Episode 20: Q+A Is volume eating messing up my hunger levels

But eating healthy, not losing the weight I want.

I'm a volume eater, so am I just dealing with portion distortion? Am I used to just having these massive meals to feel satisfied, but does that mean I'm in touch with my hunger/fullness cues? Like, so many questions around volume eating can come up, especially if you're stuck with weight loss.

If you're unfamiliar with volume eating, volume eating can be a great tool to help you lose weight.

Typically what happens with volume eating, you are trying to lose weight, but you don't wanna just feel like you're eating these teeny-tiny little portions and feel like you're starving.

So you're loading your plate, your bowl to the max with low-calorie foods.

And as you think, typically it's, you know, veggies, like your leafy greens, cucumbers, zucchinis.

Just lower-calorie foods that you can really just load up, fill up on, big volume amount of food for smaller, minimal calories.

Yes, that can be a great tool because you're eating a lot, filling up for lower calories.

But yes, does that teach you to, to understand portions? Does that mean you're training yourself to always maybe eat everything that's in front of you? Does that mean you're unaware of how to understand your feelings around hunger or fullness? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

The biggest thing I want you to keep in mind, I'm not here saying volume eating is bad.

I use volume eating a lot in my life.

I recommend it to clients.

It can be a great tool.

But with everything, you know, there's two sides to a coin.

If you are questioning it, then assess.

Is it working for you? A common thing I see with volume eating is if you're loading up on, you know, the low-calorie veggies, and even if you're adding the herbs and spices, giving it some life, some love, some flavor, is it something you can maintain forever? Are you gonna get bored with it? You know? And again, it's not that every meal has to be that way, but are you the person that gets bored after things for a few weeks? Because then we need to look at the big picture.

Maybe fit volume eating in at certain times, but then maybe you need to have plans for non-volume eating type meals, we'll say.

Again, there's no right or wrong.

There's no cut-and-dry, you know, foolproof rules with weight loss and nutrition.

It all comes back to what you repeat over time to get you where you need to be.

Another common thing I see with volume eating that can be a problem, if you're used to eyeballing the big portions, is do you automatically think, "I'm not gonna fill up"? Because let me tell you, if you were doing the volume eating, loading up on non-starchy, low-calorie veggies, that's great.

It's amazing.

I want you to eat your veggies.

But one day you're like, "I'm not gonna do the volume eating.

I'm gonna do more... a smaller portion of veggies," add in something starchy with it and, you know, of course a protein or some fat 'cause we want the balanced meals.