Overthinking to Overeating to Overweight
How to stop overthinking and overeating to lose weight.
I used to weigh 120kg. I’ve also always been an overthinker. Over the last few years, I’ve lost 50kg and learnt how to manage my overthinking.
Today, we’ll see how overthinking can lead to overeating, making you overweight. Then we’ll get into how to stop overthinking and overeating to help you lose weight.
Let’s start with overthinking.
Overthinking
Overthinking is the habit of dwelling on negative thoughts and scenarios without reaching a solution. For example, if you got fired from your job or your girlfriend broke up with you, you might constantly replay it in your head, trying to figure out why.
Reacting to those events by overthinking isn’t healthy or "normal," and it usually has an underlying cause, such as stress, anxiety, perfectionism, or setting unrealistic expectations.
Overthinking feels like your brain is constantly firing, and once it starts, you can’t slow it down. If stress caused the overthinking, overthinking just causes more stress, which leads to more overthinking.
To take your mind off things, you find ways to cope, like scrolling, watching TV, or eating food.
Overeating
Overeating is exactly what it sounds like: eating more than you should.
Most people define overeating as eating beyond hunger. I define it as exceeding your calorie limit (whatever you set that to be).
There are a few reasons why you might overeat. You might have a "big appetite." You might make poor food choices. Or, as we discussed earlier, it might be driven by emotions like stress.
That’s how overthinking can lead to overeating. And as we know, overeating is one of the two reasons we gain weight.
Overweight
Before we get into how to lose weight, let’s define what we mean by overweight.
Medically, you’re overweight if your BMI (body mass index) is above 25. But BMI only considers height and weight. If you have a lot of muscle and little fat but are heavy for your height, you’re still considered overweight.
That is technically true. Bodybuilders like Chris Bumstead are overweight. But when we talk about being overweight, we usually mean having a high body fat percentage.
There are many ways to check your body fat percentage. The easiest way is by looking in the mirror. If you feel like you need to lose weight, you probably do.
Losing Weight
We’ve talked about how overthinking can lead to overeating, which can cause you to become overweight. Logically, it would make sense to deal with the overthinking first to stop the overeating, which in turn will help you lose weight. That is an option, but it might be a slower approach.
What I did was focus on my body first and fix things like overeating. Doing it that way helps you build discipline and resilience, which you can then use to tackle overthinking. You’ll also see the results from fixing overeating in the mirror, whereas the results from fixing overthinking aren’t as obvious.
So let’s start with how to stop overeating.
How to Stop Overeating
We mentioned three causes of overeating earlier: a big appetite, making bad food choices, and emotions. Here are solutions for each of those causes.
Emotional Eating
Solution: Build emotional tolerance
We talked about how emotions, like stress from overthinking, can cause you to overeat. But instead of using coping mechanisms like food, you can build your tolerance to those emotions.
It’s simple but not easy. The next time you feel stressed, instead of reaching for food as a quick fix, sit somewhere quiet and feel that feeling. It won’t be comfortable at first, but you’ll get used to it.
Eventually, you’ll reach a point where stress barely affects you, and you won’t need anything to help you cope.
A Big Appetite
Solution: Track calories and eat high-volume foods
A big appetite means you still feel hungry even after eating "enough." To manage that, start tracking calories and eating more high-volume foods.
By setting a calorie limit and sticking to it, you’ll understand when you’ve had enough. And by eating more high-volume foods, like strawberries and potatoes, you fill the space in your stomach so you don’t feel as hungry.
Do that consistently, and you’ll learn how to manage your hunger.
Bad Food Choices
Solution: Limit your options
You can’t make bad choices if you don’t have the option to make the wrong choice.
One way to do that is by only going food shopping once per week. On that trip, be very strict with what you buy. Then, for the rest of the week, only eat what you bought that day and avoid shopping for extra food.
You can successfully stop overeating by setting yourself up for success.
How to Stop Overthinking
Stress, anxiety, perfectionism, and unrealistic expectations can cause overthinking. Here are three solutions.
Set Time Aside to Think
I believe in doing more and thinking less. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set aside time to think at all. If you don’t, you’ll either head in the wrong direction or constantly worry that you are.
Be Present
Overthinking comes from dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Neither is possible if you’re grounded in the present. You can do that by taking in your surroundings—every sight, smell, and sound—and getting your mind off your mind.
Extend Time Horizons
Tight deadlines are good because they make you more productive. But if they’re too tight, you’ll fall behind, causing stress because you don’t feel like you’re doing enough. As a general rule, the bigger the goal, the further the deadline should be.
Conclusion
Overthinking, overeating, and being overweight are all connected. Overthinking can push you to seek comfort in food, leading to overeating, which results in weight gain.
To lose weight, you need to break this cycle. You could start by tackling either overthinking or overeating, but I’d recommend focusing on overeating first. Because as you start to gain control over the body, you’ll build the discipline you need to gain control over the mind.
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