13 Strategies to Stop Boredom Eating:
With the current situation going on in the world, a lot of people are stuck at home.
If you are at home and you have nothing to do, you may be going into the cabinet or the refrigerator looking for something to eat to “get rid of your boredom.”
Sadly, this isn’t the best way to deal with boredom.
After coaching hundreds of people, I have noticed that “boredom eating” is one of the main culprits for why someone doesn’t see results.
You may ask why…
If you are always eating when you are bored, instead of eating when you are hungry, you will likely go over your calories for the day.
If you eat in a caloric surplus without noticing day after day, week after week, you will put on weight.
You might not notice until 6 months down the road, but as I talk about all the time, habits compound, whether they are good or bad.
So what do we do?
I will help you find a solution for your boredom eating. I can 1000% guarantee if you cut out this habit, you will feel, look and perform much much better.
But before, we get into this, I want to let you know that snacking due to boredom is a very common “issue” for people.
If you eat because you’re bored, let me make you feel better, and let you know that at least 50% of my 1-on-1 Coaching Clients report that they do the same thing.
So, you are not alone!
It is okay, and you can get over it!
Eating because of boredom, and not because of hunger is a major reason why many individuals gain body fat without “knowing” why.
Develop a Better Relationship with Body & Mind:
This is the most important habit that you can try to develop when trying to become a master of your body.
One thing that I have clients do when I first “on-board” them is to record a 3 day meal diary, where they list everything they eat, and how they feel before and after they eat these foods.
I find this an excellent way to start listening to your body and seeing on paper how different foods make them feel. This is a way to develop a better relationship with food and start eating because you are hungry instead of because you are bored.
Why Do We Do It:
Because we are BORED (duh). “Bored” is an emotion, and generally actions will follow an emotion. Instead of instantly acting on an emotion, it is key that we put some space between emotion and action (this is the reason I am a big advocate of meditation).
Meditation allows us to stop and notice without having the need to act on something right away.
The reason we snack is because we want to quell the emotion of boredom.
Eating Makes You Feel Good in the Short Term:
When you eat, you release dopamine (feel good chemicals) which will then create a “negative feedback loop” in your body and brain.
That is why eating sugar makes you feel so good when you’re eating it, but 5 minutes later, when your blood sugar spikes, you start to feel very poorly.
Think Long-Term, Not Short-Term:
-When you make any decision in life, you should think about the long-term implications of the decision, instead of the short-term gratification you can get from your decision.
Ask Yourself:
“How will my future self feel after I make this decision?”
My good friend Jordan Syatt always says:
“Make the decision that will make yourself proud when your head hits the pillow at night.”
For Example:
Thinking Short-Term:
“I have a training session later tonight, but I’m not feeling so good so I deserve a hamburger, large fries, and a large milkshake because I want to feel better.”
-This will make you feel better while you’re eating it, but I guarantee after eating it, you will plop yourself on the couch and you won’t be able to move for a couple of hours, which will most likely mean that you don’t perform your best in your training session.
-Therefore, the short-term gratification decision actually makes you feel worse for the day.
How will you feel at the end of the day when you didn’t perform well in your training session, but you ate the hamburger and fries?
Instead….
Think Long-Term:
“I want to have a good training session later, so I will order a grilled chicken platter, with boiled potatoes and grilled vegetables.”
-Instead of giving into the decision of comfort, you opt for the healthier choice, which will make you feel better for your training session, and will also help you feel, perform and look better in the future.
Negative Feedback Loop:
If you make the first choice instead of the second choice and you always eat based on emotions, you will create a negative feedback loop in your brain.
When you’re bored; you eat, which cures your boredom in the moment.
Therefore, you continue doing it.
So, we have to stop this habit.
What Can We Do to “Stop” It:
13 Strategies to Stop Boredom Eating:
1. Find Something Else to Do:
-Instead of going to the cabinet and getting something to eat; read a book, do some work, go workout, go for a walk.
-Generally, the best thing is to get away from the kitchen and out of that environment so you can get your mind off food.
2. Don’t have “trigger” foods in your house:
-Trigger foods are foods that cause a bad “domino effect” on the rest of your diet.
-I guarantee you don’t stress eat or boredom eat fresh fruits and/or vegetables.
