This is the most common cause of having a flabby stomach. People will deny it, they will try to look for another cause for their dilemma, but the reason is clear, you just have to accept it. Fat starts to gather around the stomach because the body is taking in far more than it needs and uses, so it stores it somewhere. But what can you do about it? Do you have to take draconian steps to cut down on food? Let's take a look at the problem as a whole and see some solutions.

For more details, look at the Causes of Stomach Fat page.

Why Do People Over Eat?

Stress
One common reason that people over eat is that they have a great amount of stress in their life. When people are stressed they often turn to food for comfort, even without realizing it. They just feel constantly under pressure so they start eating because it calms their nerves.

Couch potato syndrome
This is what many Americans suffer from. It is the inclination to sit in front of the TV for great lengths of time while stuffing their face with junk food. Now, in your case it may not even be junk food. But do you realize that you adsent mindedly reach for more food than usual when you are watching TV? It's true. Your attention is focused elsewhere and if you are eating, then you generally eat more than usual.

Trained to eat
This ties in with being a couch potato. You train yourself to eat at certain times of the day. For example, if you watch TV at night and usually eat, then when that time comes around, you will start feeling hungry because you have trained yourself over time that this time, or this activity is when you eat. Don't get yourself into these bad habits. And if you do, get out of them.

Love of food
People like to eat. Each person has their favorite foods and they love to eat them. This is not a bad thing, a fine meal is a joy of life. Often times the foods that we love the most are not exactly the best things for us. Whether it is a chocolate cake or ice cream, you like eating these things. When you are cutting back and trying to lose weight, it is a good idea to work your eating schedule to allow some of these things. You will have something to look forward to througout the day and you won't have that overwhelming feeling of loss and denial.

Stomach gets enlarged
The more you eat, and the more often you eat, your stomach is trained to accept more and it actually physically expands. Then your stomach feels like it needs more than your body actually does. So you will be hungrier and feel the need for more food. This is a result of excessive eating, but just as your stomach expanded, it will contract and go back to regular size if you maintain discipline and start eating less.

How Do You Know If You Over Eat?

Well, for most people the signs are fairly obvious. You have extra fat hanging off of your body, especially around the stomach area. Extra fat is a sign that you are taking in more than your body is consuming. Most people have periods of over eating in their life, but getting out of those periods is where it gets harder. But for most people the ideal calorie goal for a day is around 2000. Anything over that starts to become a problem.

How Much Is Too Much?

The suggested daily calorie intake is 2000 calories. This is an arbitrary goal that is set, and it should be different for men and women. Men have a greater muscle mass to maintain and they are generally larger than women. So men should stick to the 2000 calorie daily diet while women should aim more for 1800 calories per day. If you want to lose weight through the day, you should aim for 1200-1400 calories. This may seem like a small amount, but it isn't really. Just be smart with what you eat.

Ways To Overcome Over Eating

One of the biggest steps to overcome over eating is to win the mental battle. You need to get it into your head that eating less is not a big deal. Once you accept that, then you are ready to actually do it. There are ways to eat less and not be hungry during the day. One thing you can do is to eat smaller meals, more often. This will keep your metabolism at a constant pace and because you eat more often, you are less prone to being hungry. Also, what you eat is important. Get rid of the empty calorie foods and eat foods that are more filling. And remember to drink plenty of water through the day because this will help you be less hungry over all.

Final Thoughs

Over eating is a common problem for people, but it doesn't have to be that way. There are steps that you can take to reduce your constant desire for food and reduce your consumption overall until you can get your weight under control. Then hopefully you will be able to maintain a healthy weight and not get back into the overweight category.