Why Do We Eat?
Emotional and psychological links to food are very important aspects of weight control. Numerous studies show that the appetite can be stimulated by feelings of depression, worry, frustration, anger, hostility, stress, guilt, low self-esteem, etc. Eating is generally a way of trying to suppress these negative emotions and an attempt to make oneself feel better.

Hunger has only a small role to play in determining how much we eat and when. As children, we were conditioned to clean our plates. In many cases we were told children were starving all over the world so were lucky we had food and had to eat everything. Or we were told we had to eat everything to grow up to be big and strong. Ultimately we learned that we had to eat regardless of whether we were hungry at the time and we had to eat everything put in front of us even if we did not really need to eat that much. This conditioning has carried over into our adulthood. We still continue to fill our plates and subconsciously feel the need to finish everything on the plate even if we are not hungry. We need to know that it is ok to leave food on our plates and to stop eating if we are not hungry.

There are several things that can help to reduce overeating. First, it is critical to practice portion control with smaller servings. It takes the stomach 20 minutes to signal the brain that it is full. If you do start out with smaller servings there is less chance to overeat. It is also necessary to slow down the eating process to enjoy and savor the food. If you are still feeling hungry after you finish your meal, wait 5 minutes, then 10 minutes. The hunger feeling should go away. If you can become aware of this concept, it will be easier for you to stop eating once you are at the table. It is critical that you only eat because you are physically hungry, not because you feel pressure to do so or out of habit.