which is harder for you - boredom eating or stress eating?

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  • Brandib1985
    Brandib1985 Posts: 54 Member
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    stress eating. I dont eat when I am bored usually but as soon as something even just a little stressful happens I find myself eating. Its so hard to break the habit . I think Food is my drug
  • Swtmelissa19690
    Swtmelissa19690 Posts: 4
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    When I'm bored or stressed I always seem to crave sweets..Wish I could break that habit but have done pretty good with it the last few days.

    Melissa
  • utayah
    utayah Posts: 43
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    In high stress situations I eat, but boredom eating gets me every time and is always the reason I've gone over my daily limit. To help myself, I chew LOTS of gum. I eat at work, during movies, tv, computer work etc.
  • Kate_UK
    Kate_UK Posts: 1,300 Member
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    so what has everyone done that helps them, when bored, not to eat when not hungry? I could use some tips :)

    I'm teaching myself to crochet (with the help of youtube) if my hands are full I can't eat And wool tastes nasty:wink:

    -Not very well I might add!
  • rmsrws
    rmsrws Posts: 639 Member
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    I am exercising my right to boredom eat as I type this!

    At work with nothing to do, so I thought I'd munch on a few multigrain crisps!
  • JoMcDonald
    JoMcDonald Posts: 44
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    BOTH!!!

    One of the reasons I go to the gym 6 days a week is to not be bored at home in the evenings. In the past I could sit down in front of the idiot box at around 7 pm (after supper) and consume a 2 Litre bottle of Coke + big bag of chips and a 500ml container of sour cream based dip before heading to bed.

    Add stress into the scenario and you can add in a 2x trio stop at McDonald's on my way home for supper!

    Now I am not bored as I am active every day and when I am stressed. I go to the gym and hit the heavy bag or do some fast skip rope for a few rounds. Calms me right down!

    I would even make the argument that my gym membership costs me less than what I was spending on junk food per month!

    We are joining a gym for that exact reason - working out releases all that stress and tends to re-direct your thoughts to get back on track, or so Ive found... I'm really excited to be finally taking that step and joining.
  • mrsbeardtoyou
    mrsbeardtoyou Posts: 12
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    I eat because I AM BORED. I now find myself reaching for lettuce or an apple when that happens. I can't seem to control the "habit" but I can surely control what I put in my mouth.
  • bellydancer123
    bellydancer123 Posts: 2
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    Boredom. If I'm bored I will eat even if I'm not hungry. I start to crave sugary snacks. What I do now if I get bored, I go on this site and read on my progress and I surf the net reading others' weight loss success stories, to help keep me focused on my goal and away from the snacks!
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    Boredom is a form of stress, actually. If I get too stressed I stop sleeping and eating and turn into psycho-lady. But if I'm bored-stressed or just a little stressed, I eat like a pig and quietly hate everyone and everything. I hate being bored! I'm sure there's a clever psych major out there about to tell me my hatred for boredom is a sign of mental disease and that I should seek help immediately, and to you I say...no wait, I can't say that on this forum!
  • JoMcDonald
    JoMcDonald Posts: 44
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    I am exercising my right to boredom eat as I type this!

    At work with nothing to do, so I thought I'd munch on a few multigrain crisps!

    I think now and then is fine - Im worried about restricting myself too much, and stressing out about not eating to the point that i want to give up. There has to be a fair amount of give and take.
  • glcarr65
    glcarr65 Posts: 74
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    I do both at times. Boredom really gets me eating...and depends on the stress..sometimes I eat everything in site other times I can not eat at all.....
  • Charloo1990
    Charloo1990 Posts: 619 Member
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    Its weird cause when it comes to emotional eating im one extreme or the other. I'l ever not be bothered for food and see it as a way of control if i skip food but then sometimes i'l eat choc and crisps and be like "oh well im fed up so im entitled to some junk food".

    As for boredom eating, im the worst. I prefer being at work just so i know im occupied for the day cause when im not working, most the time its rly hard and im always wondering in the kitchen
  • imarlett
    imarlett Posts: 228 Member
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    Boredom. This is harder than quiting smoking.
    What I did to quit smoking is limit where I smoked. I think the same strategy will work with eating. At least, I hope.
  • kir911
    kir911 Posts: 228 Member
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    Boredom...especially at work. I end up snacking on too much crap and I'm not even hungry.

    this!! I work night shift and I find myself eating to stay awake or out of boredom. I just go searching for food....it's terrible. I try to make sure I have several choices of healthy snacks to choose from so I don't eat stuff I should not. But it is still challenging!
  • JoMcDonald
    JoMcDonald Posts: 44
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    Boredom is a form of stress, actually. If I get too stressed I stop sleeping and eating and turn into psycho-lady. But if I'm bored-stressed or just a little stressed, I eat like a pig and quietly hate everyone and everything. I hate being bored! I'm sure there's a clever psych major out there about to tell me my hatred for boredom is a sign of mental disease and that I should seek help immediately, and to you I say...no wait, I can't say that on this forum!

    lol - yeah, being bored isnt fun...

    I get it :)
  • curlyclo
    curlyclo Posts: 243 Member
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    I think stress and boredom are both triggers for me, but more than either of those my problem is being a social eater. If I'm with my friends and they are eating I have a harder time controlling myself, even if I'm not that hungry.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    stress.

    At some point, I think I had a little switch in my head that suggested it was 'ok' to pig out when I was stressed, that stress and distress made overeating completely reasonable. I have a really hard time shutting that switch off - indeed, I'd say it's my last really big obstacle to successful weightloss.
  • Pidders89
    Pidders89 Posts: 1,169 Member
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    Definatley boredom! If im bored i start thinking of whats in the cupboard and then i want it
  • kardsharp
    kardsharp Posts: 618 Member
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    Boredom wins hands down.
  • pirate4hire
    pirate4hire Posts: 55
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    Used to be both. When bored I would graze the fridge. Now the rule is no food outside the kitchen/dinning area. This kills the snacking at the computer which was a huge issue since I telecommute a lot. The other was overworking myself which fueled more snacking. This year I'm making time for myself, cutting down on over committing, and stop sweating the small stuff.

    Keeping junk food out of the house also helps. If there is nothing "snackable" you'll look at the fridge and do something else. Assuming you don't live next door to fast food locations this should work ;-)

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