full sooner. I'm not sure if this is true because I already use a normal size fork, but if you're using a desert fork it might be worth the switch just to see if it makes a difference. I know using a smaller plate works, and you can shave about 100 calories per meal off if you don't go back for seconds.  

I know it's hard. I come from a family where we're supposed to clean our plates so children in third world countries don't starve. (my eating more doesn't help them!) The solution is to put less food on your plate. I had to retrain my eyes to figure out portion control, and then retrain your stomach and brain to figure out satiety. I recently had a slip up about 10 pounds and I've been struggling to lose it. But I know it's possible because I've done it in the past. I know you can do it too!

PS - buffets are really bad for trying to retrain your portion control. If you're going to a buffet, try only using the small desert plates or appetizer plates, or even just stick within the small circle in the middle of the plate. And if you do go up for seconds, make it a second salad with dressing on the side. (I hate buffets, I never eat enough to make it feel worth the price of admission so I try to eat more and then I feel awful.)

[ducky406]

You may be mistaking the feeling of feeling full versus feeling satiated. What I'm talking about is the difference between the thanksgiving feast of oh dear lord I'm full vs I can't eat anything else vs I'm ok if I eat no more. You really shouldn't eat until you feel full but until you are no longer hungry. This will be hard at first if you're in the process of loosing weight because your body is used to a lot more kj/calories than you're giving it. So you may feel hungry between meals. The best way to avoid that is to have smaller meals and more snacks in between. Make sure they're good snacks like fruits or vegetables or maybe even low fat yogurt. Personally I try to keep them under 100 calories and can manage an extra 2 snacks in the day.

Keep in mind that when you are hungry your body sends the signals to your brain to tell you to eat. After you start eating, the signals decrease and eventually you get the "full" flag. However, this does take time. So if you eat fast, you need to slow down a little. This will give your body more time to see that yes you're eating and it won't be hungry for long. If you keep eating too fast you will tend to eat too much and get to the point of "oh wow I'm stuffed" which is what you want to avoid. It takes a lot of practice and time to break the habit of eating too much so don't be too discouraged. It is within your power to get in a healthy weight.