How to learn not to eat stress. Psychological problems that we compensate with food

If you are dissatisfied with your social position, constantly compensate for emotional discomfort with “sweet encouragement,” and your favorite saying is “There must be many rich people,” then you have a habit of eating away the emotions caused by unsettledness. Self-hypnosis with an emphasis on personal alignment will help you avoid addictions. Every day, independently carry out a course of installations aimed at fixing the positive aspects of your current social status.

FAILURES AT WORK

Did you fail at your job, missed out on a lucrative offer, or experienced a series of unsuccessful deals? I went to a cafe, ate, and forgot? A typical chain that leads to overeating in the workplace. Listen to a series of auto-trainings “Getting rid of the loser syndrome” that will help you raise your head higher. Erase the “I’m terribly unlucky” program in your subconscious! Say “I am turning into fortune’s chosen one” and imagine that luck has taken you by the hand and is accompanying you through life as a reliable companion. This auto-training will allow you to solve the cause of the emotional shift and protect you from “seizing the problem.” There are a lot of free materials on the Internet, download and listen.

UNCONDITIONAL SEXUAL LIFE

If you lack sexual satisfaction and you compensate for this problem with “tasty” foods, pampering yourself with cakes, chocolates and candies - in general, excessively consuming foods high in sugar, then your true friends- yoga and meditation, which will calm you down and adjust your biorhythm. Become beautiful on the inside, it will be reflected 100% on your appearance. Practitioners of meditation even look sexually attractive. Search sexual partner It will become easier, the problem will be solved by itself.

FEAR OF THE “THINNY BABY”

Are you afraid to hear the phrase “skin and bones” addressed to you? Are you afraid of losing weight? Eat a lot and disproportionately to what you actually eat physical activity? Are your companions high-calorie foods and fatty foods? And subsequently you are haunted by a feeling of guilt for abnormal overeating? Convince yourself of physical normality. Believe me, this self-hypnosis is aimed at a good goal. Autohypnosis will help harmonize your sense of self and eliminate the situation of losing your measure. It is recommended to practice daily.

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EMOTIONAL DEPENDENCE ON FOOD

If you get unnatural pleasure from food, often hear “stop eating” addressed to you, be prepared to join the army of binge eaters who enjoy emotional dependence. In this case, I recommend freeing up your inner emotional space for the usual joys of life. A series of hypnotic sessions will allow you to radically solve the problem by displacing the unhealthy habit of “filling your belly” from your life.

YOU'RE EATING LONELINESS

Do you lead a lonely existence, and breakfasts, lunches and dinners have replaced natural communication with friends, colleagues and loved ones? Have you “eaten up” the sphere of social interaction, have you lost the fullness of your sense of current events? If the reason for your loneliness is the inability to communicate, then study the psychology of communication and use any time to consolidate your theoretical knowledge in practice. Learn to use self-hypnosis. Of course, hypnosis and self-hypnosis are very helpful in quickly calming down and, in the long term, increasing self-confidence. An entertaining sacrament will keep you busy and give you a lot of new unusual emotions and sensations. By learning not to feel lonely, you can return to normal communication with friends.

I CAN'T SPEAK OUT SO I EAT

During noisy have a fun party you do not take part in communication, but silently absorb treats, without experiencing any joy. Is this a familiar picture? Do you often notice this kind of behavior in yourself when it’s difficult for you to communicate, you’re afraid to express your thoughts, to seem funny or stupid? The recipe is simple - create the habit of having a balanced conversation yourself. A conversation with a hypothetical interlocutor will teach you not to be afraid to express your thoughts out loud. Believe me, communication brings people together and improves mutual understanding between them. If you are worried that you may not be able to speak beautifully and smoothly, then this is also a matter of time and practice. It’s not the gods who burn the pots, the main thing is to start communicating. But you shouldn’t isolate yourself!

HOW TO SURVIVE STRONG STRESS WITHOUT FOOD

The hardest thing any of us can experience is loss. loved one. The death of loved ones is a powerful stressful reason to start eating away the horror of the experience. But this will not lead to any good! It will only add extra pounds. Self-hypnosis can become a lifesaver and restore peace of mind after a tragic incident. It is unlikely that your loved one, whom you lost, would like to see you suffering and unhappy in this life. Every loving person wants to see his near and dear person happy, even when he is not around. Keep the memories of the departed in your heart, accept his departure, and, remembering your common moments, smile a quiet and calm smile. Pleasant memories will help you painlessly return to your usual way of life. Prayer helps a lot.

