Help

xxexxr14 · May 2019

I have a serious snacking problem. My relationship with food is super unhealthy. I eat way too much at once, and I never really get full. Even when I eat very satisfying, protein filled meals, I don't get full. I usually snack so much throughout the day that I have to skip dinner because I'm already way over my calories for the day. I know that I am "bored" eating but I seriously cannot stop. I try to distract myself, sometimes I leave the house but even that does not work. Any minute I have at home, I end up in the kitchen. How do I fix this?

Commander_Keen · May 2019

Well, if you feel like you have to snack, go for a walk, drink 16oz of water 1st.
Cary around hard boil eggs, celery , cheese sticks.
Try increasing your protein in the mornings.

diannethegeek · May 2019

Boredom eating is tricky because there may or may not be something else behind it that would be helpful to figure out.

Here are some ideas that may or may not work for you. Play around and see what you like:

Play around with the types of food you're eating. Protein-filled meals never leave me satisfied. I need a good fat or starch source with my meals or I'm snacky-y for the rest of the night. It might help to try a different macro split or different types of food.
Play around with your meal timings. Some people find they snack less with Intermittent Fasting or having an eating window. Some people "close the kitchen" after a certain time to discourage late-night snacks. Some people do better saving calories for late snacks. Big meals, small meals, only eating late, only eating early. They're all valid things to try in case they help.
Take up hobbies. Preferably something that will keep your hands occupied. Knitting, drawing, coloring books, sudoku, whittling, whatever. Anything that keeps you occupied.
I like hot tea in the evenings because it satisfies the hand-to-mouth movements that I'm looking for in the evenings.
urge surfing. delaying tactics. "okay, I can have a snack, but I have to wait 10 minutes/20 minutes/an hour/whatever." The idea isn't to stop the snacking, but to delay it. Sometimes the urge to snack passes. Sometimes it doesn't and that's okay too.
get the in the habit of evaluating why you're snacking. "Do I want this or am I bored? is there something else that I'm eating to block?" Journaling while snacking might help if you're this kind of person. But the idea is to -- without judging yourself -- start evaluating why you're eating. If it's boredom, then you can decide how to go forward. You might still eat even though you know you don't want to, and that's okay to start with. But as you get better at it and get ahead of it, you might be able to channel those feelings into other things as you go.

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you luck. Boredom eating is definitely annoying and I hope you get a handle on it :flowerforyou:

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