You are not alone; in fact, we are all "wired to eat" whenever food is available as it is a leftover survival trait that allowed our species to survive when food was scarce. Unfortunately we don't need it anymore because food is everywhere, but because it's still there, unless you are highly motivated to control your weight, this genetic trait (stronger for some) leads most people to eat more than what’s needed to satisfy immediate hunger. Therefore, you must pay attention to how many calories you consume and burn daily, on average, while watching your weight at least weekly. You can then keep your weight under control by eating less and/or moving more if weight climbs unacceptably. Below are tips for controlling appetite, but you should also use the dotFIT program to record your food intake, establish your weight goal and daily calorie requirements. Additionally, the program will create examples of meals you should be consuming to help control your appetite.
•Consume 4-5 small meals/day all containing lean proteins, low fat, fibrous foods (e.g. whole grains, large multi-vegetable salads, etc.). Always eat breakfast.
• Plan and record all meals/snacks and read all food labels for total servings & calories.
• Never eat from a bag; remove how much you should eat.
• Eat slowly with smaller utensils from smaller plates/bowls.
• Start your meal with a dinner salad and/or broth-based soup.
• Drink water or other non -caloric fluids regularly immediately before during meals.
• Remove or hide all tempting foods from you environment (home and office).
• Include 1 or 2 high fiber meal replacements as part of your 4-5 meals.
• Wait 30 minutes after a meal before you decide to give in to dessert or more food; it takes roughly that long for the "I am full" message to get from stomach to brain.
• Stay busy: plan an activity almost immediately post-meal where eating would be difficult or impossible. Stay busy between meals.
• Brush your teeth immediately following a meal: it sends a message that the meal is over.
• Stick sugarless gum in your mouth every time you get an urge to eat or keep eating when you shouldn’t.
• Drink a diet soda, coffee or tea when an eating urge occurs, or to end each meal.
• Weigh yourself regularly and record it in the program