Cravings are gone but still want to eat out of boredom? I make no sense

Losingthedamnweight

As i said in my last post in here about me feeling like my stomach shrank and "yayyy i'm full on 1500 calories!" and how amazing that was, i find myself just wanting to eat from boredom. Does that sound fat of me? I have the next 3 days off work and i'm sitting around the house and eyeballing this wicked good strawberry shortcake roll. It's teasing me. It wants me to eat it.

And like i said, it's not like i'm really craving it or hungry, but i do miss that high i get from eating junk all the time with reckless disregard. It was something fun to do! Even if the high only lasted for the time i ate and the short time after that that i was full, it was almost like an event in the day to look forward to. I can see why so many people are fat. I can go for a walk and it'll feel ok, but even though i got some fresh air and some exercise, it doesn't feel like the high you get from some good *kitten* junk food. Same with most other activities. Reading a book. Facebooking. Playing games. Even shopping. Food in a sense is literally the same dopamine rush as drugs. You take it...your brain feels insanely good and then that feeling passes later and you want that feeling again and again.

Am i making any sense? Probably not. Just thinking out loud.

Jruzer

No, you're making sense. I think a lot of us eat out of boredom. I know I'm much more "at risk" for overeating when I'm home for the weekend and constantly in and around the kitchen. And I do find that I miss the times when I would just eat as much as I wanted, when I wanted.

Jolinia

Makes perfect sense. Using food for entertainment is a very hard habit to break. You need a hobby!

segacs

Perfect sense. I used to eat out of boredom or habit all the time.

It's mostly a mental thing. I had to train myself to sit in front of the TV or at the computer without snacking on food. I wasn't really hungry; I just identified those situations with food.

Try to find something else to do with your hands.

totaldetermination

I can totally relate. I give myself a simple option.
"that food has xxx calories. You can have it if you want, but first you have to earn the calories. ". Usually I realise I don't want it that bad. Sometimes I do . Both are ok.
But I totally get what you mean about recklessly eating. ignorance was bliss. those days are now over, though.

ShibaEars

Makes sense to me! I'm the same way. I'm not hungry, but I still want to devour everything in the kitchen. Popcorn, chips, cakes, cookies - whatever's there, I want to eat it, even if I don't necessarily WANT the food.

Sometimes what works for me is stopping & actually imagining the taste of the food I'm eyeing. When I do this, I realize that it's not going to taste as good as I think it will and I don't really want it after all.

Sitting down later in the evening works too. After working out, eating supper, doing dishes and walking the dog, by the time I sit down I might only have an hour to sit in front of the TV. It's easier to ignore the food for an hour than the 4 or 5 hours I'd be facing if I don't do any of the above.

RachnRal

Perfect sense.

Food is instant gratification.

You get the taste, texture, the warmth or coolness of the food.

I speak for myself here when I say, the act of chewing is hypnotic and relaxing. Eating the food allowed me to escape the issue at hand or fill empty time or even the emptiness of myself and my feelings.

I have lost 50+ pounds and I still fight against eating just to eat. To try and prevent myself from mindless eating, I have resorted to scheduling my time so that I don't huge blocks of empty (alone) time. I will break up the hours with exercise (a walk, go to the gym, take a hike in the woods), running errands, calling friends and family.

This helps me. I can't say that I don't still eat when I am not hungry but at least now I try to be more aware of my feelings and behavior. I believe every day you start over with a clean slate and the opportunity to do a little better than you did in the past.

Best wishes. You have got this.

RachnRal

numinousnymph

i know EXACTLY what you mean, and i'm sure a lot of us here do. food is so powerful on our brains, ESPECIALLY when it is processed and packaged ('cause stuff is added to it to make us want it even more!). this is a struggle for me still and i feel it will take a whole lot of hard work to stop it. i try chewing gum or drinking tea or coffee when i want something to "distract" my mouth from being empty (lol sounds funny i know), because i know my stomach isn't empty, it's my mouth and taste buds that want the goods. haha. also, carbonated beverages make me feel full too (just for a little while), if i actually do want to feel like i've put something substantial in my stomach. besides that, i honestly try to tell myself "no". i remind myself that i'm not hungry and so there is no NEED for food right now. it also helps to remind myself that if i eat now, i'll have to really limit what i have for the rest of the day when i'm *actually* hungry! sometimes that helps too. good luck!

Ellaskat

Makes total sense. If you want, try finding other things to get that high from. I'm lucky, after 10 min Of strenuous cardio I get the runners high. So when I'm bored, I try to move. I dance while making dinner, or do a quick workout, or snowshoe, etc....

waxflower

This is definitely a 'thing'. Treating food as a drug. I do still get that feeling sometimes. Unfortunately, if I go ahead and do that I'll be in full-out binge mode, so I try to curb that. Or, if I want something like that, I pre-log so I am not blindly shoveling food into my face, haha. If it does happen once in a while, I'll try not to go all or nothing. And not be too hard on myself, I'm human, I do my best to stay away but it doesn't work 100% of the time. It's all you can do sometimes.

Liftng4Lis

Totally normal, distract yourself by moving more.

mhecht32

Just reading the responses to this thread is great! Thanks for all the suggestions for my question someone else asked.

katherine_startrek_fan

I know you mentioned walking, but have you tried any running or other high intensity workouts? It helps me a lot, both in terms of feeling great afterward and suppressing my hunger.

NaeTeaspoon

Losingthedamnweight wrote: »

Does that sound fat of me? I have the next 3 days off work and i'm sitting around the house and eyeballing this wicked good strawberry shortcake roll. It's teasing me. It wants me to eat it.

This made me laugh so hard! I often have this thought cross my mind

stealthq

Normal thoughts. Not fat of you - I've never been clinically overweight, but I'll do the same thing. I just keep going back and grazing. Sometimes even with food that isn't 'wicked good', which really ticks me off.

This is why I freeze stuff like that, or only make or take home as much as I want to eat. Otherwise, I spend way too much time thinking about it.