Eat Out Eat Well

Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts

What Triggers Your Overeating?

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“No, no, no, I’m not hungry,” you say to yourself – and, five minutes later you have a lap full of crumbs and a powdered sugar mustache.

Sound familiar?  Why, oh why, does this happen?  What’s with the loss of control over eating?

According to David Kessler, MD (The End of Overeating), 50% of obese people, 30% of overweight people, and 20% of healthy weight people say they have a loss of control over eating.

Eating Triggers:  Starting a course of events

A trigger is something that sets a course of events in motion, like overeating.

Eating triggers generally fall into three separate categories: food, feelings, and the environment.

Trigger Food

  • a specific food that sets off a course of overeating where you lose control and eat an excessive amount
  • usually a combo of sugar and fat – like brownies or gooey cookies – or a combo of fat and salt – have you downed your popcorn in the movies, lately?
  • Don’t confuse your food triggers with your favorite foods (the ones that you really like), your comfort foods (ones that you link to home and happiness), or food cravings (when you want a food you haven’t had in a while)
  • a true food trigger is the actual food, not a feeling or place that triggers the out of control eating – think:  an open bag of chips – bet you can’t eat just one regardless of where you are eating or how you are feeling

Trigger Feeling

  • an emotion, good or bad, that causes you to overeat
  • anxiety and sadness are common triggers
  • food triggers prompt overeating of a specific food;  general out of control overeating — the kind where food is often shoved in the mouth as quickly as possible in large quantities – can be precipitated by an emotional trigger

Trigger Environment

  • a specific situation or place that starts a period of overeating
  • common examples might be walking into a movie theater (popcorn), going to a buffet restaurant (one or two helpings of everything), attending a sporting event (how many hot dogs?) or visiting a relative (cookies, pie, and cake?)

Eating Triggers Are All Around You

Bottom Line – eating triggers are commonplace. When you bump up against some of yours, recognize them for what they are and have a strategies to deal with them. 

Often the triggers are linked – this happens often, sometimes by design.  Think about the sugar/fat and salt/fat triggers and fast food restaurants, desserts in fancy restaurants, your local bakery, the gas station convenience store.  What do they have in common?  Lots of food with sugar/fat and salt/fat combinations.   They stare you in the face wherever you turn and at whatever hour.  Stir in some feelings and emotions, a not infrequent occurrence, and you have the perfect set-up for overeating.

Ways To Outsmart Food Triggers

  • Figure out which food makes you lose control.  Is it potato chips, chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, or mac and cheese?  We all have our particular triggers.
  • What kinds of feelings make you run for the fridge?  Is it when you are sad, anxious, really happy, or just procrastinating?  Once you can identify the feeling, try to substitute a behavior other than eating – maybe a walk or a project.  Make a deal with yourself:  if I do X then I can eat Y.  But you have to do X first!
  • Be savvy and know when you are in the emotional danger zone where you are on the brink of rapidly spiraling out of eating control.Educate yourself about which kinds of foods are hidden saboteurs – or maybe not so hidden.  Beware the sugar/fat, salt/fat, or sugar/fat/salt combos.
  • Educate yourself about which kinds of foods are hidden saboteurs – or maybe not so hidden.  Beware the sugar/fat, salt/fat, or sugar/fat/salt combos.
  • Know your environmental triggers.  If the gas station convenience store screams candy bar then pump your gas at a gas station with no store.  If you have a history of overeating at X restaurant then go to Y instead.  If you know that you always overeat at Aunt Mary’s (could be all three triggers:  food, feelings, and environment are operational at her house) then have a strategy or plan in place to handle the situation.  Or maybe invite her to your house.
  • Keep the darn trigger foods out of your house.  Or, if they have to be there for other family members, or maybe for a party, make them difficult to get to.  Put them in the basement or the garage.  Make them inconvenient or really difficult to get to.  Not only is out of sight out of mind operational, we also tend to be lazy.  The more effort you have to exert to get to the food, the less likely you are to eat it.
  • This is a tough one:  sometimes you have to avoid thinking, talking and reading about food. Brain imaging research suggests that the addictive response of the brain to food could by calmed by not thinking about food. Obviously, you can’t be abstinent from food – you need to eat – but long conversations about it, might be more than your brain can bear before you succumb to the bakery or vending machine.  Don’t linger in the grocery store and skip the gourmet shop that opened three blocks away.
  • And, the time tested – wait at least 15 minutes then allow yourself to have the food – often works. Better yet, wait 15 minutes, try to create a diversion to get out of your trigger feeling, and change your environment – get out of the kitchen or away from the bakery aisle.

Gatorade, Powerade, Red Bull Or Water?

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It’s brutally hot and you’re sweating like a pig.  Was your run really a good idea?  Need something to drink – but what – water, Gatorade, Red Bull, Powerade?  Do you need just water or water plus other stuff?

