Overeating vs. Overshopping

When it comes to eating and shopping, there are many similarities, but there is one big difference.  If you over-spend and have too many outfits at home (and some may even get into credit card debt) then  you can sell or throw out unwanted clothes immediately and get back to your budget.  However if one consistently overeats,  he/she can't immediately release the unwanted pounds without side effects. 

So, this got me thinking -- why do people so often overeat? It surely doesn't feel good to be so full you can barely move and it definitely doesn't look good to have too much extra weight on. By looking at this situation from a shopping perspective, perhaps we can shed some light on to how to solve it.

Imagine you are in your favorite store and there is a fantastic sale on all of your favorite designers. What would you do? If you were like me, you would probably be ecstatic and start piling up your favorite pieces into the fitting room to try all of them on. After that, you would select the ones that make you look the best and then consider your budget of how many of them you can actually afford. The last step of the shopping galore would be to actually buy selected items and go home with an anticipation of wearing them as soon as possible! So far, so good, right?

Here is what I wouldn't do if I was shopping: I wouldn't buy EVERYTHING that looks good. I wouldn't buy more than one outfit in the same color, style and cut. I wouldn't buy so much that it would put me in a financial bind and I wouldn't wear all of the dresses, skirts, pants and tops at the same time. The reason being is that in shopping we know when we've had enough and when we need to stop. Otherwise we will look silly and be broke.

If you look at eating in a similar way, it may help you understand that you simply can't and don't want to eat EVERYTHING that there is. Yes, the process may feel good in your mouth when you chew the food, but we are all adults and need to understand that a 20 second pleasure of chewing will make us feel miserable for many hours or sometimes days later. If you think you've had enough, just try to observe that feeling and save the food for later. Get it "to go" if you are in a restaurant so you can have it later. Or put it back in the fridge if you are at home.

I am not trying to make you exercise excessive willpower or deprive yourself. But if you look at eating too much as shopping too much, then you will see that it is a simple human desire to stop when you've had enough and will feel uncomfortable later. Remember, you are eating for YOU! Not anyone else. You buy things because they make you feel good. Try eating food for the same reason -- because it makes you feel good. Not only now, but also later.