Boredom and old eating habits

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Sometimes people eat when they are bored. I was one of those people. After being "on plan" for a year almost, boredom is about the one circumstance that pulls me back into bad habits. I have not slipped yet, but my mind is going there. It doesn't help that is is cloudy outside (lack of sun makes my mood lower for some reason). If you are not eating when bored, then what are you doing instead? Sometimes it is not as easy as just reading a book, watching TV or exercising. Sometimes it is boredom while working and you still have to work, yet you have these feelings of satisfying boredom with food. Even if you could do one of these activities, sometimes you just don't want to drag your lazy butt out of your chair yet eating is not the direction that would be beneficial. What are your thoughts?

[lsereno 2,525]

For bored eating, watching TV or reading a book is not quite enough. I need something that keeps my hands busier. I play computer games, call someone, or work on a craft. For me, training for bad food resistance is like training any other muscle. The more I do it, the easier it gets. Not easy, but easier.

Lynda

[Supersweetums 1,164]

I am terrible for boredom eating. I do things like Lynda, especially playing on the computer. Sometimes just chewing a piece of gum helps satisfy that need to chew something. If I do end up eating something, I try to keep it "healthy" junk....cause really, most of us don't want a celery stick! So I will have greek yogurt sweetened with vanilla stevia and a tbsp of chocolate chips, or stove-popped popcorn with just a TBSP of oil and salt.

The biggest challenge with the sleeve is our brains. They can't take it out, so we just have to deal with it!

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Good advice! I do end up smacking on gum if my mouth needs something sweet. A habit I have picked up about 2 weeks ago. The main issue is I get bored sometimes during my day job at home (software developer for 12-15 hours during the day) and my immediate response sometimes is to drift back to food thinking. Pretty weak trigger at this time, but I do want to be mindful of it. I do not have an excuse to get bored outside of work. There are so many fitness, outside or inside things that can be done. I have so many video games to catch up on.

[erp 2,016]

I made a list early on of boredom activities. The most effective for me is to take a break and get out of the house: walk the dog, work in the garden, or go run an errand. Physically removing myself from the situation, even if just for a short period of time, gives me the distraction I need. I also agree with the poster who said only have healthy Snacks around.

[Ms skinniness 3,003]

I get bored and do give in and it drives me crazy. I work at staying out of the kitchen at night and don't keep any foods that are unhealthy if possible. I love Quest Protein Bars and have worked on decreasing portion size. Instead of eating the whole bar, I eat 1/2. I live the ideal of getting out of the house and also practicing mindful eating habits. I am working on eating slower today. It's hard. We can only do our best.

[Supersweetums 1,164]

I get bored and do give in and it drives me crazy. I work at staying out of the kitchen at night and don't keep any foods that are unhealthy if possible. I love Quest Protein bars and have worked on decreasing portion size. Instead of eating the whole bar, I eat 1/2. I live the ideal of getting out of the house and also practicing mindful eating habits. I am working on eating slower today. It's hard. We can only do our best.

I can't eat Quest bars, they are like crack to me. It seems that they trigger cravings for me, and then it is just a downward spiral. I have tried to have them in the house a few times now, and the results are the same...it makes me sad because I love them oh so much....especially warmed in the microwave.

I don't have any other advice for boredom. It is something I still really struggle with. I am a stay at home mom and when the weather is crappy and we can't get outside, I find it very challenging.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I can't eat Quest bars' date=' they are like crack to me. It seems that they trigger cravings for me, and then it is just a downward spiral. I have tried to have them in the house a few times now, and the results are the same...it makes me sad because I love them oh so much....especially warmed in the microwave.

I don't have any other advice for boredom. It is something I still really struggle with. I am a stay at home mom and when the weather is crappy and we can't get outside, I find it very challenging.[/quote']

I don't eat Quest bars, but have have the same type of problem with nu go slim bars. Those are so good. Not so much with pure Protein bars. They both have 2 g sugar so I do not know what the deal is. Maybe it is because the nu go are covered in high quality dark chocolate. It is a mystery to me.