SELF-HYPNOSIS AS A WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT

If you have problems excess weight, chronic depressive states, the ridicule of others only finishes off this difficult situation. You need to correct the emotional background, which was caused by your obesity, which constantly interferes with living and breathing fully. Record the positive aspects that may appear if you stop eating. Focus on the positive feeling you will have if you give up food. Incredible, but true - this method really helps to get rid of the typical causes of a curvy figure.

Humanity is noticeably getting fatter, and this is a recognized fact. Humanity is “getting fat” because it treats food culture irresponsibly, doctors believe. Humanity is “getting fat” because people do not know how to control their emotions, psychologists say. And they are not far from the truth.

Stress accompanies us every day. Stress – driving force progress and self-development, it helps us survive in this beautiful, but complex world. Stress also gives rise to negative emotions - anger, anxiety, resentment, which you need to be able to deal with. Psychologists call eliminating the cause a specific response. But it is often impossible to eliminate it, and the ability to “not go with the flow” requires certain personal qualities. Much simpler is a nonspecific answer, a passive reaction: sublimation, replacing true needs with the satisfaction of other, false, insignificant needs.

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A logical question: yes, emotions, but what does nutrition have to do with it? It has been proven that stress entails not only emotional fluctuations, but also a chain of biochemical reactions: the production of serotonin, a specific function regulator, decreases. nervous system, glucose levels drop. At the same time, the level of cortisol, a hormone from the adrenal cortex, called the stress hormone, increases. high level which provokes the formation of fatty deposits.

This whole “bouquet” causes the feeling of hunger that occurs during stressful situations. But when the cause of stress is eliminated, when attention is switched to another object, these reactions quickly normalize, and accordingly, the feeling of hunger should disappear. Why doesn’t this happen, and more than 30% of women suffer from the habit of “eating” stress? The problem is the inability, the unwillingness to control your emotional state.

The fact is that while eating, not only the satiety center is stimulated in the cerebral cortex: the so-called pleasure center is activated. There are many types of influence on it, from intellectual activity to sex, and food is one of them. By regularly “eating” negative emotions and switching to pleasant taste sensations, we teach both centers to work synchronously, thereby developing conditioned reflex. Our brain quickly learns the stress-eating-pleasure model. And in the future, as a habitual reaction, it will send signals interpreted by the body as a feeling of hunger, and we will obediently follow these urges.

A habit of overeating, excess weight, and food addiction are formed. One could argue that doctors are exaggerating. But look around: the cult of food is a tradition in almost every family, and to this day tables laden with food and refrigerators full of supplies are considered good manners. Overweight after 40 years is considered normal, and even in children, a sign of health is not considered activity and level of development, but chubby cheeks.

But let's return to our question. By food addiction, or food addiction, psychologists mean a feeling of hunger that occurs regardless of physiological needs.
In most cases, this is the habit of snacking, overeating, which is systematic in nature - a person becomes, as they say, “a slave of the stomach.” In a mild form, this is a kind of addiction, perceived by us as a habit akin to smoking - and the harm, at first glance, is not fatal, and the benefits are doubtful, but it is difficult to give up.

The dangers of such a habit are known to everyone: extra pounds, obesity with age, and a bunch of diseases as a consequence of a low quality of life.
More serious forms of eating disorders are bulimia and anorexia. Bulimia is characterized by uncontrollable appetite that accompanies stressful situations, a sudden feeling of painful hunger, and an obsession with food and everything connected with it. Anorexia is a polar state, chronic lack of appetite, refusal to eat. We will not go into details: solving these complex problems is the domain of specialists, and talking about painful conditions is very harmful to health.

It’s much more useful to talk about how to stop eating stress
First, analyze how often do you yourself resort to food as a means of finding peace of mind? If you want to end a busy day with a hearty dinner and find peace in a juicy steak and a box of eclairs, if waiting for an important call is accompanied by multiple visits to the refrigerator, and a chocolate bar in your purse becomes a real savior before an interview, there is reason to think about it.
So, to eat when stressed or not to eat? And if not, then how?

