Boredom Eaters, meet here!

[Pretty_In_Purple 112]

I thought I would just make a specific place for us ,who eat during our boredom to chat.... Why do you suppose we eat when we're bored? Let's get some ideas flowing here :-)

Edited May 11, 2014 by Pretty_In_Purple

[butterfly2014 128]

This is a funny subject, but sadly a fact. I honestly dont know why we eat cause we're bored. Its something that never crossed my mind. But if I had to guess, maybe our minds and/or tummy just merely wants to be occupied with some fuel/food. Its just a bad habit we have, especially if your home and have nothing to do you just walk yourself to the kitchen and find something to do by eating. Thats why its important to keep yourself busy and active, especially now more than ever. We are sleevers now and we made a major decision in going thru surgery to have a better, healthy, long life. This surgery is only a tool to guide you in accomplishing your goal. The sleeve is just half the job, we have to do the other half by watching our food intake and exercise regularly. Its not a diet we will be on for the rest of our lives, its just a lifestyle change.

[LumpySpacePrincess 594]

We eat out of boredom because that boredom is actually a deprivation in some other area of our life. We eat to fill a hole when we can't figure out what should really go in that hole. If you take a few minutes to think about what you're actually feeling when you're bored, you can discover some amazing stuff. Are you really stressed out and avoiding an activity? Are you missing social interaction? Are we anxious about our weight loss? There are so many emotions running around in our heads during times like these, and if we take the time away from the food and actually sit back and think about what's going on, we can fix the problem instead of putting a food bandage over it.

Just a little wisdom from someone recovering from binge eating disorder and bulimia!

[DeniseNCC1701 306]

… sit back and think about what's going on, we can fix the problem instead of putting a food bandage over it.

food bandage. LOVE THAT. So simple, but says a lot. As a fellow binge eater/bulimic I really relate to that.

Be well…

[LivingFree! 478]

OK, I know this might be hard to believe for some of those just starting out. I sure didn't believe it at first. (I'm 3 years out) As we continue to make better food choices (from our Bariatric Eating plans--the lean Protein, fresh fruits, veggies, etc) and get rid of more and more of the processed simple carbs in our diets, our cravings for the junk that we so much know and love begin to lessen and not have quite the grip on us that they used to. But the more of those starchy carbs we continue to eat, the more we stay addicted to them.

In my weakest moments of temptation, I try to remember that the healthy food that I now put into my body is "super fuel" and "medicine" to heal it and make it run the best it can for the rest of my life. It makes me think twice about putting junk into it.

So, whether we're bored, or sad, or stressed, or lost our job, or grieving, or ???, it all comes down to figuring out our new lifestyle that works for each of us individually. It all starts with really examining our relationship with food. In my opinion, most bariatric programs don't prepare us very well to handle all this psychological stuff that comes after the operation. It takes a lot of work to sort through it, but it CAN be done. I've done a lot of reading because I've needed A LOT OF HELP!!! For anyone interested, one of my favorite books that helped me a lot (bariatric surgery specific) is "The Emotional First+Aid Kit" by Cynthia L. Alexander, PsyD. This psychiatrist counsels WLS patients; easy reading. She tells it like it is. Good chapters on behavior modification, stress, motivation tips, much more. Also, Susan Albers, PsyD, has a book "50 ways to soothe youself without food" and explores MINDFUL EATING. Both available on Amazon.com.< /p>

[Pretty_In_Purple 112]

Thank you for the information Princess. I will definitely check into those books. :-)

[Yoga lady 49]

I find boredom is really being anxious about something or someone in my circle. I really have to stay conscious of it