How to Get Back to a Healthy Diet After Overeating

It’s perfectly healthy and normal to overeat from time to time – especially during a holiday or special occasion. Overall, a day or even a few days of binge eating won’t get you off track. But often, overeating creates feelings of guilt, failure, or disappointment. This will make it difficult for you to return to your old healthy habits. Slowly restarting with parts of your normal, natural routine over a few days or weeks will make the transition easier and less stressful.

Table of Contents

Restart healthy habits

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Stay away from the “surrender” attitude. Usually, it’s easy to give up after a few meals or days of unhealthy eating. You might think you’ve “ruined” your day because you’ve been eating unhealthy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make positive choices for the rest of the day!

Everyone makes mistakes or falls into temptation – this is a normal part of being human. But if you’re trying to eat healthy or lose weight, it’s OK to stumble a bit. Don’t give up just because you’ve eaten more than usual.
If you stumble, you should quickly think about other healthy lifestyle choices or behaviors you can make.

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Forgive yourself. Eating too much – especially on multiple days – will make you feel guilty or as if your healthy eating plan has failed. But this is not the truth. You don’t fail and you don’t need to feel guilty either. Remember, eating certain unhealthy foods is part of your normal eating habits. ^{[1] X Research Source}

The difference between a “cheat meal” and a complete return to a bad habit lies in how quickly you return to the old habit. You should remember that you will not lose everything if you go in the wrong direction. You just have to get back in the right direction.
Don’t talk to yourself or think negatively. You should try to stick to a good saying or phrase to maintain a positive mind. This action will make you more successful in the long run. ^{[2] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}
Often, repeated negativity increases stress or guilt levels, and this also triggers binge eating cycles or perpetuates an unhealthy eating pattern. ^{[3] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}

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Keep a journal about your goals. The initial goal that you have set or are trying to achieve will look more and more distant after you have overeaten. But you can return to old healthy habits by rewriting your goals and how to achieve them. This little reminder will help keep you motivated.

Review your old goals and think about how you want to change over the long term. In addition, you should also consider whether you should change course of action to achieve your goal.
You can use the diary to monitor your food and drink.

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Set specific times for meals and for exercise. Sometimes, the amount of change you need to make to get back into old habits can be overwhelming. However, building a specific plan or timetable will make it more manageable. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Try to schedule physical activity during the week. Write down the day you plan to exercise, at what time, and for how long.
Write about meal plans for healthy meals and snacks. This method will give you suggestions for shopping and eating healthy.

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Should not be weighed. Although in the long run, weighing yourself on a regular basis is important for weight loss, stepping on the scale right after a few days of binge eating is not a good idea. Chances are your weight will be higher than you want. This will make you stressed, upset, or increase feelings of guilt or failure. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Instead of worrying about your weight, focus your energy and attention on your goals and the steps you can take to return to a healthy lifestyle. You can weigh later.
You should wait at least a few days, weeks, or longer before you step on the scale. You shouldn’t weigh in until you feel as though you’ve returned to healthy habits for a while.
You need to reweigh at some point. While you shouldn’t do this right away, you should remember to make a plan to check your weight again when you feel the time is right.

Back to healthy eating habits

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Cook yourself at home. Preparing all meals and snacks at home will help you control the ingredients in the dish. This will give you the power to add more lean protein, fruits, vegetables and whole grains without the added salt or fat commonly found in restaurant-cooked food. ^{[6] X Research Source}

In addition to cooking at home, you should also use low-calorie or low-fat cooking techniques and methods. Using a lot of oil, butter, or using a lot of fat, and high-calorie ingredients will only prolong your binge eating habits. ^{[7] X Research Sources}
To make the process of cooking at home easier, go to the market or supermarket and stock up on healthy foods you love. You should try to buy: lean protein, dairy products, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

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Breakfast is high in fiber and high in protein. Starting your day with fiber and protein will help you return to healthy eating habits. Fiber and protein take longer to digest than simple carbohydrates, and from there, they will keep you fuller for longer. ^{[8] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}

Breakfast will also help lift you up for a healthy day. ^{[9] X Research Source}
A high-fiber and protein-rich breakfast includes: whole-wheat oats with blueberries and beans, fried eggs with vegetables and low-fat cheese, or greek yogurt with a few slices of peaches and a little breakfast cereal. granpa).

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Eat a lot of salad for lunch. You should have plenty of vegetables for lunch followed by a healthy breakfast. You can add a variety of vegetables for a low-calorie meal. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber but are also low in calories and fat – great food groups to keep you on track.
At the same time, you should also add a source of lean protein to your salad. Again, protein will keep you fuller for longer.

