When was the last time you ate to the point of regretting it?  Just about all of us can think of a time or meal when we ate past the point of contentment.  Roughly 12% of us of will report we did it due to something emotional, such as a “bad day” or “I was feeling down.”  51% overeat because they felt really hungry, and 37% of us do it because the food was fantastic.

Here are a few tips to use to prevent overeating so you can lose weight, and improve your health!

• Remove temptation.  Yes out of sight, out of mind, and off our waists.  I am sure we all have the co-worker that has the candy dish for all to see and enjoy. How often do you go to get a few candies?  Would you eat the candy if it were not there?  You might, but most of us will consume about 225 calories more each day if the candy is in front of us, that equals 16 extra pounds of fat per year.
•  Size matters. Serve your food on smaller dishware.  Plates today are so large that many older homes’ cabinets cannot accommodate them. Portions on large plates look small, so we serve about 22% more.  Use the appetizer plate tonight instead.
• Dish it out. Do you grab a second helping when you are at home and the food is served family style?  Men will eat 29% more, and women 10% more.  Next time you serve dinner dish it out in the kitchen and take your dish to the table.
• Speaking of table, eat at it without distractions.  Turn off the TV, computer, or other stimulus.  Focus on the food.  Many Americans know that a meal is over when a TV show is over.
• Experience your food.  When you are alone try this.  Sit down at the table with one food item, not a messy item like spaghetti.  Turn off all noise around you, cover your eyes with a blindfold and begin eating.  Notice the texture, smell and taste of the food.  Stop eating when you feel like it.  What did you learn?  Did you clean your plate, did you get bored, and did you feel satisfied?