How to Stop Yourself Eating from Boredom
People who struggle with their weight are often prone to "emotional eating", consuming food as a response to mental triggers rather than physical hunger. Often, dieters fail to lose weight not because their diet plan itself is flawed, but because they are knocked off course by feeling stressed, tired, upset or bored.
The last of these is an especially common cue for many people to eat. For some, it's a habit learned in childhood ("I'm bored, mum!" - "Run down to the shop and buy yourself a candy bar, then.") For others, it's a reaction to the dull parts of adult life: munching on biscuits while rocking the baby to sleep, or getting yet another handful of chocolates because the afternoon is really dragging at work.
Avoid Snacking When You're Bored
When you find yourself thinking, "I'm bored, maybe I'll have a cookie," then get straight out of that mindset:
- If you're genuinely hungry, have some fruit or a small sandwich.
- Cravings can be beaten, just by sitting them out. Force yourself to wait 20 minutes before getting that snack, and nine times out of ten, you'll no longer want it.
- Find something to do - ideally, an activity that makes it hard to eat at the same time.
Understanding Your Danger Points
Keep a food diary for a couple of weeks, and write down not only what you ate and when, but why you ate. (Hunger, because friends were eating, because it was lunch-time, boredom, stress..?)
When are you most likely to eat from boredom? Maybe it's when you have to hang around at home, waiting for a delivery. Or perhaps it's when you get in from work and you're waiting for your partner to come home. Once you've figured out the pattern, work out how to change it!
- Find a hobby or interest to occupy you, if you've got too much time on your hands
- Use those "hanging around" moments, to blitz through all the little jobs you keep putting off (cleaning the oven, anyone?)
- If you're regularly twiddling your thumbs at work, see if there's a stressed colleague who could use your help.
What are your tips for avoiding boredom-induced snacking?
Editor's Note: For many people - simple behaviorism ('try-harder') doesn't help when it comes to powerful cravings or addictions - in such situations other methods such as cognitive behavior therapy can be useful. Some cravings may also have a biochemical dimension which can be addressed.
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I concur when I am focused on something food is the last thing on my mind boredom eating is merely learned behaviour
ReplyI think I may be occasionally guilty of eating from boredom.
Not too often but when I take a rest day from exercise, although I'm more hungry period, I don't think that accounts for all of my food consumption... I think because I don't have what I normally do, I "fill the time". I try to be conscious and not do so, but it definitely is a surprisingly strong cue.
ReplyIt was challenging (still is) to get out of this habit. I can say I know myself better and I know what triggers me to reach out to food when I'm bored and not hungry. Thanks for the article guys.
Replyi do eat when i'm bored and its never anything but sugar. i've posted before that i've solved this with decaf coffee, but another thing that helps is switching up what you snack on. pick fiber if its right before bed, like flax flakes or bran flakes, something that has low sugar, low sodium, but lots of fiber so your body has to work harder while you sleep to digest it. and you will feel full and not want the 3 scoops of icecream you were about to have.
ReplyI started a new job in the fall and there was no food readily available at the office (god forbid ;)) so I thought it would be smart have a "snack stash" in my desk drawer (of healthy stuff for the most part). The unfortunate fall-out from that was that as my caseload as building (meaning I had a lot of free time on my hands for a while) I just ate and ate and ate as I read policies and procedures manuals, new treatment protocols etc. Finally I realized that I was eating out of boredom and stopped refilling my "stash". (Sadly I packed on the pounds in the meantime-on the way down again thankfully!)
So, I guess my tip would be to make food harder to get at, which makes it easier to ride out the boredome!
ReplyHey Sarah,
You might like this article I wrote for The Office Diet: http://www.theofficediet.com/2008/02/25/stop-workplace-boredom-and-stress-from-ruining-your-diet/
for beating office boredom in particular. Hope the job's going well & that you're getting more casework now!
Best,
Ali
ReplyThis is a daily struggle for me, especially in the evenings. It really is a day to day battle, but taking night classes has really helped a lot.
At work the snacking has been cut back simply because my office installed a new carpet and the boss pretty much forbids eating at our desks in fear of staining the brown carpet...
ReplyI'm totally guilty of boredom eating, ESPECIALLY at night. Thanks for the tips!
ReplyI don't know if you guys are a similar age to me, (perimenopausal) but while I think my propensity to eat at night has a boredom component, I'm also convinced it's largely hormonal. I can be bored during the day and I never want to eat. And it's a fairly recent phenomena for me to want to eat at night.
