overeating

Jared

How can we practice self-control in eating?

aHappyNihilist

"A puritan may go to his brown-bread crust with as gross an appetite as ever an alderman to his turtle. Not that food which entereth into the mouth defileth a man, but the appetite with which it is eaten. It is neither the quality nor the quantity, but the devotion to sensual savors; when that which is eaten is not a viand to sustain our animal, or inspire our spiritual life, but food for the worms that possess us. If the hunter has a taste for mud-turtles, muskrats, and other such savage tidbits, the fine lady indulges a taste for jelly made of a calf's foot, or for sardines from over the sea, and they are even. He goes to the mill-pond, she to her preserve-pot. The wonder is how they, how you and I, can live this slimy, beastly life, eating and drinking. "

this is from henry david thoreau's Walden, he wasn't a buddhist but i think the concepts extend to buddhism. It basically comes down to your attitude, the question to ask is, are you being controlled by your desires for sensual pleasure?

federica

while you're hungry, eat.
While you are eating, pause.
When you've had enough - stop.

Eat when you are truly hungry.
Don't when you are truly not.

Why is that so difficult?

Lostie

An overweight person will naturally feel more hungry given his/her weight.

Need to bring down the weight to the person's optimal level first, I think.

while you're hungry, eat.
While you are eating, pause.
When you've had enough - stop.

Eat when you are truly hungry.
Don't when you are truly not.

Why is that so difficult?

Cloud

One suggestion, from Ajahn Chah of the Thai Forest Tradition (who said it came from the Buddha), is to eat until you feel that just 5 more bites will be enough and then stop and drink some water. You're full before you think you are; the mind's craving for the food tricks you.

federica

An overweight person will naturally feel more hungry given his/her weight.Need to bring down the weight to the person's optimal level first, I think.

This is a fallacy, I'm afraid.
First of all, we need to establish whether the problem of weight is a consideration for the OP.
Nothing was mentioned with regard to this, so it may be straying off topic.

Secondly, we need to establish the cause of the weight issue.
Whether it is dietary or conditional to another medical reason.
Thirdly, overweight people do not crave food because they are hungry and need it.
Quite the opposite.
An overweight person has a dysfunction creating an inability to gauging an adequacy of intake.
It has nothing to do with weight = hunger.
It has everything to do with an inability to know when enough is enough.

Lostie

Over-eating will naturally lead to weight issues.

Right you can say that an overweight person has a "dysfunction", but to them hunger is hunger. I was overweight once and decided to go on a diet.

I lost about 30 pounds and was able to maintain my current optimal weight for the last 5 years.

I don't think it's off-topic here because we are speaking of mental and physical habits which are integral in practising mindfulness.

Over-eating is a mental and physical habit. I felt the physical and mental hunger during the initial period when I was cutting down my food intake. I'd had one serving of staples instead of two and opted for more vege over meat.

I am glad I went thru' the initial pain - both physical and mental, for my health sake.

BTW, for those going on a diet, watch your diet and exercise!!!

Cheers!

An overweight person will naturally feel more hungry given his/her weight.Need to bring down the weight to the person's optimal level first, I think.

This is a fallacy, I'm afraid.
First of all, we need to establish whether the problem of weight is a consideration for the OP.
Nothing was mentioned with regard to this, so it may be straying off topic.

Secondly, we need to establish the cause of the weight issue.
Whether it is dietary or conditional to another medical reason.
Thirdly, overweight people do not crave food because they are hungry and need it.
Quite the opposite.
An overweight person has a dysfunction creating an inability to gauging an adequacy of intake.
It has nothing to do with weight = hunger.
It has everything to do with an inability to know when enough is enough.

sukhita

@Jared
Maybe we can also try some of the tips in the following article:

http://www.decathlon.in/pages/articles