What to do when you overeat
Recognize Why You’ve Overeaten
Are you tired? When you haven’t slept enough, your ghrelin level increases (that’s your hunger hormone mainly produced by your stomach) and your leptin level decreases (that comes from adipose tissue and the small intestine in connection with electrolytes). Leptin helps regulate your energy balance by suppressing your appetite which then decreases your fat mass in adipocytes (adipocytes are cells that are specialized for fat storage) as it uses it to help you function. So in short, if you don’t sleep enough, your body is working to make you hungrier in order to give you the energy you need to function so that leptin can increase again. So ask yourself, did you overeat simply because your body doesn’t have the energy it needs which made it hijack your mind for survival?
Are you stressed? When we face stress, our adrenal glands release adrenaline and cortisol. This makes the heart beat faster and our blood pressure rises. Ultimately, the response in your body is structured to give you more energy. But if you’re in a stressed state for a prolonged period of time, your body is using this energy and constantly depleting itself to maintain the ability to get you away through fight or flight. Not to mention that the cortisol flooding your body triggered also made glucose flood through the body as an immediate energy source to your larger muscle groups. The body makes sure that the glucose isn’t stored away and remains free for your body to use in the moment. This whole cycle is a lot on your body and it exhausts it and craves rest. When your body needs rest, the low leptin level raises your ghrelin which makes you hungry.
Are you frustrated? Did someone say something that triggered you? Have you been feeling a lack of control? Keep in mind that too is all a form of stress! While it can be applied to everything written above, frustration also ties in what happens to us when we’re angry. You may feel charged and energized, but your body will still be exhausted. When we are angry, our body prepares us for a physical fight even if it's just an emotional or mental battle. The adrenaline and cortisol keeps blood away from your gut and into your muscles. When you eat during this time, your body is not prepared to digest food appropriately and therefore leaves you feeling uncomfortable. If you’re frustrated and find yourself overeating, it isn’t necessarily from hunger but a method to self-soothe. You recognize that the situation isn’t going to lead to a physical fight and you are attempting to calm down your body and mind with something that brings you comfort.
Are you sad? Are you bored? When you’re experiencing a deep sadness, your serotonin levels are lower. Serotonin helps your digestion to move through and lowers appetite If you’re sad, you might have these feelings because of situational stress which of course triggers cycles we’ve mentioned before.
Are you truly hungry because of restriction? Have you not been eating the right foods? Did your blood sugar drop? This was the key I was missing for far too long. The cycle I put myself through happened because I felt a lack of control in other situations. I would control the only thing I could—my food intake. Because of the food restriction, I would overeat when I finally did allow myself to eat. I would break into a “last meal” mentality where I convinced myself I’d never be able to eat those foods again and then cycle through a restriction phase where I once again avoided all food completely to make up for the calories. This of course is our good friend, stress (nutritional, emotional, AND physical when I’d later try to exercise on top to get rid of the calories). For years, I continued this unhealthy cycle without realizing that not all food calories are created equal. I completely ignored the fact that many of our bodily functions need the vitamins and minerals found in regular whole foods. Oftentimes, a food binge involved me eating all the sweets I so craved in an act of self-soothing which then caused my blood sugar level to yo-yo in constant dysregulation. The dysregulation of my blood sugar caused me to have dramatic drops where I overate to get over the shaky feeling.
Okay…I know WHY I overate… now what?
Figure out what your body was craving physically/emotionally and solve THAT. If you’re tired, rest or go straight to bed. If you’re stressed or frustrated, dig into different methods of working through those feelings. Do you need to talk it out with a good friend outside the situation? Do you need to go get a massage or facial? Can you go for a walk or lift weights? Do you have a TV show, movie, or book that gets you out of your head? Do you need to confront someone? Do you have a hobby or something you can do with your hands? Journaling? Art?
Make your next meal well-rounded. Make sure your next meal has an abundance of protein, some fats, and some carbs. Your protein is used for the amino acids repairing and building muscles, bones, tissues, and hormones. The fat is needed to help digest the protein. Your carbs are giving you the energy that you need. Remember that carbs can come from root vegetables as well which help balance that blood sugar to keep you satisfied with the addition of fiber. It's more than satisfying your hunger; it's about building your body. Whatever you don’t feel like eating in that moment goes into the fridge for you to eat whenever you’re truly hungry again or maybe you eat the whole thing which is okay too.