Getting the culprit foods out of the house does help.
ReplyNah, I'm actually only 22. I know what my problem is - when I'm bored, I watch TV. (Or even when I'm not bored.) When I'm watching TV, though, I *have* to be eating. Very bad habit, I know, but I like it!
ReplyThe easiest thing for me is not to have the "bad" foods available. On the occasion I get a real craving for something, if it's not in the house, I would have to pack up my 2- and 4- yo sons, which probably involves getting them dressed, changing a diaper, and putting some clothes on myself. If I still want something so badly that I'm willing to do all that, then I probably deserve it!
Otherwise, then let the boredom snacking be something healthy, or something you have to prepare - if you want a cookie, and you have to make the cookies, you might decide you don't want them so badly (or at least a homemade cookie is more satisfying than a store-bought one, usually, so you will probably eat fewer). Or snack on carrots or broccoli, something that you probably can't eat so much of to add on too many calories.
ReplyI don't keep my big temptation foods around, either. For me, it's ice cream. If I don't have it in the freezer, I don't really crave it as badly. I guess I figure, "Hmmm, in order to have the ice cream, I'd have to get in the car, drive to the store, and buy some". Then I usually eat something that's healthier (like a yogurt) and then do something else and forget all about the ice cream.
Replywww.nosdiet.com
So far works like a charm, better than anything else I've ever tried in *40 years*.
f
ReplyIt has several things going for it - especially in that it advocates behavior change rather than a temporary diet. But, to follow it, you have to face the problem of snacking out of boredom...
ReplyOk, you people. You fail.
ReplyPoo, you're not even trying these days.
ReplyI laughed.
ReplyI'm craving the Hardees Breakfast Monster Burrito.
ReplyI used to be a big boredom eater. I would eat while doing my homework and easily munch down a whole bag of chips or box of Wheat Thins while I did my calculus homework. When I realized just how much of my food was consumed when I was not even really thinking about it, I was really shocked.
Now, when I'm bored, I'll find stuff to do besides eat. I'll clean, read a magazine, go hang out in the garden, walk the dog, knit, do origami, brush my dog, look at the internet, etc. I find that most of the time, I'm not even really "hungry", but I like the feeling of stuff in my mouth when I'm doing stuff. So I usually chew gum or drink water to keep my mouth busy.
ReplyI think it was here that I read a tip about brushing your teeth to avoid eating more? Anyway, that TOTALLY works for this too.
I think "I'm bored, I'll think I'll look in the fridge" At that moment I walk into the bathroom and brush my teeth.
And then everything tastes like buttsauce, so I have to wait a half hour, and by then I have found something to do.
Lather, rinse, repeat as necessary. Side benefit; better toofuses health.
ReplyOh yeah, brushing my teeth always works. Having that clean feeling in your mouth seems to make you less prone to eat, period. Sometimes if I'm at a party where there's a lot of rich food, after I eat what I want to eat, I'll pop a Listerine Pocket strip in my mouth and then put on lipstick to keep me from eating more.
ReplyChalk one up for JimK!! great advice sir!! My top 3 tips would be:
Reply1. stay active
2. chew some gum
3. drink some water or green tea because many times, a thirsty body feels like a hungry body. green tea can help curb one's appetite, and water can help keep one's metabolism stoked. stay strong y'all!
For me part of the answer is to buy as little as possible of easy to snack on food. If I have to take some effort to prepare the food, I may still do it, but it is not the mindless "automatic hand" eating out of the box that I do when bored.
ReplyThe more compound exercises you do, the less you want to graze. There's an inverse relationship.
ReplyIf you find your dream lover at hot big people&celebrity dating site www.PlusMeet.com , I am sure you will never feel life is boring.
ReplyThis is for Sexy Big Beauty. Honestly this site is about diet and weight loss. If everyone here were happy with their size they wouldn't subscribe to this blog.
ReplySo please spare us your "big and beautiful" banter. I get so tired of it.
A food diary is a good thing, but very time consuming. It's rally easier to just watch out on your food choices for beginners, later you can keep nutrition and training logs.
There is no such thing as automatic eating if you are on a diet. If you are on a diet, you should watch out what you eat and that's it.
