How do you stop stress/bordom eating?

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pkrichar
pkrichar Posts: 228 Member
in Motivation and Support
My biggest weakness is my inablity to not munch when I am stressed or bored. I have tried walk abouts and drinking water to try and side track me from eating and it usually doesn't work. I could realy use some ideas that could side track me. I know when I am not hungry but still feel the need to eat but don't know how to stop myself from eating anyway. Ideas please.

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  • MrsMotivatedMama
    MrsMotivatedMama Posts: 10 Member
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    I think I also have this problem. For work it helps to have sugarless gum or hard candies. For home its a different story. I try to avoid the kitchen because thats where I fail.
    Take a walk outside or try to stay busy with household chores. Grab a book or any hobby you have besides cooking :)
  • moreORless50
    moreORless50 Posts: 261 Member
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    you need an interest , i like knitting (i am not realy any good at it though :laugh: ) but i am knitting squares to make a throw
    i also enjoy making my own birthday and christmas cards, i do scap booking to aswell as paint now and then all good winter hobbies also enjoy researching about diff foods healthy foods that is and creating my own dishes (this is a very reasent hobby)
    this keeps me busy in the evernings and stops me from nibbling at food
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    Hot unsweetened chai tea. I want to snack, I make a cup. I drink it slowly at my desk, rinse and repeat as needed.
  • katescurios
    katescurios Posts: 224 Member
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    I knit, sew or doodle. I find it really helps to keep me occupied and pass the time so I end up forgetting that I wanted to eat :D
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
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    My biggest weakness is my inablity to not munch when I am stressed or bored. I have tried walk abouts and drinking water to try and side track me from eating and it usually doesn't work. I could realy use some ideas that could side track me. I know when I am not hungry but still feel the need to eat but don't know how to stop myself from eating anyway. Ideas please.

    Being on a calorie deficit is hard. You can't do this journey on will power alone. You must set up your environment for success. Have a team around you in your real life, not just online. Get trigger foods out of the house. It will take some sacrifice and it's not easy. You might have to say no to some social events sometimes.

    Learn to eat only at the table. Sit down and eat. Don't watch TV and eat, read and eat, snack mindlessly. Make eating have purpose. These are habits that are hard to break.

    Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.
  • ash8184
    ash8184 Posts: 701 Member
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    Try chewing gum and see if that helps?
  • xoTalim
    xoTalim Posts: 212 Member
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    Read a book, watch a movie/some TV, play video games, go on your computer and just waste time doing stuff like playing flash games or stuff. Works for me. (:
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
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    Don't let yourself become bored, really it's not that hard.
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
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    1. I always leave some calories open for the end of the day (in case I have a snack attack).
    2. LOG THE SNACKS. Even if you don't want to. Just do it.
    3. GUM! For me gum is a lifesaver.
    4. Hobbies! Get something that you can do that will take your mind off food.
  • annabellj
    annabellj Posts: 1,337 Member
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    make a list of things to do instead of eatin gout of boredom! and always log what you eat before you eat it! works everytime! make sure you have a lot of low cal veggies around if you just cant handle not eating. that helps me. they have these cal free walden farms dressings at sprouts, dressing and a ton of salad fills u up and then you cant eat anymore for around 30 cal
  • QuietLegs
    QuietLegs Posts: 42
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    Yeah... i have this issue on the weekends. At work, I'm like a rock. I've got pretty much 100% self control over what I eat and when I eat it.

    At home on the weekend... bleh.

    So I get out of the house as much as I can. I don't aimlessly walk - I kinda hate walking, it's soooo slow - so I'll have specific goals and tasks to get through. I stay busy with fun tasks! Go to the bike shop and ogle more bikes I can't afford yet. Go to the running shoe store and try out different shoes. Go to the thrift clothes store and enjoy being able to buy new clothes.
  • sarahslim100
    sarahslim100 Posts: 485 Member
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    Go for a walk
  • MMarvelous
    MMarvelous Posts: 1,067 Member
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    Sex ;)
  • Xaspar
    Xaspar Posts: 726 Member
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    A nice warm cup of tea!
    EDIT: And if that doesn't work, I go brush my teeth... For me that makes everything taste awful for hours since I am over-sensitive to the toothpaste flavor.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    I chew gum.
  • pkrichar
    pkrichar Posts: 228 Member
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    Awesome ideas, thanks

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