Overeating or gluttony?
Overeating can come in various forms. At the same time, food preferences can often change and emphasis may be placed on foods that the person has not previously consumed. When a disorder of higher nervous activity develops, the level of the “happiness hormone” begins to decrease. Eating is always associated with the release of this hormone. Therefore, a person, to compensate for the lack of this hormone, begins to eat food in increased quantities and in the intervals between main meals. This disrupts the body’s metabolic processes and a “habit” begins to form, which gradually intensifies.
Therefore, overeating, and especially gluttony, leads to serious consequences associated not only with brain disorders. Gradually, concomitant somatic diseases are formed, which a person notices and to which he pays most attention. Naturally, he is trying to get rid of, for example, excess weight, hypertension, etc., paying attention only to the somatic component, which reduces the quality of his life. But, unfortunately, it does not pay attention to the main source of all existing problems.
Complaints of overeating or gluttony
- Various types of sleep disorders - insomnia, nightmares.
- Difficulty falling asleep, early or night awakenings.
- Feeling guilty that you yourself are largely to blame.
- Headache.
- Attacks of vegetative-vascular dystonia.
- Panic attacks.
- Poor appetite.
- Premature morning awakenings.
Many of us feel heavy after eating. After a hearty lunch, you really want to sleep and there’s no time for work.
And if overeating overtakes you every day, then you risk stretching your stomach, which will certainly reduce the secretion of gastric juice, and the slowdown in stomach and intestinal motility will not keep you waiting long.
The signal of satiety comes after the stomach is completely filled, but in an extended state of food, more and more food needs to be put into it each time. And you will be surprised that after a good dinner you remain hungry, and add an extra portion.
Consequences of overeating
What is the risk of decreased intestinal motility if you overeat every day?
With too much food, the work of almost all internal organs is disrupted. The food mass in the intestines will decompose, causing bloating, and toxins will begin to poison your body. The gallbladder, liver, and endocrine system suffer. Overeating does not have the best effect on your figure. It is better to leave the table hungry than overfed. But few people understand that the causes of major heart problems are banal overeating, including overeating and gluttony during various holidays and celebrations. It is precisely those people who have noticed attacks of angina pectoris or arrhythmia who need to pay attention to their diet.
Why doesn't cognitive behavioral therapy work for binge eating disorder?
Unlike anorexia and bulimia, psychogenic overeating is characterized by very strong physiological impulses to eat, rather than psychological ones. Therefore, therapy helps a patient with this disorder only for a very short time, for a couple of days or a week, and then again a very strong physiological impulse occurs, which cannot be restrained by psychological methods. Yes, cognitive behavioral therapy can help a person learn to notice risk factors that include physical urges. That is why when treating psychogenic overeating it is very important to combine psychotherapy and drug treatment.
- Diseases and disorders
Overeating reasons
The first and main reason for most cases of overeating and gluttony is the presence of mental and psychological problems that a person has developed at the moment.
The main reason is the manifestation of the consequences of various stressful situations that a person can experience during the day, both small ones, in the form of minor conflicts in transport, shops, on the street, etc., and more significant ones that can radically change a person’s life ( both negative and positive).
You work all day, come home tired, and the only thing you want is to eat well and lie down. And if after work you found the strength to take a walk in the park, play sports, i.e. Find yourself other pleasant activities, then you will have much less thoughts about food. In short, find a hobby you like!
For many people, especially women, overeating occurs in an unstable home environment. Quarrels, scandals with their spouse, worries about children, lack of harmony in family life (stress factors) - all this forces them to find solace in food. By gorging yourself on pies and sweets, and especially chocolate (which has an anti-stress effect), life begins to seem more rosy and it seems that not everything is so bad. But you get sucked into this pool very quickly - when even the smallest problem arises, you run to the refrigerator to find solace in the next portion of the food you like and love.
The main reasons for overeating
- Decreased background mood, depression.
- Stressful and post-stressful conditions.
- Anxiety, anxiety disorders.
- Various forms of neuroses.
- Endogenous mental disorders.
Diet errors
Now let's look at the mistakes that provoke overeating. Many people have the habit of washing down any meal with large amounts of tea and water, but this seriously disrupts digestion. Food is not processed as it should in the stomach, gastric juice is diluted and further in the intestines the absorption of nutrients is disrupted, as a result of which you feel hungry and continue to eat again.
Another bad food habit is eating in a hurry, on the go, quickly putting food in your mouth without chewing it thoroughly. In this case, the feeling of fullness comes after 20 minutes. So compare - how much you can eat when eating leisurely and feel full, and how much you swallow during the same time when eating hastily.
