Why do we overeat?
There are certain days when I like to pick up some fast food after coming home from work.
On other days I might choose to cook instead.
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One trick that I picked up a long time ago was to bake two different kinds of meat at once during the day. That way I can have an already mostly prepared dinner.
Today I took a baking pan, laid out two large pork chops on the bottom, and covered them with a variety of seasonings.
I then placed two medium sized Southwest flavored chicken sausages that I picked up at the local Deli on top of the pork chops. I purchased some chips for lunch, and I plan to make a batch of broccoli for dinner.
After an hour the meat was done. I probably will cook the pork chops for a little while longer with the broccoli, but the chicken sausages were absolutely ready for lunch.
I laid out a good portion of chips on a large plate and then put two pieces of bread down, a sausage on each one.
I realized that I was quite full after finishing the first sausage sandwich and all the chips. I sat there staring at the second sausage with a look of curiosity.
My stomach knew that I was full.
My mind knew that I was full.
However, I really wanted to eat that sausage. Why? Well the other one was really tasty and I knew that this one also would be.
It was tasty too. After eating it I definitely felt bloated and uncomfortable. I couldn't figure out why I had decided to eat it. There didn't really seem to be a need to eat that extra sausage.... I just wanted it.
Honestly, I could have saved that sausage and made an extra meal out of it thereby saving some money.
Nevertheless, I went ahead and threw it down my gullet for no reason that I can clearly come up with.
Has this ever happened to you?
I'm sure it probably has. We all eat things that we shouldn't be eating on certain occasions.
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It makes sense to eat a chocolate bar when you're feeling down. It makes sense to eat a tub of ice cream when you're feeling depressed.
It doesn't make sense to go ahead and eat that extra piece of chicken when you know you can barely fit it in though.
I think it comes down to portion control. Maybe it comes down to eyes being bigger than mouths.
We've all done it before, but I still don't understand why we do it.
Why do we overeat?
It tastes good?
I don't believe I've ever met a piece of grilled meat that I did not enjoy.
If you've ever seen a dog's relationship with food, they can't self-moderate very well. They can get full but a lot of times they will eat until they throw up, especially if it is something delicious. Dogs don't have the intelligence we do but the mechanism is the same. We have the same compulsion.
The reason we over-eat is because our evolution hasn't caught up with our food abundance. We were designed to go long periods of time without eating and then eat when it was available. So our minds are telling us to keep eating when we're full because we may not get another chance to eat.
That's why moderation is hard, and that why things with high fat and sugar content, things that were once rare but highly prized for their energy-giving capabilities but cannot be eaten in abundance without health problems, are delicious.
That's a good point.... and I must say this - When I do eat a lot I have more energy for longer periods of time.
I have always advocated eating a big breakfast when I know I have a lot of work ahead of me. However, even when I know that I don't have a lot of work left to do I still find myself eating larger than normal portions on occasion. I should also mention that I am not overweight in any way shape or form. My take though is that if it's regular food like meat and vegetables, then overeating a little bit is okay. When it comes down to cookies and chocolate bars though.... moderation is definitely required.
Did your sausages have MSG or other chemicals? Sometimes there are chemicals in the food that make us over-eat.
Especially if it was a big sized sausage - who needs two of those?
I enjoyed reading through your posts today. Looking forward to the rest of the story.
I doubt it. They make them fresh in the deli from ground meat.
My mouth is watering now.....
Thanks.
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Great.