Designed To Hydrate

Sports drinks, a combination of fluids, carbs, sodium and potassium are designed to replenish fluids and nutrients lost through sweating during exercise.  If you work out for more than an hour, or for very intensely for less than an hour they are the ideal during- and after-activity hydration drink. But, if your workout is of short duration or is low-intensity. a sports drink may not be your best choice.  If you’re just going for a brisk 20 minute walk or doing some other short or low intensity activity, water may be your best choice.

What’s In Them That You Probably Don’t Need For Less Intense Workouts

Two Things: sugar and sodium.

Sugar is a prominent ingredient because it’s a good way feed carbs to your working muscles. But, its an extra two to five teaspoons of added sugar you’re putting into your body for each 8 oz serving. Remember — most bottles contain at least double that amount, so double up on the sugar count, too. The American Heart Association’s recommendation is to limit added sugars to no more than half of your daily discretionary calories allowance which translates to no more than 100 calories per day, or about 6 teaspoons of sugar for most American women and150 calories per day, or about 9 teaspoons, for men.

Although sodium is helpful for higher levels of activity, most of us don’t need to add extra sodium to add to already high sodium intakes.

Don’t Confuse Energy Drinks And Sports Drinks

Energy drinks have a boost of caffeine which research says might enhance athletic performance. Because they have the caffeine equivalent of a cup of coffee, energy drinks like Rockstar, Monster, and Red Bull are also popular as everyday drinks.

Sports drinks generally have fewer calories because they generally have less sugar than energy drinks.  They do have sodium to help replenish what you’ve sweated out, and generally no caffeine.  Some sports drinks, called recovery sports drinks, have protein and may be marketed as recovery sports drinks. Use them when your activity lasts longer than 6 hours.

When Are Sports Drinks Helpful?

If you exercise at a high intensity for 60 minutes or more, fluids that supply 60 to 100 calories in 8 ounces help supply the calories necessary calories for continuous performance. During normal training it’s not necessary to replace sodium, potassium and other electrolytes you lose during exercise. But, if you exercise in extreme conditions over 3 or 5 hours — like during a marathon or a triathalon — you might think about drinking a sports drink with electrolytes.

SocialDieter Tip:

If you are exercising for over an hour or you’re really busting your butt for a shorter but more intense workout, think about a sports drink for hydration.  Here are some examples of drinks along with their calories, carbs, sugars, sodium, and potassium.  If your exercise time is short or not too strenuous, stick with good old fashioned water.

  • Powerade, Grape, 8 oz,, 50 calories, 14g sugars, 14 carbs,100mg Sodium, 25 mg Potassium
  • Gatorade G Berry, 8 oz , 80 calories, 21g sugars, 21 carbs, 160 mg Sodium, 45 mg Potassium
  • Propel Kiwi-Strawberry, 8 oz, 10 calories, 2g sugars, 2g carbs, 75 mg Sodium, 20 mg Potassium
  • Gatorade G2 Perform Low Calorie Orange, 8 oz, 20 calories, 5 g sugars, 5g carbs, 110mg Sodium, 30 mg Potassium
  • Sobe Lifewater 0 calories Black & Blue Berry, 8 oz, 0 calories, 6g carbs, 0g sugars, 25 mg Sodium, n/a Potassium
  • Red Bull Energy Drink, 8.4 oz, 110 calories, 28g carbs, 27g sugars, 100mg Sodium, n/a Potassium

Is Multi-Tasking Sabotaging Your Weight?

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What Else Do You Do When You Eat?

Where do you have your breakfast?  In the car or train while you’re going to work?  Maybe while you’re walking down the street juggling that cup of joe, a muffin, and your books, papers, and tote.

How about lunch.  Do you eat at your desk?  Standing in front of the kitchen sink?  In front of the computer?

A poll of more than 1500 people (Wansink, Mindless Eating), found that:

  • 91% usually watch TV when eating meals at home alone
  • 62% are frequently too busy to sit down and eat
  • 35% eat lunch at their desk
  • 26% often eat while they drive

Multi-Tasking = Distraction = Mindless Eating

When you multi-task you are distracted.  Distraction is the enemy of weight management.  Any kind of distraction will make you eat, or forget what or how much you are eating, or even why you are eating.  When you’re distracted your focus is certainly not on your food the classic recipe for mindless eating.

SocialDieter Tip:

Everyone is busy.  Everyone eats.  Putting the two together can lead to mindless eating and poor weight management.  How about making some rules for yourself?  I won’t, without guilt, recommend eating without doing other things.  That’s the classic recommendation – but I would be two-faced to utter it because I frequently eat while I work.  However, if you are like me, perhaps set a rule that you are going to serve yourself a certain portion and that’s all you will eat.  Or, maybe you want to turn over a new leaf and solely concentrate on your meal.  The choice is yours.  Just make it a mindful one.

Table For 8? You Might Eat 96% More!

