Brush Your Teeth to Avert Feelings of Boredom

People eat different foods for so many reasons, but when mindlessly eating becomes a habit it may start to interfere with your health. Boredom eating rather than mindful eating may have become a problem due to the constant distractions in your life. Researchers say that you cannot physically shrink the size of your stomach, but you can become accustomed to feeling fuller with a smaller intake of food.

You can convince yourself that your body needs food when you’re really bored. Food can serve as a temporary feeling of safety and calm during these times of uncertainty. However, you can’t allow yourself to be a victim of circumstances and need to take charge of your habits and tendencies by making smart food choices.

Snacking only temporarily allows you to feel excited…

Be mindful that eating when you are bored often serves as a coping mechanism and raises your levels of dopamine in the brain. If you are struggling to fight the urge to snack when you are bored, these options are proven strategies that support healthy living:

• Brush Your Teeth –
• 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.
• 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, do some window shopping, or simply walk around the block.
• Add a Protein Snack – If you eat well throughout the day, it may be easier to spot when you're eating out of boredom. You can always avoid a mid-afternoon crisis by planning for a healthy protein snack. Protein and healthy fat can help you manage any type of hunger.

Higher protein intake can be beneficial for bored eaters…

Appetite is your desire to eat food. It is distinct from hunger, which is the body’s biological response to a lack of food. Food cravings can strike suddenly and at typically at a time when the easiest options available are likely to be bad for your health like justifying your drive-thru mode. You can fend off negative thoughts and ideas by being more mindful.

Ironically, being bored can improve your overall brain health and help foster creativity, but when your brain falls into a monotonous slump, it can seek dopamine, which is a feel good hormone. This can trigger your creative food cravings. So, you can have an appetite even if your body is not really hungry for the food you crave.

At Metabolic Research Center, we show you how increasing protein and decreasing intake of carbohydrates and highly processed foods can result in reduced food cravings.