Suggestions to stop boredom eating

Sip at a hot cup fo green tea! It's delicious and raises your metabolism while you're sitting there!

Seriously?

Do something. It's going to be a little harder at work, but at home get up and walk around. Do some pushup or some other type of exertion, they tend to kill my hunger.

Take up a hobby that keeps your hands busy. Sip water or tea. Chew gum. Use delaying tactics. Tell yourself you won't get up for a snack for another 30/60 minutes. Usually, but then your brain will have moved onto something else.

If you're anything like me, it's a habit you'll have to stop over and over again before it finally sinks in. But it will eventually.

find more things to keep you busy, you can't eat if you are busy doing something that conflicts with eating

Hi I work a desk job too. I eat if I am tired, frustrated or bored! So my new plan - get up and walk around the parking lot- takes 5 minutes, clears my mind and helps with solving programming problems too and keeps me from getting too stiff (I have RA). If it is raining I go up a few flights of stairs. Walking our parking lot 5 times in a day adds an extra mile to my steps and takes less time for one lap than one of the smokers takes to smoke one cigarette which is not healthy. I also bring a preplanned lunch bag.

I completely agree with planning and packing all your food for when you're at work. Don't bring any cash with you so you can't go to the vending machine. Do keep something in your drawer for emergency hungries. We all get them! I personally keep a couple extra protein bars and a box of Cheerios on hand at all times. Some sort of nut or homemade trail mix would be good to keep around too. And if you worry that you won't be able to stop at a normal portion of either of these, portion them out at home into snack baggies or containers and keep them in your desk that way.

Also, if you can, just come on to the message boards here at MFP when you're bored. It really helps pass the time and can be quite entertaining

For at home boredom, I have a couple trains of thought on this.

1) Are you really hungry? If so, you may not be eating enough or may not be eating the right balance of things (healthy fats and proteins are more filling than carbs, etc). So consider that as an option. If you are really hungry, make sure you have healthy snacks handy. A little air popped popcorn, some veggie sticks with hummus or a homemade light dip...

2) If it's really just boredom and you're not hungry, figure out what your trigger is. I have a horrible habit of watching cooking shows on the weekend and it always makes me want to eat something. This is usually also around the time that I'm doing housework so I just have to keep reminding myself that once I get everything done it'll be lunch time and I can eat soemthing then. Keeping busy helps. Maybe you could knit or do crossword puzzles while you watch TV? Sometimes if TV is too much of a trigger and there's not anything too interesting on anyway, I'll shut the TV off and read a good book instead.

I also like the idea of doing activities on the commercial breaks. Jumping jacks, punches, sit-ups, push-ups, planks, etc etc. I tend do this when I'm watching Biggest Loser because I feel guilty for just sitting on the couch while they're working their *kitten* off in the gym! LOL!

I am a total grazed/snacker. The trick for me is just eating healthy, low calorie snacks. I keep carrot sticks and other veggies to snack on at work. At home, air popped popcorn.

I do that too. At work I keep a handful of unsalted raw almonds in my pocket. I pop one every time I feel like I want something, and they satisfy the chewing need. They're healthy fats and you can have about 12 for just about 100 calories - perfect size for one snack. Ideally you should have 3 healthy meals and 2 snacks about 100 calories each.

Occupy your mind. Learn a new language. (Www.duolingo.com) Take a free online course. (www.coursera.org)

Run... like zombies are chasing you.