Stop Filling Your Emptiness with Food!
Over all of the years being a Registered Dietitian, I come across a lot of clients who tell me that they are eating out of boredom. They are not sure why they are doing this but what I found that this is a form of emotional pain. It is important to know the difference between "mouth hunger" and "stomach hunger" particularly when you have a weight problem. This is one of the chief reasons for compulsive eating and poor nutrition. Food fills up the empty spaces in the body not your mind and soul. In this fast busy life culture, when the motivation for work or involvement wanes due to physical exhaustion or an emotional setback or an inability to find meaning in life, many people attempt to resolve this condition by eating.
Some people are able to pinpoint how this eating out of boredom started. "I have been eating alot of junk food lately but I'm under alots of emotional stress." " Since I lost my job, I am bored and I am eating 6-7 meals per day". So what can some one do to stop this from doing this?
Here are the top three tips that help you to stop eating out of boredom.
1. Becoming Aware and Listen. You may have a craving of sweets because they have been your sustenance and reward throughout life. If you listen only to this craving and set about satisfying it in all circumstances, then you will end up in more trouble. Listen to your body to see if you are really hungry because it was time for your meal not for entertainment.
2. Use a Food Emotional Journal. The Food Emotional Journal serve two purposes. One is to shed light on what kinds of foods are being eaten , how much and the nutritional value of the food. The other purpose is to help the eater understand more about his or her eating habits and the things that trigger eating in order to develop a strategy for changing those habits and avoiding the triggers. For example: a journal shows eating is triggered by boredom rather than hunger, this is a signal to develop other ways of relieving boredom.
3. Make a List of Alternatives to Eating. There is more to life than food. If food is on you mind much of the time, this is a clue that your relationship to food may go beyond the need for nourishment. Once you've identified the source of your food cravings, make a list of things you can do instead of eating. These might include:
Taking a walk or other exercise.
Doing some meditation, relaxation or stretching
Talking over the emotion with your spouse or a close friend
Doing something you really want to do, even if you feel you don't deserve it
Resolving the problem that's causing the feeling
If you find it difficult to change your relationship to food on your own, look at speaking with a registered dietitian or go to a reputable weight-control program or consider getting involved in a support group such as Over-eaters Anonymous. You can work with them to analyze and over-come food-related problems one by one.
What are your trigger foods? What alternatives can you do instead of eating?
