Eating Only Temporarily Silences Boredom

While working on changing your behaviors, make sure healthy food options are easily accessible. That way you won’t have time to create excuses. If you are feeling hungry all of the time, focus on adding good protein and healthy fats when reaching for a snack. However, it is crucial that you don’t overeat in an attempt to manage negative emotions like anxiety, stress, or boredom.

Stuffing your face with food allows you to avoid uncomfortable emotions that you would rather not feel. However, eating is just a temporary way of silencing feelings of boredom. When you recognize that you want to eat something out of boredom, prepare a cup of hot tea.

When having a bad day, it can feel like food is your only friend…

Although healthy snacks can be incorporated into your plans for food intake, eating because you are bored can be effectively managed with a healthier distraction. Here’s some strategies for combatting boredom eating:

• Do Something Fun – Since your home or office environment can sometimes fuel boredom eating, get out of your house. Take your dog for a walk, run some errands, brew a cup of tea, or simply walk around the block.
• Brush Your Teeth – If you take a break from mindless snacking and brush your teeth, the flavor change will make it easier to resist eating more food. Minty flavors help to cleanse your palette and make it easier to manage unwanted food cravings.
• Make Sure You’re Hydrated – Water can help fill empty space in your stomach to function as a natural appetite suppressant to curb unnecessary snacking.
• Add a Protein Snack – Overcoming food boredom comes from preparing healthy things to eat for snacks or meals. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends eating nutrient-dense foods at both meal time as well as when your reach for a mid-afternoon snack.

When you feel hungry depends on what you last ate…

The desire for a particular food item can be powerful and has the ability to fully consume your thoughts, but cravings will go away if you simply wait them out. Unfortunately, people rarely do, so it is important to find a suitable distraction. Once you are an adult your stomach pretty much remains the same size unless you have bariatric surgery. Nonetheless, eating less will not shrink your stomach but eating more will reset your appetite hormones. It is normal to have thoughts about food about three to four hours after eating a meal, but this may not be true hunger. In fact, food cravings only exist because you are imagining them.

At Metabolic Research Center, our approach is backed by 30 years of scientific experience. Our programs consist of eating lean protein coupled with vegetables, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Call today to learn more about our personalized approach to healthy living.