Humans, just like animals, are instinctual by nature. Although, our superior intelligence may mask our instinctual drives, but ultimately, we too are susceptible to these drives.
In the old days, when our ancestors lived in caves, food wasn’t as readily available as it is now. When they hunted animals, they did not have large refrigerators to store the meat in, and thus they stored it in the only logical place they could think of – their stomachs. Advocates of evolutionary psychology are of the opinion thatwe tend to eat more food than we need, as a defense mechanism,because deep down inside (just like our cave dwelling ancestors),we are worried that food for the next meal may not be available.
As civilization and societies developed, many of the previous inconveniences were eliminated. However, our primal nature still remains the same and thus we tend to overeat instinctively.
The holiday season is one of those times when we tend to let our guard down and eat anything that we can get our hands on. But no need to fret, there are ways you can minimize the glutinous drives within you. Here are a few tips to help you keep your munching habits under control this holiday season.
Eating Slowly
Eating slowly isn’t exactly a new concept but it really does wonders when curbing the overeating drives. According to a research at University of Florida, Mark Gold, MD, who led the research, claimed that it takes our stomach 12 to 15 minutes and 20 minutes or more for an obese personto convey our satisfaction levels to our brain. Therefore, eating slowly is the most optimum way to prevent overeating.
Differentiating Between Needs and Wants
Eating is a pleasurable experience for a vast majority. However, eating for recreation isn’t treated similarly as other luxuries. Usually we wait for weekends to indulge in recreational activities but the same principle doesn’t apply to food. A healthy separation between eating for nourishment and pleasure helps in reducing overeating tendencies.
Presentation Matters
It’s important to tend to the presentation of the food. Eating slowly combined with the right presentation can have an immediate positive impact. Using a smaller plate will ensure a smaller portion without an emptier plate has the desired effect on the brain’s processing pattern.
Utilize the Taste Buds
It’s widely believed that the first few bites accounts for the maximum amount of enjoyment. Satisfying your taste buds with the initial few bites will have a positive effect on comfortably stop eating once you’re comfortably full.
Damage Control
It’s important to remember that being human means we are prone to errors. It’s fine if you do end up eating too much on the holidays. The important part is to acknowledge that you slipped up and make up for it by. These small initiatives have a lasting overall impact in the long term. Accountability to your own self is the key towards self control.
Avoid Alcohol
Most of our holiday celebrations involve drinking and alcohol is loaded with calories. On top of that, once our inhibitions die we tend to eat way more than we need to without even realizing it. Thus, adding more calories onto the excess calories from all the drinking.
Be Mindful
Eating is a complete experience in its own entirety. However, most of us tend to combine the eating experience with influences which tend to put our eating on auto-pilot. For example, we eat in front of the television while watching the news. When distracted, our brain tends not to register how much we have eaten and therefore we end up overeating without realizing it. According to a psychologist at Indiana State University, Jean Kristeller, PhD, a pre-meal bout of meditation helps in deriving more pleasure for the experience and the complete attention will help in determining when you’ve had enough.
Hypnosis – Truly Virtual Gastric Band
Throughout history hypnosis has been used for solving various behavioral issues. Hypnosis enables the practitioner to enable the person to understand and overcome various problems such as hypnosis for overeating, especially during the holiday season.
The subconscious mind cannot tell fact from fiction and therefore can be convinced into believing in an altered reality. The Truly virtual Gastric Band is a hypnotherapeutic program which helps you feel full by convincing the brain that you are full, even when small portions have been consumed. The program is not a diet, therefore, no stringent restrictions on diet, individuals in the program can eat whatever they want but are restricted to smaller and more frequent portions, hypnosis is the best way to lose weight.
