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How Do I Stop Overeating?

You want to quit overeating. Where do you start?

Overeating is a big problem. But it's not impossible. I can help you figure out a solution. So follow along with me and let's see if we can work out something to help you.

One problem with trying to eat right is figuring out what you are actually eating.

To lose weight you have to know what you are eating. You think that's wrong? Well, look at yourself in the mirror. How is it working for you so far?

I think you might agree that if it didn't take any work--if you instantly knew everything there was to know about food--it might help you lose weight somehow. Right?

Well, unless a miracle occurs you are going to have to do it yourself.

It's time to face facts

You have some choices. You can buy prepackaged food. You know, those diets you buy and just heat up. But really--how long are you going to eat that way?

Or you can just guess. But you've been guessing--and look where that got you.

You might just ignore the whole subject--but if you do you are going to stay overweight your whole life.

Or you can actually face the facts. Hard to do, I know.

But once you do--once you actually face the truth--you'll know what you are eating. And you will have taken one huge first step to losing weight.

Here's the really bad news!!!

To know what you are eating you have to do some math. (Uggh! No!! Not MATH!!)

Do NOT stop reading this page because you don't like math. This is very important for you!!

Yes, I understand that a lot of people have trouble with math. You might be afraid of math. It might be hard for you.

But you want to lose weight. Right? OK.

What's the number one problem with weight loss?

If you want to lose weight you have to figure out what you are eating. THE NUMBER ONE REASON YOU ARE OVERWEIGHT IS THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE EATING!

My patients come in--they're overweight--and they say, "I don't know why I gained so much weight. I don't eat that much."

So I ask them to write down what they eat. And you know what? They can't do it. Why?

It's too hard to face. It's an upsetting area.

But if you want to lose the weight you have to do it. It's time to face the music.

The calculator is your best friend

And one part of it is actually figuring out what is in the food you eat. You have to do it. There is no other way. And to do it you have to do a little math. Just a little. With a calculator.

Trust me--once you go through it once or twice--with a calculator to do the work for you--it is not that hard!

Look--if there was one thing you could learn that would help you get the body you want, it is this: You can't fool the laws of physics.

Call it calories, call it portions, use a number system--it doesn't matter. You burn up a certain amount of food everyday. You don't burn up more. You burn up what you burn up.

It's about 1600-2000 calories. Maybe less. Maybe if you are active a little more. But it isn't 10,000. It isn't 20,000. It's about 1600-2000.

And if you want to lose fat you have to burn it up somehow. That's physics. Sorry.

But they said it would be so easy!!

Now you say, "Well, what about all the books and articles and ads and websites that say that I don't need to do any of that. That I don't need to count calories. That all I need to do is blah, blah, blah…"

My answer to that is this: I'm not trying to be mean, but really, look in the mirror. Are you happy with the way you look?

You've got to start somewhere to figure out what really needs to be done. Otherwise it's just more failure and heartache for you.

So let's start somewhere

How much fat do you want in your diet? Pick a number. It could be 20%. It could be 30%.

Let's say you are trying to get 20% of your calories every day from fat. How much is that?

To do it you take the number of calories you are going to eat in a day:

Daily calories = 2000

And you multiply by 0.20 (to find 20% you have to multiply by 0.20)

2000 x 0.20 = 400

Punch those numbers into your calculator and you get 400. That is the number of calories you want to get from fat each day. Not too hard, right?

Just remember, to find percent of something you just put a "." in front of the number in the calculator.

For example to find 25% of something you put in .25. To find 40% you put in .40. If the percent is less than ten you have to put a "0" in front of the number. For example to find 5% you put in .05.

So you want 400 calories of fat every day.

Now what do you do? Well, now you have to figure out how much fat is in the food you are eating. How do you do that?

Read the label

Well, you can buy a book. Or look it up on the internet. Or you can look on the label.

If you are in the US or Canada you are in luck. The food labels are pretty good at telling you what is in the food.

In Europe there has been a lot of controversy over food labels regarding what should be on the label and what language it should be printed in.

In Asia various labels have been tested. Some have the traffic light system, with red, green and blue labels indicating levels of calories, fat, sugar and salt. Others labels list nutritional information.

But according to the Asian Food Information Center most people can read the labels but still don't know how many calories they should be eating. And from Bangkok to Seoul to Beijing people are getting heavier. It is a worldwide problem.

Well, it's tough all over. But it's time for it to get easier for you.

If the information is on the label you should use it.

Pork skins and weight loss

Let's take an example. You buy some fried pork skins. (Yes, there is such a thing. And yes, people eat them.) The label says:

Now listen, it says "Servings per container About 4"

You know, and I know, that when you dig into a bag of pork skins (or potato chips or Oreos or whatever) it's not 4 servings. It's one serving!!!

Have you ever seen one of those cans of Coke that says "2 servings"? Who are they kidding? One can--one serving!!! Right?

OK. So look at the fat. 40 calories. Now you multiply that x 4. (Because it's 4 servings.) 40 x 4 = 160.

Now, remember you wanted 400 calories of fat per day in your diet. So you now have 160.

That leaves 240 more calories of fat that you can eat today. (400 - 160 = 240)

Now that wasn't too hard, was it?

Make yourself a list

So you do it for the other foods you eat today. Make a little list. Add it up.

At the end of the day, what do you have? Is it about 400 calories of fat? Well, good for you.

What if it is a little under, say 300 calories? Well, then you probably want to get a few more good fats in your diet.

How about if it is over, say 500, 600, 700 calories from fat, or more? Then you have some decisions to make. It is really up to you if you lose weight or not.

Do I have to do this?

No, you don't.

But have you been able to take weight off and keep it off? No, you haven't.

It's a little work (No--not the "W" word!!) But it will pay you back 10 times in what you will get out of it.

You have to know what is in the food you eat. And one of the easiest places to get tripped up is with the amount of fat in the diet.

Fat has so many calories--over twice the number of calories of protein or carbohydrate--that it is easy to get too many calories when you eat fatty food.

So know what you eat. And you will be on your way to having the body you want!