One more thing- learn to drink water, because it lowers your food cravings, and makes you feel full.You can read the whole article in two parts about importance of water on my site if you want. Cheers
ReplyDrinking water or having something fibrous such as fruit really help me. Its almost as if you have to either be chewing or just have something going into your stomach and often it doesn't really matter what so you might as well make it healthy.
Also sitting in front of the TV definitely makes chances for eating out of boredom that much higher in my opinion.
ReplyIm like alot of you. I do well during the day but night is when I want to snack. So I dont keep anything like cookies, icecream, chips etc. I only have sugarfree yogart and fruit. If I kept junk food in the house I would be really overweight even with all the hours I spend each day working out. I just have no control at night. During the day I have to remind myself its time for lunch. But the sun goes down and out comes my crazy side LOL. Luckily its just me and my husband so I can get by without buying junk food.
ReplyLinda
I agree - I'm usually shocked when I look up from doing whatever I'm doing to notice a huge pile of candy wrappers that I've munched on without even really noticing. Lol - apparently, I'm doing it right at this minute.
Note to self: must try to cut down on the snacking... must try to cut down on the snacking. Maybe if I say it to myself enough times, it'll subconsciously sink in. :x
Maybe I should tell my mom not to buy too much junk now. Hmm... nah... I have no self control.
ReplyI didn't realize that I ate for entertainment until I started watching the show "I Can Make You Thin" on the learning channel. Then I became aware of all my eating. I started to ask myself did I really need to eat at that time and if the answer was no, but I just needed to munch because of boredom or nervousness. Sometimes once I realized why I was eating, the urge went away. Sometimes not. Then i did eat something, even if it was chips.
Once I became aware of how my stomach felt when it was full, I could stop myself from over munching and I wasn't as hungry at my next meal so it all balanced out.
One thing I learned was not to feel guilty about my choices because I would just eat more and feel awful afterwards. That guilt about eating just sets you up for failure.
You may want to check out this video.
Replyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff48p06la9U
This is an except from my book 'The Joy-Filled Body' specifically related to boredom eating - which frankly is THE single most common reason people verbalize for eating in my workshops!
"We live in a world where we are led to believe that if we aren’t constantly busy, we are lazy. ‘The devil finds work for idle hands.’ It’s apparently better to be an over-scheduled Dietonian, rushing around at a breakneck speed than to have time to be still. Being bored or wanting to relax and do nothing are things we should not be feeling guilty about. Relaxation allows time for reflection and contemplation, time to slow down enough to hear the whisperings in our soul. Boredom may be a sign that you are at a crossroads, so it doesn’t necessarily mean you should fill your time with finding more to do, because that draws your focus away again. Perhaps you need to leave a job that is boring you, release people who make you yawn, or live more meaningfully instead simply allowing your biological clock to run out. It could also be a cry for you to connect and relate more instead of forever chasing your tail. The cry of boredom is often asking for you to respond by doing nothing, sitting quietly and surrendering to a relaxed state. Boredom isn’t a signal to eat, it’s a signal to stop and listen."
ReplyCari
I think constantly having some healthy food around to eat is a way to ensure you aren't grabbing the bad stuff when you are really bored.
ReplyI agree with most of you guys. Again, im fine in the day and can turn down junk food at work, its just when i get home and im alone. I've started the gym and that helps a couple of evenings a week, but im a teacher and by the time school is out and i've finished work for the day, i'm far to tired to take up an evening class or manage more than a couple of nights at the gym and so i'm usually desperate to go home and chill. This is when the boredom snacking starts. Its like i can't stop thinking about food as soon as i sit down and relax.
ReplyI am hopeless when it comes to staying away from foods, especially when i'm bored! And the first thing i go for is sugary foods: chips, chocolates, sweets, and then feel horrible afterwards (a) from eating too much of this stuff and (b) from not having enough will power to just walk away. :-( My doctor has put me on a low GI Diet as i need to get back to my normal body weight (62kgs) and i am now on 72kgs! Doesnt sound like much but i am devastated by all this weight, especially since i was always very thing, very sporty and fit! Now i feel massive and depressed!
ReplyI try to keep myself busy during the day because I work nights. I do exercise every other morning and clean the house. But by Wednesday I run out of things to clean and organize. I'm not good at sitting still and baking or eating in general is usually what I resort to. Any suggestions?
ReplyIm 13 not overweight but I eat so much. Its a pain in the ass. I want to git rid of the extra weight but I just never can.
Reply