-For example, if you have donuts and chocolate in the house, you are much more likely to eat it because it’s literally in “arms-length.” If you kept these foods out of your house, it would be much harder to eat them because they are not as easily accessible.
-You need to create resistance against this temptation.
-I am not saying that you need to completely cut out these foods, but make it difficult to get access to these foods.
-Once or twice a week, it’s absolutely fine to have some chocolate or a donut, as long as you enjoy it and you get right back on track afterwards!
3. Have Fresh Veggies and Fruits in the House at All Times:
-If you feel the need to eat something to satisfy your taste buds, grab vegetables or fruit instead of potato chips, because fresh veggies and fruit will fill you up.
-Eating potato chips will bring on the desire to keep eating them because they are a highly-palatable food; which means it is very hard to stop eating them.
4. Notice The Difference in How You Feel:
-Notice how you feel when you eat snacks because of boredom.
-Notice how you feel when you don’t eat snacks due to boredom and you only eat when you’re hungry.
-I guarantee that you notice that you feel much better, perform and look much better when you go with the second option.
5. Brush Your Teeth After Meals & Use Mouthwash:
-The minty taste and clean feeling in your mouth will stave off the urge to snack.
-I mean, I’m sure your first bite of breakfast doesn’t taste so good after your morning tooth brushing.
6. Drop Down and Do 20 Pushups and 20 Squats:
-Getting your mind off the food and getting your body active can be very effective.
7. Drink Seltzer:
-The bubbles in Seltzer will fill you up and get rid of your boredom.
8. Chew Gum:
-Gum is a way to keep your mind distracted from boredom.
-Only chew gym if it doesn’t bother your stomach.
9. Make Sure You Are Hydrated:
-Dehydration can mask itself as hunger.
-Make sure you are constantly drinking and replenishing your fluids.
10. Map Out Your Meal Times:
-One thing that I have never believed in is a set “meal plan.”
-Set meal plans are easy to follow in the short term (a couple of weeks), but not for the long term (your life).
-We are trying to make nutrition a part of your life, not your whole life. Therefore, it is important to build habits, rituals and routines that are easy to implement and follow, because we are in this fitness thing for a life time. You need to be able to enjoy eating out with friends and family, without being overly anxious about it.
-Going too hard too soon is a common trend that throws people off track, which can cause you to gain even more weight.
CONSISTENCY OVER RIGIDITY any day of the week.
-Mapping out meal times is something that I do with every single one of my clients to help them create a routine in their life around their nutrition.
-Obviously, you don’t have to be super strict with eating every meal at the same time every day, but trying to aim around the same time is a very good idea, and can help you stay away from mindless eating.
-Your body (specifically your gut) likes routine. When you sleep, workout, eat, and poop at similar times every single day, I guarantee you will feel much, look and perform much better.
11. Track What You Eat in a Day with a Calorie Tracking App:
-If you track your calories, you will be less likely you to eat mindlessly because you something to keep you accountable.
-Sometimes, you may not even remember snacking. This is a good way to remind yourself.
12. Hire Yourself a Coach:
-My clients literally snapchat me every single meal they eat. As annoying as it may be, I notice the clients who are most consistent with this will get the best results.
-A coach will keep you accountable for your actions.
-If you cannot keep yourself accountable, you can either hire a coach or you can pair up with a buddy who is looking to “eat more healthfully,” and you can keep each other in line.
13. Be Easy on Yourself:
-If you screw up, you did not fail.
-The only way you will fail is if you completely give up altogether.
-Changing a habit is hard! If you eat because you are bored; don’t beat yourself up and be too hard on yourself.
-Shit happens, and it’s okay!
-If you eat because you’re bored; don’t try to overcompensate or judge yourself too hard! Learn from it, ask yourself why you did it, what emotion were you feeling, move on and get right back on track.
Developing healthy habits is a process. It takes time and will not be easy. As long as you don’t give up, you will WIN!
If you follow these 13 strategies, I guarantee that you will overcome your boredom eating.
Like I said, it will happen, and it’s okay! You are human, you are not a robot.
But, if it happens more often than you would like, I recommend seeking professional help, because this can really be holding you back from reaching your goal.
As always, let me know if you have any questions or if you need any help.