Plan for Healthy Snacks with Purpose

Many people find it difficult to control their appetite, especially with today’s ever increasing portion sizes and fast paced lifestyle. Where an occasional snack will not cause much harm, consistently eating out of boredom can lead to negative outcomes. If you feel bored and eat to escape self-awareness of negative feelings, it most likely will result in poor food choices. Since you can’t avoid having feelings, selecting healthy foods as snacks can temper the ill effects of boredom eating. You can use snacks to manage hunger between meals but try to plan for the snacks you are going to have during the day. If you set healthy routines, you can snack with purpose and totally avoid boredom eating.

Awareness is the first step to managing boredom eating…

The key to controlling boredom eating is to manage how and what you are eating when bored. A good balance can leave you feeling good both mentally and physically. Here are some planned strategies that can help you control this potentially harmful habit:

• Fresh Veggie Snacks – If raw vegetables are not your thing, consider a snack of pickled vegetables to satisfy a desire for a salty, savory, and crunchy treat. There are a number of vegetables other than cucumbers available in pickled form, or you can make your own and add a little heat.
• Plain Popcorn Snacks – If you have problems with portion control when snacking, whip up your own low-calorie snack bags. Popcorn is rich in antioxidants and delivers a healthy dose of fiber to aid digestion.
• Eat Mindfully – If you were driven to eat out of boredom, do not create other distractions while eating. Focus all of your attention on the experience of eating a nutritionally healthy meal or snack.
• Healthy Fruit Snacks – Raspberries and berries in general tend to have exceptional fiber content that promotes satiety, improve digestion, and provide a variety of health benefits without making other lifestyle changes.

It is human to turn to things that bring you joy…

To avoid boredom eating, it is important to understand the difference between emotion hunger and physical hunger triggered by the normal production and release of ghrelin hormone. There are reasons you feel hungry even after eating. This can be due to a lack of protein or fiber in your diet. Not eating enough high volume foods can lead to leptin resistance, which can affect your food choices, especially when you are not satisfied by an activity. Although boredom eating is not considered to be an eating disorder, engaging in mindless eating can lead to routine overeating, which increases your risk of developing an eating disorder, especially if your parents are overweight.

Often managing boredom is a matter of adjusting your mindset to find your rhythm. Truth is most people prefer being active as opposed to doing nothing. Visit Metabolic Research Center for personalized tips on managing boredom eating.