I always seem to overeat!!! I'll do good for most of the day but then I eat a lot when I get home. It's not like I'm really hungry either, it's almost like I eat just for the taste of food or something lol! What do you do to avoid overeating? I know a lot of it is self control but it's so hard sometimes!

I try to stay busy doing fun things, so I don't have to eat out of sheer boredom.  Also, when I get the craving to eat junk food or snacks, I tell myself that if I don't eat this crap right now, then my dinner will taste better.  Because food tastes better if you're hungry and not filled up on crap.

And another tool is I just don't buy snacks, junk food, or sodas anymore.  If it isn't there in the house, then you won't eat it.

Thanks! I normally do pretty well during the week because I have more to do, but it's the weekends that are bad.

I keep my hands busy.  I crochet, do a puzzle, just stay busy.  Plus, If I have stuff already prepared like carrots and chopped veggies, I'll snack on those instead of junk. 

I have a hard time with just eating period. Not even snacks because I don't really have a hard time staying away from the junk stuff. But with dinner or something I have a hard time stopping at one helping. And I know you are supposed to not even finish the first helping. I have tried drinking a lot of water before eating, munching on celery, etc but doesn't seem to help. I will just have to learn more self control I guess:) You are not alone though, Morgan.

I started OA 2 1/2 weeks ago and it's been the most amazing experience.  Never in a million years thought it would be for me, but I was desperate enough to try anything. I have diabetes and was slowly killing myself with sugar. Haven't touched sugar or binged since my first meeting and have lost 8 1/2 pounds. 

try chewing bubble gum....

i had this problem for the longest time, and realized i just wanted something the chew on!  

Most sticks have 5 calories or less in them.... 

and Extra sugarfree gum has a ton of new flavors.

I never thought of the gum. Maybe I'll try that. Thanks!

I'm doing Weight Watchers, and one of my favorite new tricks is to buy junk food which I can easily divide into 1 to 2 point portions.  The 100 calorie packs are too expensive for me, and the junk food I like isn't available in that form anyways.  Another thing I do is needlework while watching TV.  It's impossible to eat and stitch at the same time without risking serious damage to the needlework.  I'm sort of advanced when it comes to needlework, and the pattern and supplies for a project can cost from less than $5 to over $50, before framing.  The least I've ever spent on framing is $40 and the most $200 - for one piece.  Those costs don't include the actual value of my stitching.  I'm not about to risk getting chocolate, oil, salt, juice, or anything else on my needlework.  If you're not into embroidery, you can try knitting or crocheting or beading or calligraphy or whatever keeps your hands too busy to eat.

I have always eaten way more than I should at meals or through out the day. I'm small to begin with, and would eat portions suitable for other family members that were 2-3x my size. (I'm 4'10).

The way I've remedied this is:

1. Use chopsticks = this helps me to eat slower and enjoy my food. As a result, I get full faster.

2. Use smaller dishes = I purchased some cute dish-ware for myself. Smaller bowls, smaller plates. The picnic/kids plates with the separated portions work well too. Then my portions are adjusted to the dishes and won't hold as much food.

3. Cook less. There are only two of us. So using recipes that produce less servings (and smaller servings) works really well. Because if there isn't any left overs, you can't go for seconds and thirds.

I have a small rice bowl for snacking. If I get hungry between meals I fill it with things like fresh berries, grapes, Hapi or nuts. And thats my little snack. A small cup of hot tea (like green or white tea) is a great alternative to snacking too.

Having a small bowl of soup (mostly broth) before meals helps too. Oh! I second the above post about crafting while watching TV or a movie. It really does help prevent you from getting munchies during a movie. I do needlework or crochet. :)

I agree with the others suggestions about keeping busy, smaller plates, don't keep unlimited unhealthy snacks and having healthy alternatives readily available.  They are all good ones.  Here are a couple of others that have worked for me.  When I get the urge to snack, I will have some kind of flavored decaf tea.  Then if I am still craving, I get a small snack because I have found that if I just ignore the craving at some point I am going to binge.  Another thing that has helped me is to brush my teeth after my meal.  It changes the taste in my mouth and helps me not have to have something sugary after I eat.

Hope this helps!!

Louise