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Snack on protein-rich foods. It’s completely natural to feel hungry late in the afternoon – especially if your lunch and dinner time is quite far apart. Skipping snacks and feeling hungry in the evening will make you overeat. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Snacks should only contain about 100-200 calories. Including fruits, vegetables, and lean protein will help you control your calorie intake while still providing you with plenty of nutrients. ^{[12] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}
A healthy snack might include: carrots and hummus (a Middle Eastern dish), celery and peanut butter, or Greek yogurt with fruit.

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Drink more water. You should aim to drink about 8 cups or about 2 quarts of refined, unsweetened liquids such as water, iced tea, or flavored but calorie-free drinks. Often, feeling dehydrated is similar to hunger and tempts you to snack or eat more than you need, and this will set you off on the right track to following the “right” eating plan. ^{[13] X Research Source}

Monitor how much fluid you consume by shopping for branded bottled water. This method will help you achieve your goal of drinking enough water throughout the day.
Even mild dehydration has side effects. Dehydration can cause exhaustion and lethargy in the afternoon. ^{[14] X Research Source} You can prevent this problem by drinking water throughout the day.
Cleansing your system with water is one of the best ways to feel better when your diet isn’t right.

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Leave some food on the plate. Overeating often involves eating a large portion of food. After a few days of eating large portions, it will be difficult to get back to the right portion. If you leave a bit of food on your plate, you can gradually cut back on servings.

Another trick is to use small plates – like salad plates. Smaller servings will help you reduce the overall amount of food you consume. ^{[15] X Research Source}

Add in another helpful habit

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Do exercise. Exercising will not only help you lose weight, but it will also help form a good mindset for the day or week you’re trying to get back to your regular routine. You should do some kind of physical activity about three to four days a week. ^{[16] X Trusted Source USDA Center for Nutrition Ppicy and Promotion Go to Source}

You need about 150 minutes or 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity exercise per week. Incorporating regular aerobic exercise into your regular routine will aid in weight loss. Aerobic activity can include exercise such as walking, jogging, swimming, biking, or hiking.
You should add 2 days of strength training each week. ^{[17] X Trusted Source USDA Center for Nutrition Ppicy and Promotion Go to source} Strength training includes activity such as: lifting weights, Pilates, or some isometric exercise such as push-ups or sit-ups. .
Getting started with an exercise plan can be tough – especially if you’re doing it on your own. Exercising with a friend or partner will be a great source of motivation for you to stay on track and stay at your weekly workout. ^{[18] X Research Sources}

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Get 8 hours of sleep. Experts recommend that you try to get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Getting enough sleep helps stabilize mood and control appetite ^{[19] X Trusted Source National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Go to the source} — both are important if you’re trying to get back to sleep. healthy eating.

To get your body ready for sleep, turn off all lights and electronics. At the same time, you should also avoid using electronics at least 30 minutes before bedtime. ^{[20] X Trusted Source National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Go to Source}

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Find or build a support group. Regardless of how long you’ve been overeating, having a group or group of people around will make the process of getting back to old healthy habits a little easier. Whether that person is your spouse, family, friend, or co-worker, your support team will be your cheerleader to motivate and encourage you through this phase.

If you want, you can sign up for a diet program and attend their weekly meeting.

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Repeat positive statements every day. Sometimes, after a few days of overeating, you can start to feel negative or sad. Repeating a positive statement every day will help improve your mood and mental well-being, as well as form a better mindset so you can return to your old healthy habits. Make up your own maxim or use one of these examples every day:

“My body feels great when I consume the right foods.”
“Exercise makes me more energized and helps form a great mindset for an active day.”
“I have the will to make healthy choices today.”
“I’m trying my best to return to healthy eating habits.”
“Sometimes, it’s okay to eat a lot and I’ll go back to my old healthy habits today.”

Advice

Accept that overeating is a conscious decision on your part. Hating yourself won’t do you any good. The past is over. You should be happy with the chance to start over.
Try to return to your normal routine slowly. Again, sudden shifts in eating habits, exercise, and other lifestyle changes can be too difficult to make in a day. You should proceed slowly for best long-term results.
Ask a friend or family member to “get back into old habits” with you. Often, it will be easier if someone else works with you to make the same change.
Fasting for guilt will not help you or benefit the process. Oftentimes, a strict diet following a cycle of binge eating sets in motion another phase of binge eating. You should stay away from this.

Steps

Restart healthy habits

Back to healthy eating habits

Add in another helpful habit

Advice

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