We all come from childhood
Stress-eating-relaxation is a behavior pattern that has been ingrained in us since childhood. Remember: I fell, broke my knee, burst into tears - my mothers and grandmothers came in time and consoled me with sweets and delicacies. I got sick, had a fever - and again there were sweets and gifts. And it’s difficult for a completely grown-up girl to give up her usual way out of stress. If you are upset, sad, lonely - develop loneliness in fun company, share the sad winter evening with your loved one or have a heart-to-heart talk with a friend. This is much better than a luxurious dinner in close company with TV or reading a book about delicious and healthy food. But the main thing is to learn to highlight the true need for attention, the need for emotional relief from replacing it with momentary pleasure.

Call a spade a spade
On the way home from work, stopping in front of a display case with cakes and pastries, decide for yourself: you really want something sweet, or today is a busy day and you need to get a little pleasure. You want to chew something tasty out of boredom, but... Bad mood have you decided to eliminate cream puffs? Find the strength to admit it. Sadly devouring the third chocolate bar after family drama, do not deceive yourself: sweets will not sweeten the bitterness of resentment, just as hot coffee will not warm the soul. But love and mutual understanding in the house will bring warmth in any bad weather: leave the chocolate and look for a way out of the situation. Just call a spade a spade - believe me, the effect will be worth hundreds of psychological tricks and a dozen diets.

Don't think about the white monkey
Willpower is good, but there is nothing worse than forbidding yourself to do something: this is the same stress created by yourself. If you remind yourself of a need, it will manifest itself with redoubled force– as they say, don’t think about the white monkey. This phrase once came to us from articles by American psychologists and means the following: we create our obsessions ourselves. If you run away from yourself around the clock, that sweets are not allowed, a box of chocolate will haunt you day and night. Having set a calorie minimum, you use any excuse to exceed it. Reserve the right to choose: if you have a sweet tooth, let all the sweets in the world be available to you; if you like to eat a hearty dinner, don’t make vows not to eat after 19.00. If you love yourself, you will do so right choice. Or learn to love yourself, but a little later.

Don't make a problem out of a question
Issues are resolved, problems remain. Do not join “clubs of interests” for losing weight ladies. Do not exchange details of the fight against insidious appetite and recipes for low-calorie desserts with your friends. Do not delve into the study of metabolism and do not read books on nutrition. Do not measure your waist and do not step on the scale for no reason. What you do for yourself is only your own business, and to eat or not to eat is a question that you will decide alone with yourself. Or not to decide - let's remember the white monkey!

Rearranging the places of the terms does not change the sum
— Don’t listen to “helpful” advice on how to deceive your stomach with low-calorie foods: it doesn’t matter what you eat, an apple or a chop, the habit of eating during stress will still remain. Remember: you need to learn to overcome stress, not fight its consequences.
— Don’t console yourself by leaving the consequences of overeating at the gym. Losing weight is good. But if you have found the perfect balance between consumption and burning calories and have overcome excess weight, but in the middle of the night you secretly make your way to the refrigerator and, trembling, mentally count the calorie content of each piece you eat, peace of mind A thin waist, of course, will not bring you any benefits.

The fact that we eat stress is not news to anyone. However, we still haven’t received any sensible advice on how to learn to cope with stress without food.

With sweets and sandwiches everything is clear - we chose them as comforters because they are available. A minute - and a bar with a cup of tea is on the table, a couple more minutes - and a pile of sandwiches is ready. To combat the habit of stress eating, you need to offer an equally accessible alternative to it. in a harmful way getting rid of negative emotions. And then you won’t have to go on strict diets and use grueling fitness to lose weight.

List for a bad mood

Take a piece of paper, a pen, and write down as many activities as you can that calm you down as effectively as eating. Be extremely specific, because in states of disappointment, resentment and apathy there is no desire to make additional efforts. So you should have all the tools at your fingertips.

For example, it could be a list like this:

• Watch the movie "The Thomas Crown Affair."
• Read Dan Brown's Inferno.
• Call Anya - she has an endless supply of optimism and funny stories.
• Get a new one beautiful notepad for plans and ideas.
• Take a bath with aromatic oils.
• Choose the country where you will go on your next vacation. Make a list of attractions you want to visit.
• Listen to Spanish songs and dance to them.
• Throw away everything unnecessary and make a small rearrangement, etc.

Top activities to relieve stress

Of course, everyone will have their own list.

