Food was my pastime...

HappyEC

...and my stress relief, my distraction, and sometimes the only joyful thing during a dark, stressful time. Now that I have committed to being healthy, coping with stress differently, and taking care of myself without relying on food, I’m happy to be making progress, but... I miss it. I miss having a treat with every outing, or a snack just because we were watching TV. It was how I unwound, chilled out, made everyday things fun, the accompaniment to everything.

If you have felt the same - what have you done to help fill this void where snacking or habitual treats used to be?

danno912

Honestly, I have to make sure it isn't available. I know that's hard with a young one because snacks are a necessity. So I have to make sure whatever snacks we have the the kids are ones that I can resist, and by resist I mean not eat the whole container in one sitting. I do make sure I am working out everyday. (at least 3 days cardio, 3 days weights and 1 day long walk) It sucks that food that tastes good, makes you feel good. So filling the void is tough and for me I had to just rethink how I view food. It's fuel not fun.

elisa123gal

You are on the right path...the food hobby has to be replaced by other interests. My husband and I were daily happy hour drinks/snackers.. oh..and we loved take out...if not that we were at our favorite restaurants for dinner and always tried the new places.

When I committed to losing my weight I knew I had to redefine what I considered fun. to me..food=fun.

Now after losing my weight.. I shifted my interest to nutrition and whole foods by cooking tasty recipes that are nutrition packed and lean. I've just started a lifting program..,I never ever thought I'd be into shaping my body.. I was just focused on losing the weight at first, now that's changed. I work on my business and spend time and energy on improving on that front. I also spend time improving my living spaces ..be it repairs or decorating.

Food took a lot of my valuable time and it made me pudgy and unhealthy. Now I have put food in its place where it belongs it is not at the center stage of my life.

AnnPT77

Find new pleasures (exercise, hobbies, meditation, bubble baths, whatever), or truly savor smaller amounts of very delicious food.

Food is good, but there are alternatives for stress relief, distraction, and joy.

Cahgetsfit

I end up playing games on my phone. That way my fingers are busy and my attention is taken up.

I also have to try and not have trigger snacks in the house such as chips.

And also, sometimes I just make peace with the fact that i'm going to eat an entire packet of something and just go for it. And back on the wagon the next day. I try not to do that often though. I will go out and specifically buy the one packet of whatever that I want to eat in its entirety. The last time it was a peanut brittle thingy covered in dark chocolate. It was delicious. I ate entire thing alone, no sharing LOL!

But anyway, I think - no, I am sure - I have some disordered eating behaviours, in particular emotional eating. But i also have boredom eating. I can control it when my willpower is good and everything is fine and dandy, but sometimes when things are a bit *kitten* it's easy to succumb and eat.

I have found playing games on phone helps a lot.