When it is actually time to sit down at the table and eat, these few simple tips will help to prevent you from overeating, without even thinking about it.  It'll actually be impossible to overdo it without feeling quite ill.  Even if you do end up eating too much as far as volume, you probably won't have eaten too many calories.

 

 

The reason for this is that many if not most of us are guilty of drinking too many of our calories, or tricking ourselves that we are, with sugar free drinks.  Drinking too many carbohydrate calories, and drinking sweet non carbohydrates each create their own special problems.  Carbohydrate drinks are useless calories unless the reason you're drinking them is to carry you over through low appetite seasons or times of the day.  It won't kill you to have some tea with honey every so often, but most don't do this.  Most people drink sugary sodas or sugar spiked juices.

 

On the flipside, artificial sweeteners trick your brain into thinking that you're drinking sugar.  This disables your brain from telling you when you've eaten enough carbohydrates.  Humans have internal triggers that tell us when we've had enough, so both of these things mess with those.

 

So until you're reset, and automatically drink your daily allowance of water without thinking about it too much, drink a glass of water when you're feeling "hungry".  If you're still hungry in 10 minutes, you are actually hungry.  If not, then you were thirsty.  In time you will understand the difference because you'll have more awareness of the sensations in your mouth when you're thirsty.

 

 

They're the highest food priority, so every meal should start with them, including breakfast.  These should be fresh vegetables or fruit whenever possible.  If not, try to at least make it something green.

 

 

This advice comes from Japanese wisdom.  It takes some time to feel full especially if you're a high appetite person.  By the time you're actually feeling stuffed, you're actually overstuffed.  At the point during the meal that you feel about 80% there, that's when you should stop.  For this reason you should eat fairly slowly.  Eat a bit, stop for awhile, eat a bit more, and stop for awhile again.  Then you'll notice how full you are as you go.

 

 

Eat at least one of your meals of the day with your family (or friends or roomates).  Well, try to anyway.  When you can't, try to be at least somewhat involved.  If you don't feel like eating when they do, at least sit with them with a glass of water or some coffee or tea, and hang out with them.  It makes a meal more enjoyable to have company.

 

 

Keep fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruit, nuts, and other healthy nutrient dense things to grab.  When you want a quick bite, it helps to get something that is likely to satisfy a true craving.

 

...and that's about it.  No counting calories or weighing food.  Just eat real food.