However, even the above list shows top activities that are great stress relievers and meal replacements. This is a reading that gives you the opportunity to plunge into the world of adventures of heroes. After a couple of pages, you will completely forget about your failures and will be intent on following the bind that Robert Langdon has found himself in. By the way, reading ranks first on the list of activities, in the best possible way relieving stress. The top 3 also includes music (not necessarily Spanish, but upbeat is better) and a walk in the fresh air (influx fresh air relieves stress, gives clarity of mind, improves mood).

Being with positive friends is a great way to reduce stress, so make friends with such people. Communication with them is a real holiday.

Finally, any planning - creative projects, vacations, the next week - allows you to leave today's worries and look with optimism into the future, which you can build yourself, arranging the things and activities that are important to you along the lines of the page, planning what can change your life for the better, something that inspires you to new victories and achievements.

So, the list of activities to relieve stress is something like this:

• inspiring reading;
• walk in the fresh air;
• inviting, inspiring music;
• project planning;
• travel planning;
• getting rid of unnecessary things that irritate you;
• buying new things that inspire you;
• changes in environment, appearance, etc.

Remember that the list needs to be completed by making it:

• more inviting (hey, girlfriend, let's dance to Juanes!);
• more specific, so that in moments of sadness you don’t have to rack your brains about what to read and who to call.
• accessible (let it hang in a visible place).

Relieve stress without food!

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During times of stress, we all suddenly divide into two “camps”: one can’t get a bite into their throats, while others are overwhelmed by stress. Among the latter, there are many more people suffering from excess weight. But how to stop eating stress if this habit has already been in the blood and veins since childhood.

Why is this so?

Food is not only “fuel” for the body, but also a source of positive emotions: you eat a cake and you’re in order, and if you consider that sweets contain a lot of dopamine, that is, the hormone of joy, then this is completely understandable. So we eat away grievances, loneliness, quarrels, guilt, depression and, in general, all negative emotions. This is much easier than tearing out the problem from the roots. The first thing you need to do is determine what negative emotions you are eating. And also - find the period of life when you started to eat.

Perhaps it all started in elementary school, when your classmates bullied you, physically too, and you felt an insurmountable loneliness. But when your grandmother picked you up from school, a flurry of positive emotions awaited you: pies and pies, sweets, fried and baked goods... So you found a way out of your childhood grief in food... Despite the fact that all the stories of the onset of overeating are so similar, you can find the source is not too easy.

It also happens that because we are overweight and overeating, we hide from our real problems: it is easier to convince ourselves that there is no personal life, for example, because of excess weight, than because of the inability to build relationships or because you are human boring. If something happens, psychotherapists will always come to your aid (no need to be afraid of everything that begins with the combination “psycho”, except psychiatrists) or antidepressants. No, you're just mentally ill different problems 99 percent of people have mental health problems, and if you refuse treatment, you will significantly worsen the quality of your life. But there are other ways to stop stress eating.

Food diary

This remedy is universal, but if you suspect that you are overeating precisely because of stress and negative emotions, then it is better to write down not only everything you eat, but also those emotions that provoked you to eat sweets. It is possible that you are drawn to fast food after communicating with an evil boss. Or do you most often overeat on Friday simply because all your colleagues have families and friends and have parties on this day, but you have no company and family... After collecting a certain amount of information, you can ask yourself when you eat because hunger, and when - because of negative emotions. By recognizing all the feelings you're eating, you can deal with them in much healthier ways.

Right now

Finding problems and trying to untie this whole terrible knot is a long process, and stress overtakes you constantly, even at this moment. What to do right now? Breathe deeply and concentrate on all the exhalations and inhalations. If someone unfairly offended you, or there was a quarrel, write on paper everything that you would like to say to the offender. You will definitely calm down while you write. Then read and try to return to the conflict situation.

If possible, go outside and walk, breathe. There is no such option - listen to your favorite music, correspond with social network with friends. Anything but eat!

If you are already eating, stop reading this article, close all tabs and pages, put the magazine aside, stop working and concentrate solely on the process of absorbing food, try to appreciate all the flavors of the cookies, chew every bite! We eat mindfully. After eating a portion of dumplings with rich sauce, pause for 15 minutes and think about whether you need an additive...

