Overeating is not the problem!

Overeating is not the problem!

Did you ever stop to think, “Why am I overeating and getting fat?”  Well the problem is not the overeating; it is being hungry all the time!

This is a simple idea but a hard one to accept in application.  If you are overweight and trying to cut back on the amount of food you eat, what happens?  You get hungrier and want to eat even more to eat (binge eating commonly occurs).  What also happens when you cut back on how much you eat?  You get lethargic and lose your energy and then burn less calories.  Your body is an extraordinary machine because when it senses that we are restricting our food intake, it reacts accordingly and wants to save energy.

Therefore, you may ask how do I lose weight if calorie restriction is not a viable option.  The answer is changing what you eat!  It is really that simple!  “Calorie in vs. calorie out” concepts do not work as a way to maintain a healthy weight or to even lose weight long term.  If you reduce your calories, you will become hungrier and reduce your energy level.  We should realize that this is not sustainable.  I know this from personal experience.

The only way you can win this battle is to eat more food, but eat the right foods.  I have detailed the right foods in previous blog post, but I can say that since I have changed what I eat, I can say I actually eat less, I do not go hungry and I have maintained my weight loss for almost a year now.

You have to accept that when you do not give your body the nutrition it needs it will stay hungry hoping you will fill the void with the right types of foods to satisfy the needs of your body.  If we eat “empty calories” such as sodas, candy, chips etc. then the body will crave more of these foods but you will not satisfy your own nutritional requirements to stay healthy.

If you disagree with this concept then there is literally no hope for you to lose weight.  I do not want to oversimplify or be negative but it is nearly impossible to have the discipline or energy to fight obesity with starvation.  There are a lot of calorie restricting programs out there and many that offer meals, supplements or replacement food like shakes and snack bars.  These programs can work in the short term but as many people can tell you, they will not maintain a healthy weight year after year.

My suggestion is first decide that you really want to be healthy, make some changes in your eating patterns, give it a few weeks and your body will adjust.  You may not lose the weight quickly at first, but you did not gain the weight overnight either.

On another note, if you start exercising to lose weight then you will want to eat even more!  Your body will want to have more food to support the additional calorie burning activity.  With this said, you will have to eat more if you start exercising so be prepared to eat the right types of food to support additional exercise!