Eating when Bored!

rachael111
rachael111 Posts: 1
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Its very difficult for me to not eat when I'm bored I think most times when I do eat I'm not even hungry and I hate it. I mean when you sit down to watch some TV I feel like I need to be eating something. Anyone have any tips on that. When I'm tracking my calories in a day the majority of the reason why I go over is because I'm just bored. HELP?

Replies

  • RENAEJAE
    RENAEJAE Posts: 1,135 Member
    Keep some lo cal snacks handy. Celery/Carrots etc. If you just want to keep your hands busy keep a bag of sunflower seeds in the shell around. That way you have work at getting to the little seeds. Nuts are also great because they contain good fat. If you eat about 70 calories of nuts 20 minutes before meal time you will find that you will not feel as hungry. Then you can eat your meal for pleasure and not just because you are starving.

    Good Luck!
  • godroxmysox
    godroxmysox Posts: 1,491 Member
    I like to chew some really minty gum (you can find the 5 calorie sticks). If you try to eat a snack, it will taste awful and you won't want it anymore =)
  • WorkingMomGetsFit
    WorkingMomGetsFit Posts: 70 Member
    I have the same problem. I also find I get into the salty/sweet routine. I eat something salty, then I want something sweet and so on. I have purchased a book on how to control emotional eating. I have yet to read it but maybe a little more reading and a little less eating would be the answer to my problems...LOL!
  • michelle4271
    michelle4271 Posts: 194 Member
    I've started chewing gum,,,are you familiar with the "dessert delights" from Extra? They are actually quite good and I find that it keeps me busy enough that I dont feel the need to actually eat anything. I can also get another couple cups of water in at the same time, and then realize that I'm not really hungry. You might want to find something that you can do at the same time as watching tv, just changing your "habit" and before long , you wont need to keep yourself busy to keep yourself from mindless eating.

    I just googled the length of time to "learn a new habbit" and its anywhere from 14-21 days...for lack of a better phrase,,,A PIECE OF CAKE.

    I also have to say that I think thats about accurate, if you want to make the concious effort to change, because now that I think about it,,,I have been doing this for about 3 weeks and I've just about kicked it...If I can, YOU CAN!!!!!
  • Instead of sitting on the couch bored get up and find a project!! I had the SAME problem, boredom eating. But any time I feel like I want to raid a cupboard and am not actually hungry I need to do something else. Clean the bathroom. Dust the whole house! Go empty out that crazy junk closet everyone seems to have and get your brain engaged in something that will hold an interest for you. That's about the only thing that has helped me. Get that body moving and your mind will follow! :)
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    I have the same problem! For some reason, my body just wants me to be making that motion from hand to mouth when I get bored. Lately, I haven't had time to be bored (I'm going to school 3 nights a week and spend a lot of my weekend doing homework. You might try a hobby that uses both of your hands: knitting, crosstitching, etc. You might also not let yourself just sit and watch TV. I know one person who never watches TV unless she is standing or working out.

    When you just have to sit and snack, make sure it's something low in calories and high in nutrition. One of my favorites is low sugar breakfast cereal: Cheerios, Kix, etc. or pumpkin seeds. I'll split up the container into ziploc baggies in single servings and store them in my pantry. When I get that urge to eat, I'll grab a bag. When I'm done with that single serving, I rarely get up and go for another.
  • autumn13
    autumn13 Posts: 295
    I know this might sound silly but I brush and floss...Something about a clean mouth...
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