In the last couple months I have been eating big 100 here and there because of high Protein (32 g) and I want to target 40 g every time I eat. However, I will need to be careful because these guys are 400+ calories a pop. My wife gives a little speech every time I talk about eating a big 100. That is a good deterrent, but I still like 1-2 a month.

My best approach is to only eat Protein Bars when I travel and only when I know there won't be options for real lean protein options. For now the bars are sitting near me in their box, not really tempting me. The problem occurs only after I eat one. Then I want a second one. If I wait 2O-30 minutes, the urge for a second will go away, but that is hard!!!!

[Nicolanz 1,484]

Brush your teeth! That always takes my desire to eat away!

[AmandaRaeLeo 2,146]

Browse through your preop photos. That would totally inspire me to avoid food.

I'm mostly tempted to graze at work. Cannot escape work at will so I'm stuck thinking of food.< /p>

[lsereno 2,525]

Fortunately, I've avoided the Protein bars, so I don't know what I'm missing. Wish I could say the same about some other foods. I had an "incident" last night with a bag of Chex Mix. Hubby bought like 6 bags on sale. I have to STAY OUT OF HIS SHELF! Sorry to yell, but it's to reinforce to myself I won't be getting on his shelf again because it's a trigger food for me. I wouldn't call it boredom eating. It was supposed to be a late night snack, and if I could stop at one serving, it would be OK. But since that seems beyond my skill set, I can't eat it at all.

Lynda

[Butterthebean 8,146]

Boredom...stress....or fatigue. All make me wanna eat when I shouldn't. It's so hard to fight the urge. Many times I'll go ahead and eat, but I'll stick to lean Protein or a bag full of sweet peppers or some other high fibrous low cal veggie. I look at it like protein loading. I'd rather be full of protein or veggies than sit their and hope the cravings go away before I eat a donut.

[Escape_Pod 358]

Great topic!

I started in with sf gum, but I'm now totally regretting it. It sort of reinforced my desire to be chewing on something when I'm bored or stressed, and now i'm finding myself going through a ridiculous amount of gum and wanting something ALL the TIME. Great, now I have another bad habit to break.

At work, I try to get up for a quick walk around the office, or stretch, or take some deep breaths. I can tell some of my problem is just habit, because if I get away from my desk I have fewer snack urges (some of my work can be done at a secretarial station outside my office). I'm in the habit of eating my meals at my desk, and I''m sure that's reinforced some bad habits.

I read a tip recently from a weight loss blogger that I liked the idea of - she said every time she went to the kitchen to grab a snack she got in the habit of dropping and doing 10 or 20 pushups. Not sure how you'd incorporate that at work, though I've been known to do squats, lunges, or counter "pushups" in a restroom stall. Go ahead and laugh... but don't judge!...

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Brush your teeth! That always takes my desire to eat away!

Interesting suggestion. I heard about this in 7th grade and tried it one afternoon. I lasted about an hour and then caved. It is funny I remember those things.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Fortunately' date=' I've avoided the Protein bars, so I don't know what I'm missing. Wish I could say the same about some other foods. I had an "incident" last night with a bag of Chex Mix. Hubby bought like 6 bags on sale. I have to STAY OUT OF HIS SHELF! Sorry to yell, but it's to reinforce to myself I won't be getting on his shelf again because it's a trigger food for me. I wouldn't call it boredom eating. It was supposed to be a late night snack, and if I could stop at one serving, it would be OK. But since that seems beyond my skill set, I can't eat it at all.

Lynda[/quote']

Oh my gosh, I remember chex mix from childhood. That was a comfort snack my mom used to make for us. Oh the memories. Good luck, sigh, having that around. My empathy goes out to you.Great munching food that slides right on through ( said with a slow southern drawl)...