Ways to combat bordom and emotional eating?

Desifreckle
Desifreckle Posts: 110 Member
edited November 8 in Health and Weight Loss
My problem is that I eat when I'm bored or when I'm emotional. Sometimes I don't even know why I pick up something and eat it! What are some ways you have stopped these habits for good?

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    I stopped keeping the things I would snack on around me. If I have to get up and get it, I'll weigh out what I'm eating and put the package away.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    I stopped keeping the things I would snack on around me. If I have to get up and get it, I'll weigh out what I'm eating and put the package away.

    This^^ and find something to do with your hands like knitting.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited December 2014
    Do stuff...if I'm bored, that means that for some weird reason I have some time on my hands...always good for a run or a nice walk or something. When I'm antsy and/or bored, I move my *kitten*...

    I would also add that it doesn't necessarily have to be deliberate exercise...just get up and move...clean something, fix something, do the dishes, fold the laundry, etc. Boredom just means you have too much time on your hands for which you could be doing something productive.
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    I stayed at home for about a year and gained so much weight thanks to boredom and having a grocery store two blocks from my house. What's something you enjoy doing? I let myself buy more video games when I first started losing weight so I wouldn't feel like a "fitness freak".
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Get up and move. Also, pre-logging helps, as if its not logged, I don't eat it.
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  • cmeher527
    cmeher527 Posts: 3 Member
    Get outside--go for a run and breathe in all that fresh air :)
  • ElizabethMaryam
    ElizabethMaryam Posts: 159 Member
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Get up and move. Also, pre-logging helps, as if its not logged, I don't eat it.

    ^^^ this. Also drink lots of water. You could also have low cal snacks on hand (such as celery, carrots, etc).
  • Desifreckle
    Desifreckle Posts: 110 Member
    Unfortunately I live with three other people who do not diet lol so it's always around, however I'm getting a mini fridge and keeping my food in my room in an attempt to avoid it! It's definitely a mental battle for me! I try to keep busy but my favorite things are hiking and similar and winter always makes me gain weight! I'll take your advice though and maybe get some fitness games especially. My problem is hen I'm bored I don't wanna do anything unless it's fun. It's a hard habit to break but I really want to!
  • katherine_startrek_fan
    katherine_startrek_fan Posts: 425 Member
    Chewing on gum can help as well, so you get that flavor without all the calories.

    One of my biggest snacking time issues was around the end of the work day. I would want to eat either chips and salsa or chocolate. To combat it, I will now have an apple, serving of nuts, or protein bar between 3-4 to stave off the hunger before it becomes a junk food craving.
  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
    I'm prone to boredom eating too and I can get into some dark moods and I end up consoling myself with sweets.

    Sometimes you can try to fix the things in your life that routinely create the boredom or emotional times. But in the meantime you can do some tricks to get you past those traps. You have a good idea to separate your food from the others' to avoid seeing it all the time.

    For cravings: Chew gum (having healthy snacks around doesn't get it for me either.) For cravings plus boredom: Really hard jigsaw puzzles (hands are busy and requires concentration.) For late night munching: Go to bed!

    For the emotional eating. I can only speak for myself, but eating is the way I used to distract myself from sadness. Exercise elevates my mood.

    Sometimes none of this works. The inevitable binge happens. But forgive it, forget it and move on. Do better tomorrow.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    That's one of the great things about exercise. It gives you something to do and even if you eat the rest of the time, you're burning more calories, so it doesn't matter as much.
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    Mindfulness meditation. Close your eyes and tune in to what your body is telling you - are you actually hungry? Sounds silly but i found it really helpful. If you really want something log it forst to see if you can fit it into your goal. Also, remind yourself that getting something to eat will only allieviate your boredom/emotional state for a few minutes, after that you will go right back to being bored/sad/whatever again.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    I used to eat when bored as well. Not really for emotional purposes though.

    But for the former, I found that simply eating 3 square meals a day instead of a few meals + snacking helped me get rid of this behaviour. I think it helped me because I tend to feel fuller longer, so I don't necessarily need to eat now when I'm bored. Otherwise, I also know that most of the time this behaviour is likely to happen in the evening. So if I feel like I'll want to eat over a few hours, I'd simply make sure that I plan my calories out for the evening and space out my intake.

    I also find that I just like having flavour or something in my mouth. If it gets really bad I can just chew on ice or on gum, but I haven't had to do this in a long time
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