List of Positive Activities

The easiest way to change negative emotions to positive ones is to start right now doing something that brings you joy or is simply exciting. The main thing is that they calm you down no worse than cookies and candy. Write down all these activities. For example, the list could be like this:

• View favorite (name);
• read an exciting book (title);
• call your most cheerful and positive friend (name);
• take a bath with aromatic oils;
• start a beautiful new notebook for poems, ideas, plans;
• choose the place where you will go during your vacation and the sights you would like to see;
• throw away everything unnecessary from the table;
• get a manicure or interesting makeup (by the way, if you put on beautiful lipstick, you definitely won’t want to wash off this beauty);
• Listen to Spanish music and dance to it.

Believe me, there are many activities that bring no less pleasure than food. The main thing is that the list should be specific (let it contain specific books and names of friends), inviting (hey darling, isn’t it time to dance flamenco?), and within reach and visibility. As soon as your hand reaches out for a pie with mushrooms, we look and choose what to do!

Changing candy for a diet

No, under no circumstances do we go on a super diet and cabbage leaf with mineral water - this will further convince you that food is the only source positive emotions. We simply replace the harmful and high-calorie foods in the refrigerator with light and healthy ones. Let healthy products will be varied. After all, healthy food is not only green salad. Let your home be a chips and candy bar free zone. It’s more difficult at work, but it’s quite possible to take delicious muesli with you ( homemade), and not run to the canteen or the nearest store for dubious delicacies. Keep an eye on that too. How often does your work friend treat you to homemade cakes or sweets for tea: you can refuse them for now. If there is a canteen or cafe nearby, that’s also good, especially if the choice of dishes is large.

What to eat during stress

Sometimes eating stress is still useful. The main thing is to know what exactly. In fact, we can only compensate for the damage caused by stress. For this you need the following products:

• First, let's pay attention to green vegetables, not only broccoli and spinach salad, but also legumes, such as beans and green peas. Corn is also good. There are a lot of B vitamins here, which are needed specifically for and to strengthen nerve cells;
• Another ideal food for stress is tomatoes. Their advantage is that there is a lot of phenylalanine, a substance that stops the breakdown of endorphins, that is, hormones of an excellent mood;
• Another useful anti-stress product is citrus fruits. Not only are they a storehouse of ascorbine, but their aroma also lifts your spirits: you immediately remember new year holidays and the joy they caused in childhood;
• Blueberry. This berry not only contains a lot ascorbic acid, but there are also a lot of antioxidants. But they are the ones who help in regulating metabolism and maintaining youth after stress, such as painful tension;
• Milk. It is this that will help restore calcium, which is lost from bones and hair during stress. Again, if you are intolerant to this product, it is better to choose kefir, cheese or sour cream, with a minimum fat content;
• Fish and meat. These are the most necessary products for stress. Thus, chicken meat is rich in tryptophan, which helps the body produce serotonin, that is, the hormone of joy, and turkey meat contains a lot of the already mentioned phenylalanine. Beef without fat and fatty fish, such as mackerel, salmon or trout, would also be appropriate. There is a lot of vitamin B already mentioned, which active participation takes in the creation of serotonin. Seafood is also good: shrimp, squid, crabs. They are especially good in combination with seaweed.
• Let's not forget about more simple products, for example, about nuts and cereals. If you want something sweet, enjoy eating two or three cubes of chocolate, but only slowly and with pleasure. And it’s good if it’s the most natural chocolate, and not dubious bars. Ice cream is also quite suitable, but it is better if it is natural or fruity;
• As for drinks, it’s also suitable bean coffee(V small quantities) And green tea with honey and mint, and tea with milk, and ginger with lemon and honey. Alcohol - only in small quantities and good quality. As for seasonings, it is better to avoid too strong peppers. It is better to season the dish with dried herbs, such as dill, cilantro or parsley.

Develop simple habits that will help you cope with overeating.

Food not only gives us the energy we need to live, but is also a source of pleasure. Sometimes people unsuccessfully try to drown out their negative emotions with the help of food.

Many people overeat when they are stressed, sad or anxious. Unfortunately, overeating does not solve emotional problems and can seriously undermine your health.

We invite you to understand the nature of overeating and how to cope with it.

Complications of overeating

Overeating relieves stress or anxiety for a short time, but over time it leads to remorse and guilt. This exacerbates the negative feelings that overeating was supposed to “cope” with.

Overeating is a cycle that can be quite difficult to break.

