What To Do When You Overeat

We’ve all been there – it’s 4 pm, there’s a bit of a lull at the office, and your mind goes to the pantry. You wander over, see the inevitable assortment of chips and cookies that all offices seem to be perpetually stocked with, and the next thing you know, you’ve gone through half a pack of chocolate chip cookies, a bag of chips… and maybe even helped yourself to the sweets being passed around because it’s your co-worker's birthday!

This is the bit where most people would tell you about how to switch the above for healthier ones – drink water! Eat more protein! Snack on some nuts! You’ve read it all before – and while it’s all good advice, let’s be honest – sometimes we all eat that extra slice of chocolate cake even when we know we shouldn’t.

But just because you’ve veered off your diet or eaten something you know you shouldn’t have doesn’t mean you can’t still be healthy. But before we get to that, let’s talk about overeating real quick.

First off, why does overeating happen? The top reason is, well, science. As it turns out, whether you’re drinking, eating, or just shopping more than you should, overdoing certain behaviours can release a rush of dopamine in the brain, which leads to feelings of happiness – and can become addictive. You weren’t imagining that high the last time you ate some chocolate!

Stress or anxiety is another big cause for overeating, which is why office environments are prime setups for mindless snacking.

So here’s the deal – we know and you know that eating unhealthy is unavoidable sometimes. And while we’re not encouraging you to finish that entire bag of chips every single day, we do believe that drinking a cup of green tea  is a positive health change you can make along with this which can put you on a path to wellbeing.

Now, we’re not claiming that drinking green tea will reverse the effects of unhealthy habits – nothing can do that, but what it will do is help you balance the bad with the good. A cup of green tea has a whopping five times the amount of antioxidants in an apple – and considering antioxidants are damage-fighting elements that clean your system  from the inside, we can’t think of a single good reason not to add green tea to your diet, whether it’s balanced or not. If it’s the former, you’ll only be adding a further boost of health – and if it’s the latter, you’ll be bringing an element of balance to your life that will help you feel a little better about that extra snacking. Try it and tell us how it makes you feel!