The historically established and main problem of early development is the desire to feed the child more nourishingly at any cost! It is mainly grandmothers who instill this habit and persuade them to eat “a spoon for mom and dad.” Children's small stomachs quickly stretch, and unhealthy eating behavior is established, which subsequently leads to overeating.
And one more thing: older people should remember that with age, the amount of food they eat must be reduced. Otherwise, you risk developing atherosclerosis. It’s not for nothing that they say that when you’re old, you’re young.
How to say “stop” to overeating
Firstly, what is most important at this moment is to correctly and accurately understand the cause of overeating and gluttony. Only then will it be possible to correctly say “STOP” to your pathological craving for irregular and chaotic eating.
To do this, it is best to consult a psychotherapist who can absolutely accurately find out the true cause of overeating and give important advice, and if your overeating is one of the manifestations of the consequences of stress, depression or other changes in the functioning of higher nervous activity, then the doctor will select an adequate therapy.
Tips for everyday life - for all people, both healthy and for people who have neuro-physical overload in the form of stress, overwork, lack of sleep, etc.
How to deal with overeating
- If you have overeating and its first signs, you need to consult a psychotherapist.
- No snacking! Only full meals 5 times a day.
- We eat often and little by little, and not 3 times a day in huge portions.
- Avoid foods that are too salty or fatty. Excess salt stimulates appetite and overeating.
- Use small plates, so a small serving size doesn’t look so small.
- We eat only while sitting at the table, and not on the go.
- No TV, no newspapers! You need to fully comprehend each spoon so as not to overeat.
- Listen to yourself how delicious each spoonful is, rather than mechanically consuming food. With feeling, with sense, with arrangement.
- Eat to satisfy your hunger, not to reward yourself with food as a reward. Otherwise, the reward will be overeating.
- If there is no effect within 1-2 weeks, be sure to seek advice from a competent psychotherapist.
Don't look to food for comfort
Anyone who suffers from overeating will benefit from the technique of slowing down the process of eating. During your meal, count every spoonful you eat. After the third bite, wait until you have swallowed the piece. Gradually increase the pauses. The specialists of the Medical Dietetics Center will help you lose weight correctly and choose the right sports nutrition: psychologists, nutritionists, sports doctors, gastroenterologists, allergists-immunologists, endocrinologists. You will lose weight not due to fluid loss, but due to the loss of adipose tissue. As a result, developing correct and healthy eating habits will help you maintain your weight in the future!
Why does a person start to overeat?
Typically, psychogenic overeating occurs in women, so it is the risk factors for the female part of the population that have been best studied. There are two main causes of this disorder. The first is the inability to manage your emotions, the inability to calm yourself down at the right moments. The second and more common reason is an acute feeling of loneliness. This happens even if you have a permanent partner and many friends. Psychogenic overeating can be triggered by a lack of attention and interest from loved ones.
When diagnosed, binge eating disorder is often confused with bulimia, depression, or weight problems, since all of these disorders are accompanied by excess food intake. Very often, such patients are referred to a nutritionist and intensive sports training is prescribed. But scientists have only recently figured out how to really treat psychogenic overeating.
How to treat overeating
Overeating is treated by a psychotherapist. This mental condition is classified in ICD-10 as an eating disorder.
Thanks to a consultation with a psychotherapist, you can not only restore your mental health, but also look the way you want. You can change the size range and become much more attractive to the opposite sex. You will shine not only with your appearance, but most importantly, radiate inner health. And this factor, as studies by world scientists show, is perceived most favorably by the opposite sex.
Psychological component
If a person begins to eat a very large amount of food and overeat, then he may develop a disease such as bulimia nervosa.
Bulimia is a companion to diseases of the endocrine and nervous systems. Many women, after eating a large meal and overeating, begin to induce vomiting in order to get rid of food. They seemed to have eaten, but nothing entered the intestines. In the future, every meal will be accompanied by vomiting.
Overeating for mental reasons is difficult to diagnose. Usually they are guided by the following points, which indicate excessive food consumption. Symptoms of overeating - a person begins to uncontrollably increase the amount of food consumed. A person eats a lot of food in a short time and still remains insufficiently full. Then he feels guilty about eating a lot. The person is trying to hide this fact. This in turn causes him to lose respect for himself for not being able to cope with his psychological problems.
Overeating as a habit
Overeating as a bad habit that was instilled in childhood is much less common. However, this option also exists. During your consultation, our experienced doctor will be able to correctly determine the cause of your condition and give the right advice on how to get rid of overeating and its consequences.
We can draw the following conclusion: mothers and grandmothers who develop poor eating habits from childhood do not even imagine what serious problems this can lead to in the future. After all, the most harmful habit is to eat a lot since childhood, without listening to the body. Everything starts from the cradle!
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