Dr. Linda Helps - It is estimated that anywhere from 34 to 58 million people in our country are overweight and obese. Anyone who is overweight carries additional risks for health problems.

If you have been unsuccessfully trying to break the overeating habit, try these tips:

• Start a journal. It may help you to write down where you were, what you were feeling and how you responded every time you overeat. You may find there is a pattern to your overeating. If a place sets you off, you might be able to avoid it. If a feeling sets you off, you will have to learn a different way to manage it. Food and emotions are usually related.
  
  
• Eat at regular times. The biggest mistake my clients make is skipping meals and having no regular time to eat. When you skip meals, you set yourself up to overeat. When you eat on the run, you tend to grab fast food or food low in nutrition but high in empty calories.
  
  
• Slow down, pause between bites. The slower you eat, the more time your body has to catch up and tell you that you are full. Pause and enjoy each bite rather than cramming the food down.
  
  
• Do not eat standing up. Make it a habit to eat when you are sitting at the table and not everywhere else you may roam. Learn to associate food with sitting down for a meal.
  
  
• Do not eat while cooking. Tasting food can add a lot of extra calories.
  
  
• Stay out of the kitchen except for at mealtimes. How many times have you found yourself unconsciously wandering into the kitchen and opening cupboards and the refrigerator? The sight and smell of food cues you to eat it.
  
  
• Do not go places hungry. You will tend to overeat if you do. Instead have a piece of fruit and drink water before you go.
  
  
• Drink extra water.
  
  
• Have healthy snacks on hand so you won't be tempted to dive into a high calorie one.
  
  
• Plan, plan, and plan. Prior to any potential overeating occasion, like Thanksgiving, plan ahead.
  
  
• Do not cook things that will be difficult to resist. If you tend to eat the entire batch of hot gooey brownies, don't bake them.
  
  
• Limit your exposure to food cues -- don't shop often, watch food TV commercials, etc.
  
  
• Replace food with some other relaxing or rewarding activity. For example, take a walk, listen to soothing music, etc.
  
  
• Pray and ask for self-control. You need the fruit of the Spirit operating in your life - Love is the fruit that bears self-control.
  
  
• Surround yourself with supportive people who will encourage you, not put you down.
  
  
• Lose the word dieting from your vocabulary. There are no short cuts. Resign yourself to eating healthy for a lifetime.
  
  
• Identify the reasons why you overeat.
  
  
• Learn to love yourself regardless of your weight.

Dr. Mintle – author, professor, Approved Supervisor and Clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy – is a speaker and media personality, as well as a licensed clinical social worker with over twenty years in psychotherapy practice.

For more articles and information, visit Dr. Linda Mintle's Web site.