You eat when you're hungry and you stop when you're full. Makes sense right, but it can be a hard rule to follow. Not only does food taste good and make us happy when we eat it, but portion sizes have gotten out of control. 
Restaurants serve huge plates of food and all you can eat buffets offer an endless amount, so we don't realize that we're actually eating two or three times the calories we should be. Here are some tips to help prevent you from overeating.
- Savor the first few bites. Those initial moments the food enters your mouth are the most satisfying because your taste buds are so sensitive. Taking the time to enjoy those first bites or spoonfuls of food may prevent you from eating until you're stuffed.
- Eat slowly. When your stomach is full, your brain won't necessarily get the message until 20 minutes later. So if you take time to enjoy every bite, you'll be able to notice when your body feels satisfied. If you scarf down your food quickly, you'll end up eating much more than you need, and you won't realize it until after you're stuffed.
To see the other helpful tips read more.
- Eat off of smaller plates and bowls. When you use a big plate, it's hard not to fill it all up with food. Smaller plates mean smaller portion sizes.
- When you're eating, just eat. Don't eat while driving, watching TV, or while on the computer. You'll end up mindlessly putting food in your mouth because you're distracted, and the food tends not to register in our brains, so we end up eating more. Instead take at least 20 minutes to sit and eat, so you can really feel the pleasure of your food.
- Eat nutritious foods. Ones that are full of fiber, protein, and vitamins will make your body feel physically satisfied, so you won't feel hungry as quickly.
- Eat the foods you really enjoy. Denying yourself the foods you crave will only make you crave them more. If your favorite food happens to be high in calories and fat, just have a few bites to satisfy your taste buds.
- When you're out to eat, order smaller portion sizes, split a meal or dessert with a friend, or put half your meal in a to-go container before you take your first bite.
Sloggi
Kookai
Emilio Pucci
I just chew slowly and drink a lot of water.
1Man, some days I just can't stop eating. Most days I'm good, I write down everything and that usually deters me from eating a bunch of crap. But popcorn is my weakness
2I tend to overeat, but these tips are helpful, thank you
3Thanks for the tips... I am absolutely an overeater! My biggest problem is eating too quickly. I'll definitely try to slow down.
4I tend to over eat when I'm drinking alcohol.
5If you're like me and have a 'save the best till last' mentality, stop it. My dad taught me to do that when I was forced to eat veggies when I was a kid: just gobble them down, then enjoy the rest! Now that I have complete control over what I eat (and don't hate veggies anymore), I have to make myself eat the best first so that I will have the least favorite parts left when I want to stop eating. Otherwise, I have to eat until I get the best parts. Of course it helps to have small portions so you can eat it all.
6MandyJo, I 100% agree with you. Sometimes, I fall back into that old habit, of saving the best for last, but it really really is not a habit anyone maintain.
7Keep the tips coming!
8Chopsticks are great! I use them at home all the time, and they force me to take small bites, be very conscious of each and every bite, and really focus on my food. I don't think of it as a weight-loss tip, just something that makes my food a more satisfying experience.
9I guess I should mention that I'm not a natural with chopsticks. I'm competent, but it sill takes some effort. I'm not sure if this tip would work for people who are completely comfortable with chopsticks and can eat as quickly as they like, but maybe?
10Awesome tips as usual.
I never deny myself if I have a craving, I just have a small portion.
11I am always overeating. What can I say, I love food!
But these are great tips. I
think one of the big things I have to work on is eating more slowly. I eat way too fast.
12I definitely try to eat slowly, and I'm always surprised -- when I eat REALLY slowly -- how quickly I fill up. The savoring the first few bites tip is also a good one.
If you're not a fan of leftovers but find restaurant portions too big, I also recommend eating half of your entree then taking the rest outside to a homeless person. Of course this only works if you live in a city that unfortunately has lots of homeless people, but in SF, I always find someone grateful for the food.
13This is sorta on topic, that when it comes to making your own food, think of all the little things you add to your food that you could cut out.
Example, my sister always struggles with her weight. She is always trying to lose "those last 10 pounds." So I was over at her house and started making pasta for dinner. While the water was boiling she put some salt in it, that's fine. Then she put in the pasta like normal. But while the pasta was in the water, she put in a heaping tablespoon of butter! I asked her what it was for and she said it made the pasta come out smooth. Then once the pasta was done she buttered it all up and seasoned with more salt and pepper!
Now to her, all she's eating for dinner is a bowl of pasta. But to me, the whole thing is saturated with fat and sodium!
If she puts in a tablespoon of butter everytime she makes pasta, well that adds up!
So i would also think of the little ways you prepare food. Try using lower-fat content oils as much as possible (i only cook with olive oil) etc!
14I do the whole "eat slowly" thing to prevent overeating. I think it really helps because I'm more aware of how full I am. I put my fork down often and I'm always talking while I eat, so that helps slow me down quite a bit.
15Yup. I agree with most of you guys. I take little sips of water between every few chews of food, to help slow me down. I also hear that if you have your water with lemon, and squeeze the juice in the water, it also helps to fill you up faster, with a little more vitamin C and only very few calories added.
I also try to chew up my food pretty good, like 5-7 times or so per bite, so I get the taste real well in my mouth, and so it goes down easy. Kinda gross, but it helps, really.
16I overeat constantly! Thanks, Fit!
17Chopsticks is the way to go, more of it ends up on my plate instead of in my mouth!
18These are good tips,also exercise 30 min a day and it will make a huge difrence
19This sound exactly what Paul McKenna says on his new show I can make you thin. Does he know you are stealing his ideas?
20olivati- that's exactly what I was thinking. Looks like Paul should be credited for this article! Most of the article is word for word from his show.
21He wasn't the first person to have those ideas. These are things I've heard before.
Being a Weight Watchers kind of made it easy for me since other people are keeping track of my weight, even though now that I lost weight it's also that I don't think the excess food is worth it when I could just have more later. I've been sticking to a good plate size and drinking water before I eat extra food I don't actually need since I'm not hungry.
22And also I let myself have chocolate since I know I'll want it more if I don't have a little sometimes.
23Good tips. Eating slowly is definitely the key for me. Sometimes I come home from work famished and it's easy to fall in the trap of scarfing things down. Whenever I feel like I'm doing that, I force myself to chew each bite a certain number of times. I know it's a little OCD but it forces me to eat mindfully and slows me down!
24If I eat slow I am just hungry and I never fell full
But I think this tip is a good one
When your eating just eat
If I do that I never over eat because it gets boring just setting there doing nothing
Thanks
25A few tips I do: After eating a snack, I try to wait about 10 minutes or so to see if I really want another piece. And if I catch myself overeating, I take a step back and question why I am doing it.
26thanks for the tip!
27more tips please!
ha ha..
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