Top 10 reasons for overeating

10 reasons why you could be eating too much Pigging out, binge eating, stuffing your face, whatever you want to call it, when dieting, overeating always seems to rear its ugly head and for many always becomes part and parcel of weight-loss strategy. You start with all the good intentions, stick to the rules but then, bang, it happens and you find that you\'ve managed to demolish a packet of cookies in less than 10 minutes flat. The thing is, you can learn to spot the triggers of binge eating and overeating then employ a few little strategies to make sure you don\'t get tempted to overeat. Once you know these flash points and how to manage them your diet can stay binge free. Alternatively you may not even be aware of the fact that you are overeating, just piling in the food like you always do. As a helping hand we\'ve highlighted the top 10 things that could be causing you to overeat.Your friends Even the best of friends can become your diet enemy and act as saboteurs. Say you are out with a few friends for lunch, you\'ll often find it\'s really difficult to say no, or not go for a healthy option when your mates are piling on the fried food and encouraging you on to do the same. You\'ve got to remember it\'s your body and the reason why you want to lose weight is to feel better about yourself, it\'s not for them. And you\'ll see that after a few occasions that they\'ll just naturally accept your choices and maybe even start doing the same. Your plate It\'s time to look at your crockery — as it could be a major contributor as to why you are overeating at every meal. Dinner plates, as with portions seem to have got bigger and bigger, it\'s just trendy to serve food on massive white plates in restaurants but in the domestic situation this can bring about huge portions. So, try shrinking down your plate — swap your normal one for a slightly smaller one, give it a go for a week and how it affects your food intake. You\'re tired Food is often used as a pick up when we are feeling tired and the thing is symptoms of tiredness can actually be mistaken for hunger. First off you need to get into a good sleeping routine; the optimum time to sleep has been found to be between seven to eight hours so make sure you are getting your quota. Also think about the times when you feel tired the most, is it a mid afternoon slump or maybe just when you get in from work? Once you establish a pattern of when you tend to feel tired you can combat it by going for healthier snacks rather than raiding the vending machine to give you a perk up. You\'re bored So many people overeat to fill time simply because they\'re bored or do not have anything interesting to do or look forward to. And when people are bored they tend to park themselves in front of the TV which can inevitably lead to snacking. It\'s the same if you feel unfulfilled by your job — lack of motivation in the workplace probably accounts for a massive percentage of cafeteria sales. Obviously you need to focus on the root of the problem, if it\'s at home find alternative things to do; call someone, go online, read a magazine — anything that stops you from heading to the fridge. And if it\'s at work — maybe ask for more responsibility, take on additional projects or even ask yourself if it\'s time for a change. From : Gulf News