Experts name daily tricks to prevent overeating

Do not use your phone while eating

When attention is distracted by scrolling the feed or messages, the brain notices worse that you are already full. As a result, you may eat more than you need.

The lack of mindful chewing and savoring of food reduces the satisfaction from the portion, and the brain may demand more to "catch up" with the feeling of satiety.

Also, bright pictures of food on social networks or advertising can stimulate appetite even after you have already eaten.

If you do not remember how much you ate while being distracted, then during the next meal you will likely eat more.

In addition, the body may begin to associate looking at the phone with the process of eating, and you may more often "snack" simply out of boredom, not out of hunger.

A study published in February 2011 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition tested the influence of gadgets on satiety. In particular, 44 participants were divided into two groups, and one group was allowed to play a game on the phone during lunch.

All participants ate nine salty dishes for lunch, and they were asked to evaluate their hunger and also recall what they ate immediately after the meal. After thirty minutes, they took part in a cookie tasting.

It turned out that the group was inattentive and felt less full after lunch, and they ate significantly more cookies during the tasting. They also less accurately reported the order of dishes they had eaten at lunch.

Take pauses

Next time you sit at the table, challenge yourself to take pauses between bites and put down the fork. It turned out that slower eating can lead to a significant reduction in the amount of food consumed.

Eating at a slower pace can affect satiety hormones, making you feel full faster. This may also be related to the duration and intensity of oral exposure to food. If you eat quickly, you have a shorter duration of sensory exposure, therefore you eat more.

Drink water before meals

A sufficient amount of water is essential for overall health, and its consumption can also aid in weight control.

Drinking about two glasses of water 30 minutes before each main meal will lead to moderate weight loss over 12 weeks.

If it is difficult for you to drink plain water, adding fresh fruits, sliced cucumbers, or herbs is a great way to enhance the taste without adding sugar or calories.

Other eating mistakes that lead to overeating:

• you will eat more when a dish is served on a larger plate

• eat with a small spoon to slow down the pace of eating

• reduce the contrast between food (for example, serve cauliflower, mashed potatoes, or oatmeal with white dishes), since greater contrast means you will eat more

• drink from a tall or narrow glass instead of a low, wide one.

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or self-treatment. Our goal is to provide readers with accurate information about symptoms, causes, and methods of detecting diseases. RBС-Ukraine is not responsible for any diagnoses that readers may make based on materials from the resource. We do not recommend self-treatment and advise consulting a doctor in case of any health concerns.