which is harder for you - boredom eating or stress eating?

glcarr65

I do both at times. Boredom really gets me eating...and depends on the stress..sometimes I eat everything in site other times I can not eat at all.....

Charloo1990

Its weird cause when it comes to emotional eating im one extreme or the other. I'l ever not be bothered for food and see it as a way of control if i skip food but then sometimes i'l eat choc and crisps and be like "oh well im fed up so im entitled to some junk food".

As for boredom eating, im the worst. I prefer being at work just so i know im occupied for the day cause when im not working, most the time its rly hard and im always wondering in the kitchen

imarlett

Boredom. This is harder than quiting smoking.
What I did to quit smoking is limit where I smoked. I think the same strategy will work with eating. At least, I hope.

kir911

Boredom...especially at work. I end up snacking on too much crap and I'm not even hungry.

this!! I work night shift and I find myself eating to stay awake or out of boredom. I just go searching for food....it's terrible. I try to make sure I have several choices of healthy snacks to choose from so I don't eat stuff I should not. But it is still challenging!

JoMcDonald

Boredom is a form of stress, actually. If I get too stressed I stop sleeping and eating and turn into psycho-lady. But if I'm bored-stressed or just a little stressed, I eat like a pig and quietly hate everyone and everything. I hate being bored! I'm sure there's a clever psych major out there about to tell me my hatred for boredom is a sign of mental disease and that I should seek help immediately, and to you I say...no wait, I can't say that on this forum!

lol - yeah, being bored isnt fun...

I get it

curlyclo

I think stress and boredom are both triggers for me, but more than either of those my problem is being a social eater. If I'm with my friends and they are eating I have a harder time controlling myself, even if I'm not that hungry.

meerkat70

stress.

At some point, I think I had a little switch in my head that suggested it was 'ok' to pig out when I was stressed, that stress and distress made overeating completely reasonable. I have a really hard time shutting that switch off - indeed, I'd say it's my last really big obstacle to successful weightloss.

Pidders89

Definatley boredom! If im bored i start thinking of whats in the cupboard and then i want it

kardsharp

Boredom wins hands down.

pirate4hire

Used to be both. When bored I would graze the fridge. Now the rule is no food outside the kitchen/dinning area. This kills the snacking at the computer which was a huge issue since I telecommute a lot. The other was overworking myself which fueled more snacking. This year I'm making time for myself, cutting down on over committing, and stop sweating the small stuff.

Keeping junk food out of the house also helps. If there is nothing "snackable" you'll look at the fridge and do something else. Assuming you don't live next door to fast food locations this should work ;-)

♥Amy♥

My problem is DEFINITELY from boredom. I'm a SAHM so I'm at home all day long with the food. And the majority of my day feels like it's in the kitchen either preparing a meal, serving a meal, cleaning up a meal, doing dishes, packing lunches, etc...so whenever I am sitting down and not doing something, I always have water by me and I try to read during "my time." I love to read and it helps a lot because I get so engrossed in the story that I don't think about food, plus my hands aren't free because they are holding the book (or for me, my phone since I read on my kindle).

JoMcDonald

Used to be both. When bored I would graze the fridge. Now the rule is no food outside the kitchen/dinning area. This kills the snacking at the computer which was a huge issue since I telecommute a lot. The other was overworking myself which fueled more snacking. This year I'm making time for myself, cutting down on over committing, and stop sweating the small stuff.

Keeping junk food out of the house also helps. If there is nothing "snackable" you'll look at the fridge and do something else. Assuming you don't live next door to fast food locations this should work ;-)

very true... if its not there, you cant have it!

jtmh2012

I'm a boredom eater. If I'm bored and near food, I eat it.....:(

sparklensh9

I'm New to myfitnesspal and it' nice to know that I'm not alone. I do both. But anxiety gets me with sweets, always want sweets when I get stressed. So now i'm not medicine for anxiety. That's helping some. Then the boredom eating I think is worse cause I'll eat anything and don't even really think about it until after I've eaten and wishing I had not. Thanks for the tips...i'm going to have to start chewing gum.

jennieodwyer

Boredom all the way! I too have resorted to gum to help the issue. :laugh:

ImJDLookatME

boredom eating! I am have to purposefully leave the house so I don't have the munchies

jtmh2012

Keeping junk food out of the house also helps. If there is nothing "snackable" you'll look at the fridge and do something else. Assuming you don't live next door to fast food locations this should work ;-)

I do this. It annoys quite a few people when they go through looking for a soda, chips, or something....

chelsea_thatsme

i am more of a boredom eater. there is ususally always food aroundn wen i am bored so thats what i go after!!!!

bcattoes

I can't remember when I had time to be bored, and luckily I don't stress eat because I have a lot of stress. My problem has always been social eating. When I'm out at a restaurant, party or other social gathering I tend to eat and drink way too much. My family is very food oriented and all gatherings call for lots of food. And it's a very large family so there are frequent gatherings.

MaraDiaz

On the up side, there is a study that shows eating the same foods and getting bored of them can help you lose weight.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20110722/food-boredom-may-lead-to-weight-loss

"Researchers found that when people were offered the same food over and over again, they tended to eat less overall."

Problem is, we all have access to such a wide variety of food. So unless you stock your house with the same food, only eat that food even when out of the house, and force yourself to be bored with it, this won't work. I can see it though, I love chocolate mousse and similar foods. Give it to me every day, I will lose interest...eventually. No telling how many pounds I'd gain first, though!

gsager

I think I'm just an eater........I work at school so we just got back, I do notice that when I'm not at school I don't have to eat every 2 hours........I just seem to be starving....

MariaAlbinaxoxo

boredom eating. I get bored at work a lot and have to make sure I don't bring money so I can't buy anything. hahah

kazpixie

Totally boredom eating, if I'm running around all day then i'll barely even think about food until my tummy starts being vocal!

lizziebeth1028

Boredom totally!!!

LuciaLongIsland

Boredom and being hungry.

Amyla30

I put positive quotes and pictures of fit people on my fridge to remind me of what my goal is. It really helps me not to overeat sometimes.

KingdomHeiress5

I've had more of a problem eating due to stress; however there are times where I've done the absolute opposite of not eating while I was stress. When that was the case when I finally did eat, I would eat all of the wrong things. Just this week during a stressful day it would have been so easy to turn to a pint of Ben and Jerry's. I'm trying to find other outlets now.

smittenmikish

When I stress out... I don't want to eat... makes me feel sick.

I am a boredom eater... but have been teaching myself not to eat when I'm that way.

I'm slowly reteaching myself. Mind over matter. I ask myself, "why am I eating"? If I don't FEEL empty in my stomach... I'm NOT HUNGRY!

MissFuchsia

Boredom eating is definately worse for me. I usually can't eat if I'm stressed

CiciPorcayo

mine is boredom eating.. I eat when I am bored.... lol...