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No kidding.  You tend to eat for a longer amount of time — and eat more — when you’re with people you like compared to when you eat alone.  It could be because you mindlessly nibble while someone else talks, you’re using the good manners you were taught in fifth grade about not letting someone else eat alone, or you’re just having fun and enjoying your food. Most of us tend to stay at the table longer when we’re with others.   Bottom line:  The longer you stay at the table, the more you eat.

Losing Track

Here’s the other thing:  friends and family influence what you eat.  Sometimes, it’s so easy to get involved with the conversation (or argument) that all the monitoring of what goes into your mouth goes out the window.  Look down at your plate.  Did you ever wonder where all the cookies went or how you managed to work your way through the mile high dish of pasta or the four pieces of pizza?  How many tastes did you take of everyone else’s meal and dessert?  Those tastes aren’t like invisible ink.  Those calories count, too.

Who Sets the Pace?

You tend to mimic your table companions.  They eat fast, you eat fast. They eat a lot, you eat a lot. Ever wonder why you look at some families or couples and they’re both either heavy or slender?  As Brian Wansink, PhD says in his book, Mindless Eating, “birds of a feather eat together.”

96% More

Wansink reports on a study that shows how strong the tendency is to increase the amount that you eat when you eat with others.  Compared to eating alone, you eat, on average:

  • 35% more if you eat with one other person
  • 75% more with four at the table
  • 96% more with a group of seven or more.

SocialDieter Tip:

Think about who you are eating with – and why you’re eating with them.  If you want to have a blast and don’t care about how much you eat – eat with a big group and chow down.  But, if you want to be careful about what and how much you eat, think about eating lunch with a salad (dressing on the side, please) friend rather than the large pepperoni pizza group.  Remember, without thinking about it, you tend to adjust your eating pace to that of your companions.  So, sit next to the slow eaters rather than the gobblers if you are trying to control how much goes into your mouth.

Why Do You Still Eat More . . . Even When You’re Stuffed?

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You’ve been eating all day.  Eating everything – a bagel for breakfast, a chesse Danish for a midmorning snack, lunch with some friends.  This is followed by  a latte in the afternoon – and why not a cute cupcake to go with – or perhaps it’s a workday and you amble down to the hall to the vending machine or the snack room.  Oh, and it’s someone’s birthday so there’s that delicious birthday cake sitting in the middle of the table.  A little nibble of some cheese around six.  Uh oh.  Dinner plans that night – how can you eat more?

Somehow There Always Seems To Be Room

Into the restaurant.  A darn good one.  Good company, too.  How can you not go for it?  The food is supposed to be phenomenal.  You’re not hungry, but you eat, and eat.  Appetizer, entrée, bread, salad, and then it’s time for dessert. But dessert sounds appealing. And the chocolate whatchamacallit is what this restaurant is known for. You order it and eat it – every last fork full.

What Gives (certainly not your waistband)?

Amazingly, the signal to stop eating is usually not because your stomach is full (except in some extreme cases), but, according to Brian Wansink, PhD, author of the book, Mindless Eating,  a combination of things like how much you taste, chew, swallow, how much you think about the food you are eating, and how long you’ve been eating.

Incredibly, the faster most people eat, the more they eat. Eating quickly doesn’t give your brain the chance to get the message that you’re not hungry any more.  Research shows that it takes up to 20 minutes for your body and brain to get the message — a satiation signal — and realize that you’re full.  Think how much you can eat in that time span of 20 minutes – a burger, fries, pie, pizza, ice cream.  This calorie fest is all in added time — the time after your stomach is full but your brain hasn’t gotten the message yet.

Twenty Minutes Or Less

Research has shown that Americans start and finish their meals — and clear the table — in less than 20 minutes.  A study published in the journal Appetite, found that people eating lunch by themselves in a fast food restaurant  finish in 11 minutes, they finish in13 minutes in a workplace cafeteria, and in 28 minutes at a moderately priced restaurant.  Eating with three other people takes about twice as long – which ends up still being a really short chunk of time.

SocialDieter Tip:

Slow down when you eat.  Give your brain a chance to catch up.  How many times have you devoured what you’ve made or bought for lunch and then, almost immediately, decided that you’re still hungry?  So, you eat a whole bunch more – once again in a short period of time.  Then, about half an hour later, as your belly feels like it’s going to explode and you can’t unbutton any more buttons on your pants – you realize that you should have stopped before the seconds.  With slower eating (and maybe as some research suggerst, more chewing) and better pacing, your brain has a chance to synch its signals with the messages generated by putting food in your stomach.  You can even make yourself get up from the table and do something else – and promise yourself if you’re still hungry in 20 minutes you can have more.  If you’re in a restaurant, it’s the perfect time to excuse yourself and go to the rest room.  In most cases, after the 20 or so minutes, your belly and brain are both happy and you won’t want more to eat. Calories and uncomfortably expanding stomach saved!