Emotional eating can lead to a more serious eating disorder called binge eating disorder. The latter means absorption at a time is very large quantity food. During these “attacks,” a person may feel completely out of control and unable to stop eating.

Some people overeat at special events such as holidays or festivals. In the case of psychogenic overeating, uncontrolled consumption of food may become more frequent and occur without any reason.

A few more signs of psychogenic overeating: a person eats until discomfort from satiety occurs (“to satiety”); a person eats in secret from others; frequent resort to diets.

Psychogenic overeating is very difficult to overcome on your own. This can lead to serious diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Formation of healthy habits

The good news is that there are steps you can take to stop overeating before it becomes a bigger problem.

1. Identify your emotional triggers

You can keep a journal in which you write down information about how you feel when you overeat. Write down the emotions you felt while overeating. It could be sadness, anxiety, boredom, anger.

You may crave certain foods when you overeat. Take notes about this too.

Once you better understand your behavior patterns, you can replace overeating with healthier ways of coping.

2. Eat slowly and mindfully

Try to eat slowly. It takes the stomach about 20 minutes to send a signal to the brain that it is full. Give yourself time to chew all your food slowly and thoroughly.

Try to enjoy the aroma and taste of your food. Once you finish your meal, take a break to see if you are full.

Avoid any distractions while eating. This will allow you to choose portion sizes appropriately. Try to pay attention to how you chew your food.

Eliminate multitasking while you eat. Avoid reading, driving, working on a computer, or watching TV while eating.

3. Don't skip meals

You are more likely to overeat if you are hungry. Many people skip breakfast, although eating early in the day helps combat overeating. Eating breakfast increases dopamine levels in the brain, which controls cravings and the impulse to overeat.

The point is to prevent feelings of hunger, because it is hunger that often provokes “breakdowns” with uncontrolled consumption of food.

And don’t forbid yourself to eat your favorite foods sometimes. It is the attempt to give up the enjoyment of food that leads many people to become preoccupied with it and, ultimately, to overeating.

4. Eat natural foods

A healthy diet leaves you less likely to overeat. When you eat processed foods, particularly simple carbohydrates, or other foods high in sugar, blood sugar builds up and then breaks down. As a result, you become hungry again.

Improve your diet, daily routine and leisure time

Processed food products include anything from candy bars and sweet breakfast cereals to pasta from white flour.

Give your preference instead natural products: vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, fish and olive oil.

5. Get enough sleep

If you are tired, you may eat more than usual. Bad dream in women is directly associated with increased stress and overeating, a recent study showed.

In laboratory conditions, women were given snacks and subjected to stressful situations. Those who slept well ate less than those who did not get enough sleep. Seven to eight hours of sleep is generally very beneficial and enjoyable.

6. Do other things

Analyze your habits. Ask yourself, do you put food at the center of your life?

Try to replace the pseudo-desire to eat with other things. Exercises - great way improve your relationship with your body. You can take a walk around the neighborhood, go for a run, or go to the gym.

Try meditating, doing yoga. Call a good friend to chat. There are no universal recommendations - you yourself should figure out what you can switch your attention to.

7. Ask for help

If you still feel unable to cope with the problem, you should not fight alone. It’s easier to go through this path with a friend or a group of people - this way success is much more likely.

For some people, overeating becomes so out of control that their loved ones are unable to help. If this is the case, seek help from a therapist or specialist who specializes in eating disorders.

If you can't cope alone, make a request for help / NeonMob

Cognitive behavioral therapy can help you. This type of therapy helps develop healthy ways of responding to stress.

For example, you may feel like giving up and think, “Stopping overeating is too hard, I can't do it.” Cognitive behavioral therapy suggests acknowledging this thought and responding to it: “I am aware that I am overeating. Now I have to/have to think about how I can stop doing this.”

There are many other things you can do to stop overeating. Here are a few more simple tips to practice mindful and healthy eating:

If possible, eat your meals and snacks only at the table.

Eat from a smaller plate to make it easier to control portion sizes.

Feel free to leave food on your plate when you feel full.

Instead of snacking on the go, sit down to enjoy your meal.

Go to the store with a list in advance and stick to it.

Try to avoid going to the store when you are hungry - this leads to impulsive purchases.

When you eat in an establishment where you usually large sizes servings, ask to pack up the leftovers and eat them later.

Brush your teeth or chew gum immediately after eating.