Do you Feel like you are Always Overeating?

Stop Overeating: Try This 300-Year-Old Japanese Eating Habit

Overeating isn’t just a holiday problem. It happens on ordinary Tuesdays too, at restaurants, in front of the TV, or just because something tastes good. In one study, men who ate pizza until “comfortably full” still consumed about 1,600 calories, but when told to eat until they “couldn’t eat another bite,” that number jumped to over 3,100 calories.

There’s a simple fix rooted in centuries-old tradition: hara hachi bu, a Japanese practice that means eating until you’re about 80% full. It’s still common today in Okinawa, home to some of the lowest chronic disease rates and longest lifespans in the world.

Why it works

The problem with eating until full is that fullness signals lag behind reality. It takes a few minutes for your brain to catch up with what your stomach already knows, so by the time you feel done, you’ve often already overshot. Ultra-processed foods make this worse, since they’re engineered to override natural satiety cues.

Hara hachi bu solves this by building in a buffer. Stop at 80%, and by the time satiety catches up a few minutes later, you’ll usually realize you already had enough. Research backs this up: men who consistently practiced hara hachi bu ate about 500 fewer calories a day than those who rarely did, and also ate two more servings of vegetables daily. Women who practiced it regularly had notably lower BMIs than those who only did it occasionally.

How to actually practice it

There’s no precise way to measure 80% full, but it’s a skill you build with practice:

• Cut distractions. Put the phone away and skip the TV so you can actually notice your body’s signals.
• Slow down. Put your fork down between bites and pause to notice flavors, this gives your body time to register what’s happening.
• Try the movement test. Near the end of a meal, ask: would I feel good doing yoga or dancing right now? If yes, you’re likely in that sweet spot.
• Check in afterward. Notice how you feel 10, 20, and 60 minutes later, energy, comfort, satisfaction. A short journal for a week or two can help make the pattern click.

This kind of body awareness is called interoception, your ability to sense internal signals like hunger and fullness. The more you practice tuning in, the more naturally you’ll eat just enough, without needing to count or restrict anything.

The takeaway: Stopping at 80% full isn’t about eating less out of restriction. It’s about giving your body the few extra minutes it needs to tell you the truth, so every meal leaves you feeling light and satisfied instead of overstuffed.

**Inspiration from Dr. Mark Hyman

This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and is not a substitute for a conversation with a qualified healthcare provider. Individual health needs vary. If you have questions about your health, we invite you to schedule a consultation with one of our providers.